My Stepbrother Secret

eb Tig

the mask that had shielded me for so long. I had walked into a storm, and now it wa

alls between us had come down for a moment, only to be rebuilt with more bricks than before. He was pulling away again, but it wasn't t

there w

o ruled everything from the shadows, the ruthless figure who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, we

, it became clearer that I wasn't just helping him because I felt sorry for him or because I felt s

mors-those had always been a part of high school life. It was the fact that, with every step I took, it f

I didn't know how to reach him anymore. I'd tried, I really had. But he was stub

a few friends, trying to distract myself from the storm brewing in my life, when I felt the hai

rc

h unnerving precision, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. It wasn't just the intensity of his stare-it was the w

his presence alone had a hold on me, pulling me in against my will. I could feel the tensi

s long strides bringing him closer to my table. My heart raced in my chest as I stared down at my lun

oice cut through the low hum of the cafeteria, smoo

ething calculating, something that made my stomach churn. "I didn't expect to be no

closer, his gaze flickering to the empty

hind the crowd, his eyes hardening the moment they locked on Marco. The tension between the

ng at Marco with an intensity that was almost too much to bear. "Wha

never wavering. "I was just getting to know Lena," he said smoothly, his eyes glinting

ght step forward, ready to throw a punch. But he didn't. Ins

warned, his voice sharp. "T

ard me, his presence suffocating. "I don't think Le

otect me. I opened my mouth to say something, to tell Marco to get the hell away from me, but the words died in my thr

e. "You've got a lot to learn, Lena," he said softly, his v

efore I could, Marco turned, his presence still looming over me like a dark clo

ing that something had shifted. Something darker, more dangerous. And as much as I tr

was softer now, but there was

felt like a lie.

t. I wasn't

rning lingering in the air like a shado

king feeling th

ew about my life was unraveling, piece by piece, and the threads were too tangled to understand. My t

, calculating eyes out of my mind, or the way he seemed so sure of himself, so certain of his power. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that hi

ngs left unsaid between us, too many emotions tangled up in this mess. But even as I sat through the rest of my classes, trying to focu

lear my head, the quiet hum of the place offering a brief respite from the chaos swirling around me.

a

to him. As I approached, he glanced up, his eyes flashing with something unreadable before he stood to greet

softer than it had been a

n't know if there's much to say," I muttered, avoiding his gaze. "You've made it pretty clear

nt you dragged into this," he said, his voice hardening. "But Marco-he doesn't play by the same

rossfire? That sounds like a pretty p

n excuse," he said quietly. "It's the truth. I don't want you involved in this m

reatening to spill over. "I'm not some delicate flower that you need to protect," I sa

thing in his eyes-guilt, maybe, or regret. But it was gone in an ins

Marco is capable of," he said, his tone icy. "I'm

ng inside me. "I don't need you to protect me, Jace. I'm not some helple

eadable. Then, with a sigh, he looked away. "I didn't w

op treating me like I'm some fragile thing that needs to be protected. If you want

anted him to. I could feel the weight of his words hanging over me, the reality of the situation pressing in

Marco isn't someone you can just push away. He's a part of this world-this world that I'm tangled up in, whe

th frustration and confusion. "So,

de my stomach churn. "I don't want you to walk away. But I can'

how to respond, didn't know what to say to make him understand. He was trying to prote

ke my own decisions, Jace. I'm not going to sit here and wai

alked out of the café, the sound of his

n on my shoulders. The storm was coming, and I didn't know if I was ready for it. B

ut because I didn't know how to deal with the emotions swirling inside me. It wasn't just the threat of Marco that sc

. Every time I turned around, there was something else-another rumor, ano

n't back do

was determined to face it head-on. I didn't care if it meant walking i

ne running from the truth... And the truth was this: I