A Bully For A StepBrother.

(KAIRA'S POV)

"Mr. Horton, your project partner is… Miss Jin." Our English teacher, Mrs. Reed, announced.

My stomach sank, and a heavy weight transferred to my chest.

Of all the people in PineCrest High, it had to be Slade Horton.

Football captain.

Sole hair of Horton Empire.

Most popular and feared teenager in PineCrest.

And the boy who hadn’t spoken directly to me without making me cry.

"Is that alright with you?" Mrs. Reed was directing the question to both of us.

I tapped my pen repeatedly against the edge of the table.

It's okay, Kaira. The worst he can do is say no.

"I don't want a charity case as a partner." His voice—cold, smooth, and rarely heard—sliced the silence.

My blood ran cold as the classroom burst into loud laughter. My grip tightened around my pen and my heart pounded loudly in my ears. My eyes burned as I stared at the whiteboard.

"No one wants a freeloader as a partner!!" I heard someone call out loudly.

"That's enough, everyone. Enough!" Mrs. Reed snapped. The laughter reduced to sniggers and whispers. "Miss Randall, can you take Miss Jin as your partner?"

“I-I can work alone, Mrs Reed.” I hated how weak my voice sounded but I wanted to work alone. I had a brain of two anyway.

“You need a partner.” Mrs Reed insisted with a smile.

My stomach clenched. Another humiliating moment of watching a teacher bargain and plead with the other kids in class to make me their partner.

They see me like I’m beneath them because My mum’s boss pays my fees. Without Mr. Horton of Horton Empire I wouldn’t dream of going to a school like this. (Yes, Horton Empire as in Slade Horton.)

"Miss Jin." Mrs. Reed turned to me with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Can you please come sit beside Miss Randall?"

I nodded, quickly grabbed my things, and hurried to my new seat to stop being the center of attention.

One second—I was on my feet. The next, I found myself flying to the ground. I landed with a thud.

There was a moment of silence.

And then—

"Slade Horton had his foot out for the geek," someone announced in a sing-song voice. The class erupted into roaring laughter.

I promptly tried to pick up my things and stand up, but I guess it was my lucky day because somehow I found myself on the ground again, this time with my back to the class. The laughter grew louder.

The cold floor bit through my skirt. My palms stung from catching myself. But none of that mattered. Because my skirt was up.

"Ewww! Such ugly inners!! Is that a pad?!!" I heard a girl call out.

My heart raced harder and my vision became blurry.

"Everyone, stop it this instant," Mrs. Reed commanded. I heard her hurried footsteps before I saw her chic ankle boots in front of me.

She reached out and smoothed my skirt, then helped pull me up to my feet. I turned to face the class, and my gaze met Slade's. For the first time.

His sharp green eyes stared at me through the strands of his dark hair that fell across his forehead. He focused on me and then—his lips curved into a smile.

The deafening laughter grew louder in my ears. An overwhelming wave of nausea hit me, and I fled out of the room.

I didn't stop until I was in the bathroom with the door locked behind me. I hugged myself and squeezed my eyes tight to stop the tears. It didn't matter how many times I got bullied or humiliated—I never got used to it.

Especially when it was Slade Horton.

Despite being the most popular and the most feared kid, he hardly ever reacted to things around him. He moved like a piece of dark marble—expensive, flawless, and completely cold to the touch.

But when it comes to me, he's the worst. The most cruel.

Slade Horton hasn’t always been my bully. Once upon a time, he was the boy of my dreams and he had no idea I existed. Until I ruined everything.

Anyway, I have grown a tough skin, and it's for that reason that I stopped crying .I remained in the bathroom until the end of the day. One of many days.

It’s okay. I don't need the classes anyway.

I waited an hour after the end of the day bell rang, when the large school grounds would be empty, and then I started the fifteen-minute walk to my home.

I was only three years when Mum and I relocated from Tokyo to the United States after the death of my father, thirteen years ago. Mum got a job as a nanny for the Horton household.

She got promoted to the housekeeper position aid months ago, which is why we now live in the senior staff quarters of the Horton household. But it also meant that Mum had to work twice as hard.

She is the reason why I don’t give up. The reason why I focus on my school and dream to become the best selling author one day.

We spend less time together these days. Her work demands her more. That's why I was shocked to see her at home, humming while folding a pile of clothes.

"Mum?" I ran into her open arms laughing. She hugged me tightly and kissed my cheeks, the way she always does.

"Hey baby."

Her voice sounded weird.

I pulled back and searched her face.

"What's wrong?" I demanded.

Not only was she home four hours earlier, she looked flustered.

"Nothing is wrong," she said with a nervous laugh.

I reached out to her with shaky hands. "Please tell me what's wrong?" I whispered. "Did something bad happen?"

Mum shook her head at me immediately and pulled me in for a brief hug.

"Nothing bad happened, my love. Just… please come sit."

The air got tense. She led me to the only sofa we had in our small-spaced living room, where we sat side by side.

"You're fiddling with your hair," I pointed out. "That's our thing when we're really nervous."

Mum paused, glanced at her hands which were in fact grabbing locs of her hair. Not only did we have similar habits, we share the same traits as well. We both have long strawberry blonde hair—mine longer—we have large, round blue eyes, and a deep dimple on one of our cheeks.

The only clear difference is height. Mum is 5'6" and I'm 5'3".

I know, but we shall not be discussing my height now.

"No one knows me better than you do, Kaira," Mum laughed, brushing my hair gently.

"No one," I promised her with a slight tap on her nose. "Now please tell me what's going on so we can figure it out together."

Her smile faltered, and she twisted the ends of her hair with one finger.

"Is it that bad?" My eyebrows raised.

She sighed. Then her tear-filled eyes met mine, and my limbs felt heavy.

"It's bad and it's good… I just don't know how to break it to you because I feel I have betrayed you." Her voice was shaking now.

I moved closer to her. "You can never betray me," I assured her. "Just tell me, okay? Please."

She sighed and cleaned her face. That was when I saw it. A huge diamond rock on her finger.

I shut my eyes briefly and reopened them. The rock was still there. Staring at me like reality.

"Is that? Is that an engagement ring?" I pushed the words out.

Mum followed my gaze and then nodded at me. My jaw dropped to the ground.

"Is—is this a joke?" I laughed, but with her face, I knew it wasn't. She shook her head slowly at me.

"You're getting married?!" I stood up.

"Yes," she whispered, standing up too.

"B-but you don't even have a boyfriend."

She never dated. She has always been too busy to date.

"I know. This was… it was unexpected. I've been seeing someone for the past five months and I kept saying I would tell you, but I felt so ashamed. And now I've made everything worse." The tears streamed down her face.

I wanted to hug her. To tell her not to be ashamed because she deserves to be happy.

But deep down, I felt unhappy.

"You had a boyfriend for five months and you didn't tell me?" My voice gave all the pain away.

"I'm sorry." Mum sobbed lightly.

"Who's he? Do I know him?" I swallowed a lump before asking.

She nodded. “You know him.”

My stomach dropped.

“Very well.”

My hands turned cold. “Is it Roger?"

Roger is the head chef who always professes his undying love for my mum.

"No. It's not," she said, and a wave of relief hit me. Yeah, Roger as a stepdad would be weird.

"It's Tom," she announced, her fingers entangled with one another.

I stared back blankly.

No. It simply can't be.

"Tom?" I repeated.

Mum nodded. "Tom Horton. My boss. He proposed to me. He wants to marry me.”

My heart slammed rapidly in my chest, and my vision swayed.

Mum's getting married to Tom Horton.

Tom Horton as in her boss.

As in father of Slade Horton.

Which meant that—

My bully.

My nightmare.

Was about to become my stepbrother.