My Stepbrother's Deadly Game of Love

, Hunter. Our forbidden affair became a secret inferno, and I th

ous video arri

e lines, my words, my lessons, verbatim. "Does this need to be t

He left me to collapse in the street, sick and alone, and the car c

body was broken, my dreams turned to ash. I had lost everything

n fueling my art. Now, years later, as I stand on the world stage, he watc

pte

nca

low whispers against the roar of my grief. Before the ash had settled on his grave, my mother, Corrine, had already traded our

ith loss, and thrown

Every surface gleamed, reflecting my anger back at me. It felt like a

lf, obsessed with her new status. She barely saw me. Adolf

there w

dolfo' s son. My

nt, perfectly tailored shadow. His shirts were always crisp, his tie always knotted j

him in

erything I'd lost. My grief, my anger – they twisted inside me, seeking an outlet.

cessary. My eyes would meet his, holding his gaze until a flicker of something-discomfort? annoyance?

to ruffle his perfect feathers. To

floor near his expensive Italian loafers. I' d hum off-key in the living room w

though. They watched. Always watched. Like

I esc

ed." The deep red wine bloomed across the pristine white silk of his design

n at the stain, then at me. His eyes were unreadable, but a muscle twitc

d, my voice dripping with fal

ht, controlled moveme

ed shirts, but the memory of the wine was still fresh. I l

n, Hunter? S

e wall, trapping me. He s

the line of his tie, then sliding to the knot. "D

the knot. The silk slipped, freeing his neck. Hi

I taunted, my voice barely audible

flushed a deep, angry red. He reached out, grabbing my wr

his voice a low grow

ph. I had finally broken thr

fingers brushed his skin again, a fleeting, elec

stalked away, leaving me alone in the hall

ck his layers, one by one. I would expose the boy beneath the perfect fa

nse. The silent stares, the barely perceptible shivers when our skin touched. The tension between us was a living

and a sense of liberation, I found him on the penthouse balc

in, my body pressing against his back. "You

, letting it fall. My fingers trailed down

gone, replaced by a hunger I hadn't seen before. Or

nst the cold glass of the balcony. His mouth descended, hard and d

whispered against my lips

lled. I had aw

acies in the dead of night. It was fierce, possessive, and utterly intoxicating. He was no longer the boy I'd sought to shatter. He was the man who bound me, body and soul.

a life I had meticulously planned, separate from the gilded cage and the dangerous man who now commanded my heart. But the thought of leaving Hunter, of se

ile from an unknown number. My heart gave a stupid, hopeful flut

cked

nd Hunter. He was there, at his desk, but he wasn't alone. Ashley Wynn, a

od ran

, his fingers tracing the knot of her tie, just as mine had traced his all those years ago.

is voice patient, instructing her in the art of intimacy. My art. My lessons. He was repeating my

, twisted and grotesque. Our unique intimacy, the connection I thought was ours alone, was nothing

my throat. This wasn' t just a broken heart; it was a soul-deep laceration. The physical ache was so intense it felt like someone had scooped out my insides and left me hollow

, the video playing on an endless loop in my mind. The door was a blurred ta

idn't seem surprised to see me. Ashley, still there, c

flat, devoid of emotion. She scurried awa

hoving my phone, the video st

hen back at me. His express

hours before. My unique intimacy, the connection I thought was ours alone, was nothing more t

word tasting like as

playing on his lips. "You taught me well, did

ed. "Why? Why

with my father drove my mother to a mental breakdown. She's been institutionalized for years, Bianca.

. "My mother lost everything. Her sanity, her life. And your mother, C

My voice was barely a whisper, t

of emotion. "To make Corrine understand what it feels like to have her daughter's l

lie. My unique relationship, the bond I thought was unbreakable, was simply a tool i

liation was a physical weight, pressing down on me, crushing the air from my lungs. Every touch,

ed out, tears stinging my eyes. "

ing. "And you, Bianca, you were simply

arse. "I'll expose you. Everything. Your fam

brother? No one, Bianca. You'll ruin yourself. Besides," his eyes narrowed, "your little dance career? That

eat, delivered so calmly, pierced through my remai

door. "Now, if you'll excuse me

l was complete. The humiliation absolute. I had dared to love him, and he had used