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the Devil moved in next door
تاريخ النشر:
2026-07-13 16:27:00
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The Wrong Bernardi mami counts
Dusk settled over my house in a shade of peach far too pretty for a day that had just tried to kill me with a seating chart.I came home from Casa Valdierra with my head full of the number seventy-eight, a champagne tower that was absolutely not happening, and the sound of Rhysand Bernadi’s voice.I sat in the car for two minutes before going inside, not to cry or think, obviously not. I was simply giving my lipstick time to reunite with my dignity.Then I went in.And found my son staging a civil protest on the couch.Aiden sat in the middle of the living room sofa in dinosaur pajamas, one little leg tucked under him while the other dangled dramatically toward the floor. His black bangs fell over his forehead. His cheeks were still chubby, but currently being deployed in an operatic pout. His lower lip stuck out slightly. His eyes were blue, huge, and full of accusation, like I had just sold all his toys to buy tax software.There was an iPad in his hands.Papa’s face filled almost t
The Wrong Bernardi air
xFor the first time since her face appeared on-screen, she looked like someone had just shut a door directly in front of the family pearls.“This is a dinner celebrating your engagement,” she said.“At my property,” Rhysand said. “With my security. With my investors. For a family you do not represent.”I held my breath.Mrs. Marie smiled again. Colder this time. “I understand.”No, she didn’t. She was mentally circling a target to hate later.“Good.” I jumped in before Gracie had to patch up a cold war with a model smile. “Then we’ll divide the guests into three categories. Marie family and business guests, Bernadi protocol guests, and neutral buffer guests. I’ll create a seating plan that makes everyone feel important without putting anyone close enough to remember failed mergers, cousin divorces, or Monaco rumors.”Rhysand looked at me.I pretended not to notice. “Guest count,” I continued, “is locked at seventy-eight for the seated dinner. Everyone else can rotate through the aper
The Wrong Bernardi the unpaid therapy package
For the first time since her face appeared on-screen, she looked like someone had just shut a door directly in front of the family pearls.“This is a dinner celebrating your engagement,” she said.“At my property,” Rhysand said. “With my security. With my investors. For a family you do not represent.”I held my breath.Mrs. Marie smiled again. Colder this time. “I understand.”No, she didn’t. She was mentally circling a target to hate later.“Good.” I jumped in before Gracie had to patch up a cold war with a model smile. “Then we’ll divide the guests into three categories. Marie family and business guests, Bernadi protocol guests, and neutral buffer guests. I’ll create a seating plan that makes everyone feel important without putting anyone close enough to remember failed mergers, cousin divorces, or Monaco rumors.”Rhysand looked at me.I pretended not to notice. “Guest count,” I continued, “is locked at seventy-eight for the seated dinner. Everyone else can rotate through the aperit
The Wrong Bernardi dinner, technically
Lorenzo came in two minutes later carrying a tablet. “Mrs. Marie is ready,” he said.Gracie immediately made a face that made me feel sorry for her for exactly half a second.Only half.I didn’t have enough compassion in stock for a family that had just raised my blood pressure with a formal Sunday dinner.“Okay,” she said, tucking her blonde hair behind one ear. “She said it’ll be quick.”I looked at her.Gracie looked back at me, then winced. “I know.”The tablet lit up.Mrs. Marie appeared on-screen with a perfect bob, a white blazer, pearls at her throat, and the smile of a woman who always sounded like she was inviting you to a charity luncheon while secretly carrying a tiny knife designed specifically for cutting into other people’s control.Behind her was a cream sitting room, white flowers, and an assistant who looked like she had recently finished crying in a professional capacity.“Gracie, darling.” Her eyes moved to me. “Maya. Rhysand.”Interesting order.Rhysand stood besi
The Wrong Bernardi i like that you never pretend
I wanted to throw the stylus.I restrained myself because my white blazer wasn’t made for petty violence. It was made for legal violence.When I opened the folder of linen samples, something small slipped out from between my notebook and cable pouch.It skidded across the floor with a soft click and stopped near Rhysand’s shoe.A tiny dark blue car.Rhysand looked down, then bent to pick it up.His large hand closed around the little thing with a carefulness that made something in my chest shift before I could tell it to behave.“This,” he said quietly, “is not part of the mood board.”I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”He didn’t.His eyes were still on the tiny car. His thumb brushed over the front wheel and spun it slightly. The wheel made a faint little sound.“Emergency backup?” he asked.“I live with a little boy. Every object in my house has a reasonable chance of ending up in my bag without permission.”“Does he always carry vehicles everywhere?”“Not always.”Rhysand raised
The Wrong Bernardi scope creep
I stopped long enough for my body to make a stupid decision before my brain smacked it with a clipboard.Rhysand turned. His eyes dropped briefly to the folder in my hand, then to my white blazer, before returning to my face. “Ms. de Cruz.”“Mr. Bernadi.” I walked farther into the room. “I see today’s site-meeting dress code is casual billionaire who pretends he doesn’t own three governments.”The corner of his mouth moved. “Only two.”“The third one still in negotiations?”“Pending approval.”I walked over to the large table already set up with the old floor plan, measuring tape, and several linen swatches. “Gracie’s late.”“Photoshoot. She sent three apologetic voice notes.”“Her mother sent three additional documents with no apology. Genetics aren’t always fair.”Rhysand picked up one of the documents from the table and handed it to me. Our fingers didn’t touch.Technically.Almost touching still counted according to my body, which had apparently taken a second job auditing minor s
The Wrong Bernardi Safe Choice
HawaiiI knew something was going to go wrong the moment Mama started crying when she saw me coming down the stairs.Mama cried like she had just watched her baby being delivered to a royal sacrificial altar, when in reality her baby was wearing a white silk dress with a low-cut back, my great-gran
The Wrong Bernardi Dawn Found Me Guilty
Morning arrived far too politely for something that should have come in carrying a fire extinguisher.I woke before the sun was fully up, with pale light slipping through the gap in Rhysand’s suite curtains and falling over my skin like an accusation.For a few seconds, I didn’t move.There were ge
The Wrong Bernardi Bad Boy Kiss Better
He picked up his whiskey and took a small sip. It’s too easy. Too controlled. I wanted to disturb him. I wanted to make him lose his flat fucking face. I wanted something tonight to be messy, unmanaged, not wrapped in family and money and shame.“I’m not a good man, Maya,” he said quietly.“I know.
The Wrong Bernardi Tequila and Bad Idea
Late night, I’m at a beachside club with a glass of tequila in front of my face and a bartender looking at me like I’m an expensive potted plant that had suddenly started smoking.His name was probably Kai. Or Koa. Or something very Hawaiian and very undeserving of being dragged into the Bernadi fa
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