Chapter 8

RAFAEL

“Congratulations!”

My family uttered simultaneously at the dinner table. Julian announced he’d successfully impregnated his young wife. It had been six months since their wedding.

His wife, Anya, was one of my best composers and songwriters, despite being new in the industry. The songs she wrote for pop star Ophelia Grant hit seven hundred thousand sales on the album and half a billion in audio streams. She now had offers to write songs for an upcoming animated fantasy film.

Their story was similar to those of romantic comedy movies. Julian was Anya’s music professor at Whitlock School of Music. I was skeptical about their relationship; I thought Julian was stupid to date his student. But it worked out for both of them. I admired these types of marriages, but it didn’t mean my views about settling down changed if I met someone like my brother’s wife. I didn’t think I could handle being a doting husband or a father. I just couldn’t see myself changing diapers and bathing babies.