5. Stepbrother's Secret.

I sighed.

Whatever had joined us together was finally broken, shattered by the one person who was supposed to nurture it.

Whatever it was.

"How interesting," Mother said coldly, watching me. "I expected you to beg. Instead, you look relieved."

A cold, venomous laugh escaped me. Mother's eyes widened in shock.

I had caught her off guard.

"What do you have that's worth begging for?" I asked coolly.

My question doubled her shock. She took a small step back, as if she could feel the cold in my voice.

"I gave you an education, a home, a life!" she said sternly, barely holding her temper.

I smirked. "Actually, Anthony gave me an education and a home. You gave me life, and you were terrible at it. You're right, Catherine. Without Anthony Helios, you'd be nothing."

Her hand flew across my face before I could react.

My spineless mother slapped me hard. I rolled with it, the way Aaron had taught me, but it still stung.

I turned back to her, my eyes watering from pain. The funny thing was, I never stopped smirking.

I clapped slowly. Each clap echoed after the last.

"Mother of the year," I said when I was done. "At least when Bryce did it, it had some force behind it."

She froze at the name of my real father. Her anger turned to shame.

"It's funny," I said, unable to hold my tongue. "You have to get rid of your own child to be a better mother to the next one. Congratulations."

She dropped a white envelope on the bed and left without another word.

At the door she stopped and looked back. "You have eight hours to get your things and leave."

"I only need an hour," I said with a shrug. "Nothing in this room belongs to me, or to you."

"Don't be dramatic, Cassandra."

"I'm not. I'm being accurate." I looked around the pale, empty room. "There are no photographs. No posters. No stuffed animals. You never let me keep anything."

"Everything here was provided for you."

"By Anthony."

Her jaw tightened.

She smiled coldly and left me alone.

The door clicked shut. The silence afterward was so loud that my ears rang.

I crashed to the floor and cried my eyes out. I cried so hard I shook with pain and anxiety.

Then I got mad.

I wiped my eyes and nose, got up, and took a very hot shower.

I put on a short skirt and a fitted blouse. I walked out of my room barefoot. He liked it when my feet were bare.

Music drifted up from downstairs as I made my way toward Aaron's room.

The hallway was dim and silent, lined with portraits of Helios men who all had the same stern jaw. I walked past them without making a sound.

I hid behind a statue of a woman as I heard two voices. One was my mother's. The other was Electra's.

"He just dumped me on the spot!" Electra said in disbelief. "Because of her?"

She meant me.

"You worry too much," my mother assured her. "That girl is leaving this house permanently in under an hour. She won't be a problem, Electra. Relax."

That girl.

My own mother couldn't say my name.

"He should have at least let me in," Electra complained. "His door has a password. Who puts a password on their door?"

I smirked in the dark. I knew the password.

"You know how Aaron likes his privacy," my mother soothed her.

I wanted to be sick.

"Come, let's go downstairs. You need a drink," Mother said, and their footsteps faded.

I walked to Aaron's door and typed in the password. A soft click sounded, and I pushed the door open.

My heart raced. This was a terrible idea. I shut the door behind me, and the silence made my head swim.

The room was quiet except for soft music. I tiptoed through it, breathing in leather, air freshener and, surprisingly, books.

I hadn't taken Aaron for the reading type. He seemed more like the gym type.

I nearly gasped when I saw him. He was asleep on the couch, surrounded by bottles of expensive liquor.

Seven of them. All empty. I stared in disbelief at how much he'd drunk.

I moved closer. "Aaron?" I whispered.

He was out cold.

If Catherine wants a new life, I deserve one too.

He was stretched out on the couch in nothing but his underwear.

Why had he picked today to drink so much?

I let the anger and the heartbreak decide for me. I climbed onto his lap and settled over him, my breath unsteady.

He stirred in his sleep, a low sound rumbling in his chest.

"Electra," he murmured.

My whole body went cold. After everything today, his sleeping mind still reached for her. I almost climbed off him and walked out.

But I'd come too far. I was tired of being the one who always left.

Fine, I thought bitterly. I'll be your Electra.

I started to move, slow at first, then harder. How dare he say her name? Anger and longing tangled together until I couldn't tell which one was driving me.

His hands found my hips as if he knew exactly where they belonged. He pulled me closer, and I gave in.

The lamp, the music, the empty bottles faded. The room shrank to the heat between us, my breath against his throat, his fingers gripping tighter, and the rising tide that finally broke over me and left me shaking against his chest.

His eyes stayed closed.

I stayed there for a long time, listening to his heartbeat slow under my ear. His chest rose and fell. For a moment I let myself pretend this was real. That I belonged here. That he'd wake up and want me.

It was done. I had what I wanted.

I knew right there, with my heart pounding behind my ribs, that I would always strive to be a good mother, no matter the cost.

I eased off him, straightened his underwear, and tiptoed back toward the door.

I reached for the keypad.

"Cassandra?!" Aaron's deep voice called.