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anxiety-is-the-wooooorst · 3 years

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A Fire Blazes - Chapter 3

As Rio buttoned his vest and shrugged into his jacket, he thought about the upcoming supper with Beth and her family. He couldn’t help but wince as he recalled the barely suppressed outrage that had been written all over her face earlier this morning.

She was clearly not happy with this situation, with his proposal, or even him if he were to be honest. That’s why he’d chosen to stay away from the store today. He needed to check and see if she’d finished up her work on the money, but he’d wait until after supper to do so. He didn’t want to heap more coals on the fire, give her another reason to tell him no. He wanted her to say yes, Marcus needed her in his life, and him irritating her wasn’t the way to get her to agree to marry him.

He had a feeling that she was going to try to use her engagement to Boland as a way to refuse him. But where was Boland? He wasn’t anywhere to be found. His family didn’t seem to like to associate with the Marks family either. For which, Rio decided, he ought to be grateful. Her family’s desperate financial situation was his one in, his one advantage.

He knew he wasn’t gonna get into Beth’s good graces on his own. He’d kind of blown that. Well, he didn’t feel too bad about that - about her being mad at him. First off, she was upset about something that never ended up happening. She’d made a mountain out of a molehill. And secondly, he had a right to be just as upset as her. She had her undergarments all in a twist when she was the one who’d snubbed him first.

He shook his head as if to clear out all the bad thoughts, but he couldn’t shake the memories of how sweet it had been to hold her and kiss her, of almost making her his own. Yet, even if his grandmother hadn’t interrupted that night, would she have been his? Would she have lain in that bed with him and then still gone on to marry that burro? Was the only reason she’d been doing what she’d been doing with him that she felt sorry for him?

His hand balled into a fist. He didn’t like that that was even an option.

Had she even cared that she had wounded his pride and his ego by making it seem like their heated moments were driven solely by her pity? No, she’d been too worried about the Secret Service agent who’d come to visit. Something she’d never had any need to worry about. Sure, he’d acted like he didn’t care - like her fears were irrelevant but he wasn’t about to let her get caught. No, he’d used his cousin Nick’s position as a state senator to get Turner off his tail and off his back for good.

Beth had been all worried for nothing. He had her covered. Sure, he could have comforted her and let her know he’d take care of it but a man had his pride. She’d prioritized another man over him. He wasn’t going to bend over backwards to coddle her and soothe her fears.

He wasn’t even sorry that she’d spent weeks in fear that she’d get arrested. It was his one consolation prize for essentially being told he wasn’t good enough for Elizabeth Marks.

“Papá?” he heard a small voice say. “Where are you going?”

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#AAAHHHHH #historical aus are my jam #brio #nbc good girls #beth boland #rio #historical au

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anxiety-is-the-wooooorst · 3 years

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