Hating You is Exhausting
Liam, my stepbrother, has been a pain in the rear for three years.
We fight every time we talk. Every time we see each other, we remember that moment, which we never talk about.
The one in the yard behind where our parents had their wedding dinner.
The event that almost made everything bad.
Our parents are now going for a trip to celebrate their first anniversary, leaving us all alone in the house.
Simple plan: we'll stay on different sides, ignore each other, and act like we're working.
But then there's a fire on my side of the house, and all of a sudden I have to share a floor, a hallway, and a wall that is too thin to be safe with him.
The worst times are at night.
I hear him.
I can feel him.
And every disagreement ends too close.
Every stare stays too long.
Every breath turns into heat I can’t escape.
We’re supposed to protect our parents’ happiness.
We’re supposed to act like good brothers.
But how do you pretend you hate someone when all you want is to drag him into your bed?
Then the holidays arrive with our whole extended family.
We’re forced to play perfect boys while nearly pulling each other apart behind locked doors.
And just when I think things can’t get worse, Liam’s cheating ex shows up begging to take him back.
The jealousy nearly wrecks me… and reveals everything.
But the real disaster hits one night with a broken condom and a hurried hospital visit.
Two scary weeks that make us imagine a life we’re not supposed to want.
A future that feels too good to lose.
The test is negative.
But the damage is done.
We want each other.
Baca
Chapter: Chapter 20: Holiday HellThe house is filled with noise and lies.Voices overlap. Laughter is too loud. Doors slam. Forks clink.I slide into the chair across from Liam, trying to keep my hands still.Keep my face calm.Act like nothing matters.Like we’re just brothers.I hate it already.Liam’s hand brushes mine under the table.He doesn’t look at me, but the touch is deliberate. Slow. Quiet.I swallow. My heart picks up.Stop it.Stop noticing.Stop noticing him.Aunt Marcy leans over. “Nico, you’ve grown taller! Liam, still broody?”I smile tightly. Liam grunts.“Don’t start,” he mutters under his breath.I hear it. And it makes my chest hurt.Dinner starts. Forks scrape. Plates pass. The conversation is forced, fake, full of smiles that don’t reach your eyes.Peter sits across from us. His grin was too sharp. He watches us like a hawk.I glance at Liam. He notices me noticing.Our eyes meet. Quick flash. Then he looks away.“Remember last Christmas?” Peter asks casually. “When Nico tried to cook?”I am t
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-11
Chapter: Chapter 19: Harper Falls ApartHarper bursts into my room crying.”The door slams against the wall.Her breath breaks. Fast. Hard. Wrong.For one second, I think someone died.“Harper?” I stand so fast the chair scrapes the floor. “What happened?”She doesn’t answer.She just runs straight into me and grabs my shirt with both hands.Her fingers are cold.She is shaking.Not the small kind of shaking.The kind that comes from fear.Real fear.“I can’tI can’t” she gasps.“Hey. Slow down.” I hold her shoulders. “Breathe. Look at me. Talk to me.”Her eyes are red. Wet. Swollen.She looks younger like this.Small.Like the strong, sharp Harper I know has disappeared.“He called her,” she whispers.“Who called who?”“My mother.”My stomach tightens.Marcos.I already know.“What did he do this time?”Her mouth trembles. “He told her everything.”“Everything what?”“He told her about Liam. About you. About the hospital. About the nights I don’t go home. He twisted it. Made it sound dirty.”My hands curl into fists.“That
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-10
Chapter: Chapter 18: Not Pregnant But..........The test is negative.”The doctor says it like it’s normal.Like it’s small.Like those three words don’t just flip my whole world upside down.Negative.Not pregnant.Safe.Free.I should feel light.I should laugh.I should cry with relief.But I don’t.My chest feels strange.Empty.Too empty.Like something I didn’t know I was holding just disappeared.Beside me, Liam exhales hard.A long breath.The kind you hold for days.His shoulders drop.His head tilts back.Eyes closed.“Thank God,” he mutters.I nod.“Yeah… Thank God.”But my voice sounds wrong.Flat.Not happy.Not relieved.Just… quiet.The doctor keeps talking.Something about stress.Something about late cycles.Something about being careful.I don’t really hear it.Because I’m staring at Liam.He looks relieved.But there’s something else.Something small.Something like disappointment.That scares me.Because I think I feel it too.When we step out into the hallway, neither of us speaks.Our footsteps sound too loud.
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-09
Chapter: Chapter 17: Two WeeksPOV: NicoOpening Hook:The fear hits fast.The fear hits fast.Not slow.Not gentle.It slams into my chest the second I open my eyes.Two weeks.Two weeks since that night.Two weeks since the broken condom.Two weeks of pretending nothing happened.Two weeks of counting days like a criminal waiting for a verdict.I sit up.My hands shake.Not a little.Bad.Like my body already knows something my mind doesn’t want to admit.There’s a soft knock on my door.Then his voice.Low. Careful.“Are you awake?”My throat tightens.“Yeah.”The door opens before I finish the word.He steps in quietly like he’s afraid to disturb something fragile.Maybe me.Maybe us.He looks tired.Dark circles.Messy hair.Same shirt from yesterday.He hasn’t been sleeping either.Good.Not good.But I’m not alone.“You didn’t answer my texts,” he says.“I didn’t want to look at my phone.”“Why?”“Because every time it lights up, I think it’s bad news.”He nods slowly.Like he understands too well.Because h
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-08
Chapter: Chapter 16 : Giving InWe don’t pull away.The knock is still echoing in my head.Peter’s voice is still crawling under my skin.But Liam’s hand is still gripping my shirt.And my mouth is still inches from his.Breath mixing.Heat rising.Fear everywhere.And stillNeither of us moves.“Say something,” I whisper.My voice shakes.Not from the cold.From him.From us.From what we almost did.From what we still want to do.His forehead rests against mine.His breathing is rough.“I should open the door,” he says.“You’re not moving.”“I know.”The silence stretches.Thick.Dangerous.He laughs softly, but it sounds broken.“This is bad,” he mutters.“Yeah.”“We shouldn’t.”“Yeah.”“But I can’t stop.”My chest tightens.“Then don’t,” I say.His eyes lift to mine.Slow.Careful.Like he’s asking permission without words.Like he’s scared I might run.Like he’s scared he might.“You’re going to ruin me,” he whispers.I swallow.“You already ruined me.”Something changes in his face.Control snaps.Just snaps.
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-06
Chapter: Chapter 15: Jealousy Isn't CuteHe drags me into his room.His hand is tight around my wrist.Not gentle.Not careful.Like he’s afraid I might run.Like he’s afraid he might.The door shuts hard behind us.The sound makes my chest jump.For a second, neither of us talks.We just breathe.Fast.Heavy.Angry.“Say something,” I snapped.He turns.His eyes are dark.Storm-dark.“You first,” he says.“Why did you pull me in here?”“So we can talk without everyone watching.”“I’m not scared of them watching.”“I am.”His answer is too quick.Too honest.It hits me harder than shouting.I fold my arms.Trying to look calm.Trying not to shake.“Fine. Talk.”He runs a hand through his hair.Frustrated.Tired.“I didn’t want you finding out like that.”“Finding out what?” I laugh. “That you have a girl promised to you? That your family already planned your future? That I’m just some extra?”“You’re not an extra.”“Then what am I?”He doesn’t answer.That silence hurts more than anything.I look away.Because if I look at h
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-06
Masuk
