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Chapter three

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Bruno and Kat agreed on spending their evening in the forest clearing they had unofficially marked as their spot. Around this time of year, the mushrooms were replaced with beautiful blue periwinkle flowers. Bruno liked this time of year, especially because the different tints and hues of the baby blue flowers made Katerina's eyes stand out.

On their way out of the town, a group of young children tittered while running up to them. One small girl tugged on Kat's borrowed poncho, seizing her attention.

"Is it true you're a scary witch who lives in the woods?" asked the girl, who couldn't be more than six. Bruno and Kat shared a glance for a beat. She smirked mischievously as she dropped down to the child's height.

"Do I seem scary to you?" The girl and a few of the kids behind her shook their heads. "Good," her smile grew, "Now, as for living in the woods…"

"Do you see that big house at the top of the hill?" Bruno interrupted. The children squinted to see Casita off in the distance.

"The magic house?" one kid squeaked. Kat raised a brow in her curly-haired friend's direction, silently asking him where he was going with this.

"Yeah, she lives up there in the magic house," he chuckled nervously, not used to the attention he had unconsciously directed onto himself. Kat's jaw dropped a little before she grinned ecstatically. She seemed to like his answer.

"Are you a Madrigal?" another child piped up.

"No, but I am a family friend," the noirette giggled. The kids all drew out their "ooh's" of realization.

"But are you an evil witch?" the girl in front asked again. Katerina's eyes quickly darted over Bruno as if she had something planned in that wicked mind of hers. She did.

"Could an evil witch do this?" she turned towards him and began to tickle, poke, and (lightly) pinch him mercilessly. She always did this in order to cheer him up or lighten the mood. He would have protested but he couldn't do anything but snort loudly. The children joined him in his obnoxious laughter, earning a few puzzled stares from passersby.

"K - Kat...stop!" he wheezed and toppled onto his back, making Katerina cry tears of joy.

"See, I'm not a bad witch," she whipped them away and slowly calmed down, "I'm a good witch, I promise."

"Come on, let's go tell the others!" the leader girl pointed to where they had come from. All the children rushed off to spread the word of the "Nice Witch Katerina", leaving the two young adults to their own devices.

"You're good with kids," Bruno noted, pushing himself up and onto his feet. Kat's smile was warm and happy but there was a hidden sense of sorrow underneath.

"When you're raised by the nicest women in the world, you pick up a few tricks. Kids love laughter," she explained, continuing their trek into the woods.

"Do you want kids? In the future, I mean," Bruno's cheeks reddened slightly. Kat thought for a minute, scrunching up her facial features.

"Yeah, probably. A bunch of mini-me's would be cool and I'd like to think whoever I end up with would be a good dad. Or mom. I'm not picky," she shrugged, unconsciously slipping her hand into Bruno's and pulling him towards the forest lining. Her words danced through his mind for the next hour or so.

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Katerina was not sure what to do with herself. She stood in front of Pepa, Fèlix and Bruno who was awkwardly fiddling with his hands.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she sat down at the dinner table. Bruno danced around yes for a minute.

"We have good news," Fèlix interrupted his stuttering friend. Kat perked up as he took one of Pepa's hands, a halo of sunshine radiating from behind her.

"We're getting married!" she squealed. Kat was a little slow to react, but her hands flew up to cover her agape mouth once she caught on.

"Pepa, Fèlix, that's amazing!" she wrapped her arms around both of her friends, laughing the whole time. When they parted, Pepa held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It would make me so happy if you would be my Maid of Honour," she beamed hopefully. Kat dropped her jaw and looked between her and Fèlix, who nodded encouragingly. Her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to figure out what to say.

For a second, her eyes flickered towards Bruno. His big puppy-dog eyes and bashful smile caused a strange flutter in her chest. She returned it and then locked eyes with his sister.

"I'd be thrilled," she grinned, pulling Pepa back into another tight hug. The three shared some information about the wedding before Pepa and Fèlix had to run off to prepare. When they were gone, Bruno and Katerina were left alone.

"They're — uh — planning things fairly quickly," he stated with an awkward chortle. Kat smiled and shook her head at that, knowing that it probably ate Fèlix up that he didn't get to ask.

"Well, a wedding is a wedding," she shrugged, standing up from the dining room table. Before she could leave, Bruno grabbed ahold of her arm and tried to pull her back, only for her to sharply inhale from surprise. She whipped around to face him with a dangerous look in her diamond-like eyes.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," Bruno whimpered, dropping her arm and taking a few steps back. Noticing she had scared him, Kat ran a hand through her dark tresses and sighed.

"Oye, come here," she stretched her arms out towards the man and beckoned him closer. Carefully, he melted into her embrace. The brunette could hear his quickly beating heart through his chest.

"I know you probably have duties as the Maid of Honour, but would you want to—"

"I'd love to go to the wedding with you," she answered with a bright smile. Her heart felt like it melted when she saw the worry and fear in his eyes get replaced by happiness and hope. She giggled when he buried his face in her hair. Even when he was hunched over, he was a few inches taller than her, making it easy for him to do so. She smelled like pine...

When they released from the hug, Bruno scratched his cheek sheepishly and spoke, "Yeah, um, thanks, Kat."

When the day of the wedding came, Bruno couldn't stop his palms from sweating. He unintentionally ruined the service by freaking Pepa out, but everything else seemed okay. After the hurricane passed, people swarmed to Casita for the afterparty.

Bruno found himself feeling a tinge of jealousy towards Augustin, Fèlix's best man. He got to dance with Katerina, who was the very definition of a social butterfly. Sure, he hated the fact that so many people were there watching but he wished he had the courage to swoop in and steal her away. Luckily, she broke apart from her dancing partner soon after.

"Having fun?" Bruno asked her when she wandered towards the bar.

"I have never been to a party before and I love it!" she giggled, breath hinting at her having too much to drink. She wrapped an arm around her best friend's neck and leaned onto him a bit.

"That's great! I'm - I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Why wouldn't you? It's a wedding!" he throws his arms into the air extravagantly, earning a drunk laugh and hiccup from Kat. With a smile that hid her mischevious plan, she stood up on her tippy toes.

"I know you've been watching me, Brunito."

Bruno's cheeks heated up at the fact her lips were so close to his ear that he could feel her breath tickle his neck. Goosebumps formed along his arm as he coughed awkwardly and took the bottle from her hands.

"I think you've had enough," he remarks. Kat frowns like a child before grabbing his hands and attempting to pull him into the crowd of dancing people. He eyes Fèlix having the time of his life twirling Pepa around and stops.

"C'mon! She's not that upset! Now's your chance to have fun, Mister Gloomy," Kat nudges Bruno forward.

"Correction, she's not mad now. The moment I go out there, she'll flip," he pales at the thought. They had seen plenty of the redhead's breakouts and they were not pretty.

"Well, you were the one who made the horrible joke knowing how sensitive she is," Katerina shrugs, reclaiming her bottle and chugging it. She stops when she notices the guilty look on her friend's face. "At least they'll have an interesting story to tell to their kids," she hummed in a last-ditch effort at trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Bruno sighs. Kat stared at him for a minute before giving him a pat on the back.

"I'm gonna go dance a little more. You just try and loosen up a bit, okay?" She raised a brow and waited patiently at his side until he answered. When he nodded, she planted a chaste peck on his cheek and walked away. He chalked it up to her being drunk.

The rest of the night was just boring for poor Bruno. He watched Kat chat with various townspeople and be ogled at by various men when she danced. He fought the urge to pull her away from them and hide her in his tower. She was his, did they not know that?

A few hours into the night, the crowd started to slowly thin out more and more. It was only when Bruno realized he couldn't see Kat anymore that he left the corner he had been standing in all night.

"Have you seen Kat?" he asked Pepa, who only shook her head.

Julieta knit her brows together in thought, "I saw her head to the kitchen with Santiago, the burro guy. They seemed to be getting along well — "

"Thanks," Bruno snapped. His sisters shared a look when he narrowed his emerald eyes. The usually timid and meek orbs gained an angry glint as he whipped around and stormed towards the kitchen.

"Someone's going to get hurt," Pepa sighed. Julieta shook her head disappointedly, knowing her sister was right.

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Katerina had met Santiago while dancing and thought he seemed interesting. She got to know the good-looking man through the night, learning that he worked to train the donkeys and dabbled in carpentry. Also, a very good kisser as she was finding out now in the kitchen of the Madrigal house.

The man was much taller than her, which she didn't complain about as he bent down to meet her lips again. She let lead as she had no clue what she was doing and planned on winging it all night. Her breath hitched when he began to kiss down her neck.

Just as her dress strap naturally slid down her shoulder and Santiago's hands found a comfortable spot on her waist, the kitchen doors slammed open.

"Katerina."

"Bruno?" Kat mumbled through heavy breaths, still trying to regain oxygen.

"Out," Bruno snapped, glaring daggers at Santiago. The much larger man didn't move, face still hovering over Kat's neck. Bruno's eyes flashed that familiar neon green colour. "Out," he repeated with an ominous aura.

Kat's forehead wrinkled as she stared at her friend in agitation. Sensing the thick tension that polluted the air, Santiago slipped out the door and closed it behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kat hissed in a hushed voice, pulling her dress strap back into place and whipping the shimmering saliva off her neck with a napkin.

"No, what's wrong with you?" Bruno growled, placing both his hands on the wall behind her so she couldn't leave. She wasn't charming her way out of this one.

"I'm trying to enjoy my night," the raven-haired woman frowned and crossed her arms over her partially exposed chest.

"By what? Letting him crawl all over you and shove his tongue down your throat?" he chastised.

"You sound just like Martín," she rolled her eyes, only infuriating her friend further. He scoffed then leaned down closer to her as the smell of booze filled his nostrils.

"You're drunk and you don't know what you're doing. I'm not going to let someone take advantage of you," the fortune-teller explained slowly as if she were a child.

"I don't need you to protect me like I'm some child; I'm an adult for fuck's sake!" Katerina exploded. The spitfire pushed Bruno back with her thin arms that held more power than he thought. He knew she was determined, but right now, she was really pissing him off.

"I just don't think you should give yourself out to anyone," he bit out through grinding teeth. Katerina let out a sharp laugh of disbelief.

She facepalmed while giggling madly, "Now you want to be in charge of who I do or do not make out with? Bruno, this is ridiculous!"

"Is it so hard to believe that I just want what's best for you?!" He grabbed her wrist to keep her from exaggerating with her flailing arms. She froze, eyes widening as she was snapped out of her hysterical fit.

"You're acting like some jealous boyfriend! What do you want me to do, give myself to you?!" she quipped, an angry fire burning inside her.

She didn't care if people heard, she didn't care if he left bruises on her from being held so tightly, she didn't care about anything. Something inside her had snapped and she was tired of being told what to do.

"YES!"

The room fell eerily silent. Bruno bowed his head in defeat, the weight of years worth of secrecy finally lifted from his shoulder.

"Yes, for the love of God, yes," he sighed with his head resting on the spot Santiago had previously left kisses. He could hear her heart skip a beat before speeding up. He brought her hands to his chest so she could feel his heart do the same.

Kat's anger simmered down, slowly being replaced by confusion. She didn't move for what felt like hours.

"Kat, I've always wanted it to be me. I've watched you play your games with others, I've watched you flirt, I've watched you cry when things don't go your way…" He closed his eyes and focused on her pulse.

"You..." Kat swallowed dryly, allowing herself a moment to recollect her thoughts, "You never said anything."

"You know how I am. I'm afraid of just about everything," Bruno chuckled sheepishly, finally lifting his head up to face her. He shrugged one shoulder, "Plus, you always looked so happy. Who am I to ruin that?"

Katerina was shaking now. Her hands clenched fistfuls of his shirt as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Her breathing was heavy and fast, almost as if she were hyperventilating, and her eyes darted around. She wouldn't find any answers to the dozens of questions running through her mind.

"Katerina, I'm in love with you. I've always been in love with you," he used a hand to tilt her face up so she'd look at him, "You just never seemed to love me back." She pulled back, uncertainty now turned to hurt.

"No...you don't get to do that," she mumbled, yanking her hands away from his chest. "You don't get to just waltz in here and dump all of this on me!"

"But I am, Kat. Right here, right now. I'm in—" "No! Nope! Lalalala, I can't hear you!" Katerina covered her ears with her hands and hummed so she couldn't listen. Bruno sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"You're acting like a child!" He shook her shoulders until she glared daggers into his jade eyes.

"I'm not dealing with this right now!" Nudging him out of her way, the brunette stormed through the kitchen doors. By now, all of the guests had gone, leaving just the Madrigal family and Lupita cleaning up.

"Mija?" Kat's mother asked, concerned and somewhat stunned.

"Where are you going?" Bruno called while speedily walking after her. He tried to grab ahold of her shoulder but she brushed him off.

"I don't know! Maybe to get wasted, to go cry in the woods, to let Santiago rearrange my organs, WHO KNOWS?!" she threw her hands in the air exuberantly. Bruno's steps faltered, giving her time to stomp out of the large, magical home. There was a long awkward pause as the whole house seemed to go quiet.

"Uh, dude…?" Fèlix approached, followed by Alma and her daughters.

"You told her, didn't you?" Julieta asked sympathetically.

"And what was that about organs?" Pepa followed up.

"I...may have messed up," Bruno scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, face matching that of a lost puppy. When his head fell into his hands, his sisters came up to console him.

"Give her time, hermano. She'll come around," Julieta rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Yeah, women use men to make other men jealous all the time," Pepa waved her hand flippantly, ignoring the weird look her sister gave her.

"Seriously?" Bruno and Fèlix asked in unison. When Pepa's rain cloud formed above her, Lupita stepped in.

"Katerina's emotions have always clouded her judgement. She won't be gone long, cariño," she whipped away the single tear that had dared to fall from his evergreen eyes. He smiled sheepishly but trusted her instincts.

Despite all the words of encouragement, he could only worry as he stayed up thinking in his room all night. Perhaps he'd never see Katerina again. That wasn't what he wanted, but he'd do it. He'd do anything for her. They'd been best friends for years and he didn't want to lose her. As a light knock sounded from the door, his eyes glanced over the lantern she was painting when they met all those years ago. She left it on the fountain and he brought it home, hoping to return it when he found her.

It hurt the beating organ in his chest to think about how they'd wasted nearly a decade, promising to always stay together. Bruno blamed himself for breaking that promise. Nonetheless, he'd stay as far away from her as possible if it meant proving how much he loved her. It did, however, sadden his heart at the thought of never hearing her voice again.

"Bruno, if you don't open this damn door, I swear I'll walk away again."

Damnit brain, stop it. No way in hell would she just walk back up to him after the shit he said to her. He sarcastically thanked his subconscious for the failed hallucination.

"Mierda, Bruno! Open the goddamn door!"

"Screw it," Bruno mumbled to himself as he sprung up from his bed and booked it to the door. He flung it open and saw Katerina standing there, eyes puffy from all her crying, makeup a mess, and face flushed heavily. Bruno sat there with his mouth open like a fish out of water. He had no idea what to say so he spoke the first words that came to mind.

"Hi, how are — " he was fortunately cut off by Kat grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him down to her height. The startled man quickly shut his mouth when he saw the intense and heated look in her eyes. Although, she didn't seem to be angry...

"No, I get the first and the last word, do you understand?" Her breath tickled his skin but he kept a straight face and nodded. "Now," she roughly tugged him a little closer, their noses touching, "I thought long and hard about this and have come to a rational conclusion."

Without another word, her lips crashed into his. It was like a fire was lit under them, causing Bruno's whole body to heat up.

She...was not what he expected.

Her lips were soft (despite the fact she always gnawed on them when stressed) and her skin was cold from spending hours out in the night. She clutched his shirt with trembling hands until he practically dissolved into her. When his clammy hands came up and hesitantly held her waist, hers snaked around his neck. The two of them embraced the moment until they were out of breath.

"No more secrets?" Kat's tone was more demanding than suggesting. Bruno nodded instantly. "Good," she huffed, snatching up his shirt collar again. She closed the door behind her and dragged him back into his bedroom with a newfound…confidence.