My Stepbrother's Fated Nemesis

Jade's POV

It was just one kiss.

One drunken kiss that altered my ability to think and ruined what's left of my sour reputation. All in less than twenty four hours.

I kissed a stranger in a bar the previous night because my boyfriend dared me to. And just as my poor luck goes, I find pictures of that short but toe-curling kiss scattered all over a large screen on the 64th Morningstar charity gala cruise ship, the very next evening.

The cold air rushing in from the sea slaps a thousand goosebumps on my skin.

The music on the ship is no longer pulsing at a high vibration, and the wind carries malignant whispers to me.

“Did you do this on purpose to humiliate me? To rebel?” My father is standing before me with a scowl that communicates just how disappointed he is.

I've never been able to hold his gaze, so I stare down at my stilettos. “I-I’m sorry, it was just a stupid dare—”

“A dare to kiss your stepbrother and you jumped at it?!”

“Keep your voice down,” my step mother’s phony voice rises after my father’s.

I barely register it because I’m in shock. I'm stuck on the word, ‘stepbrother’.

It hits me like a terrific tornado in the next second. The stranger I kissed in the bar was my stepbrother. As in, Knight fucking Harland?

It's not surprising because ever since my father found love again, and married Avery Harland in less than a month of courting, I haven't exactly met the new stepbrother. Never even bothered to take a glance at his pic.

But I know his name because it's all his mother ever chirps, all day long.

Fuck me. I did not just kiss my stepbrother. I kissed a mummy’s boy. And I liked it.

“How disgraceful!”

Right. The only daughter and supposed heir of the Morningstar Group should not be caught hungrily kissing her stepbrother on camera.

Maybe this is why my father hates me. I'm a huge fucking canonball of a mess.

Something slams into my face so fast, I have to open my mouth in the next second to swallow a large gulp of air.

Gasps of shock fill the air.

My father has just poured his champagne in my face and smashed the glass at my feet.

His finger trembles as he points to my face. “You're a disgrace, Jade,” he spits quietly.

You'll think that after years of hearing these words, I'll learn how to take them. But they still send an arrow through my heart every single time, opening wounds afresh.

The whispers around us intensify. Avery has that horrified look on her face that makes her look like shrinked pumpkin. I know she's more worried about the Group stocks plummeting than she is about the image of the family, or the humiliation her step-daughter is currently being dished.

And my father? He snarls at my bodyguard to get me out of his sight. Jaxon Morningstar is such a ruthless man who does not care about the reputation of the Group when it comes to humiliating his daughter. Nothing stops him. He absolutely never takes my side.

My breath quickens harshly as my bodyguard comes up behind me and steers me away. “Time to leave, Ms. Morningstar.”

Tears sting my eyes. I'm blown to pieces.

And where the hell is Knight in all this ruckus?

He must have known that we’re stepsiblings. Or did he not? Could it be he was not curious about me as I was not about him?

I grab a bottle of champagne as we leave, hiding my face behind my unruly red hair.

A degree holder with zero ambition. The girl without the courage to stand up for herself. The dull heiress of The Morningstar Group who might just run the generational empire into the ground.

I feel terrible, and there's only one person in the world who can lighten my mood.

“Take me to my boyfriend's.”

√√√

“Ohhh! Fucking hell James! That feels so good…”

I freeze by the entrance of my boyfriend's studio.

Because the voice that screams in ecstasy belongs to Dexter, my boyfriend. And the name James belongs to his best friend.

“Fuckkk, your ass is so tight for me, baby,” James croons.

Someone groans and I just know it's Dexter. It's the same sound he makes while he pounds into my asshole.

A fresh round of goosebumps scatter across my skin as the pieces start to fall in place.

No, it can't be.

They are best friends. The typical male homies that crack silly jokes about different sizes of women’s asses.

But the wet, disgusting sounds coming from behind the door betray my blind faith.

Unable to stop myself, I push the door open and step inside. My knees go weak as I look upon the shocking sight on Dexter's bed.

James is pounding my boyfriend's asshole like it belonged to him. Grabbing my boyfriend's waist and grinding deep into his asshole.

Slap. Slap. Slap. The wet sounds creep into the darkest part of me and stay there.

They are so deep into the act that they don't see me standing there for a good minute.

Until my boyfriend's name slips from my lips in utter disbelief. “Dexter…”

They both whirl to face me, panting hard, sweating equally hard.

“Fuck, Jade,” is all Dexter says, still bent over. His eyes glisten with amusement and the heat of the abomination he was just committing with his best friend of all people.

I'm at a complete loss for words.

“Don’t look so hurt, Jade.” James flashes the innocent grin that's deceived me all this time. “It’s not about you.” He massages Dexter’s waist while holding my gaze. “We just enjoy fucking each other so much.”

Five years with Dexter. How did I not see this?

The tears I've been fighting all night rush to the surface. I bite hard on my lower lip to steel myself because I realize that Dexter is a stink not worth a drop of my tears.

“Why?”

Dexter laughs dryly. “It’s been five years, Jade, and I've tried. Honestly. But you're not human.”

I frown at his words. “What do you mean?”

James steps in and finishes the line. “He means you're a zombie.”

There’s an eerie smile on Dexter’s face as his best friend calls me a zombie. It steals into my chest and makes a tight fist.

Dexter goes ahead to rub more salt into the injury. “It's your fault. You're just too plain and dull. Our relationship lacked spice but I stayed with you because you're just so…”

Stupid, I finish in my head. The foolish rich brat who spends all her coins on you. The pathetic dullard who follows you around like a dog.

But what can I do? Dexter was the only one who ever paid my starved ass any real attention in this world.

“Look, why don't you leave and we can discuss this tomorrow?”

I shake my head and stumble forward. Desperate and shameless. “Dexter please… W-we can start all over.”

“Get out, Jade. I said we’ll talk tomorrow.”

My legs wobble as I turn around and step into the cold night. It’s not like I want to leave. I just don't want Dexter any more riled than he is.

My bodyguard is waiting by the steps. “Is everything okay?”

My voice is small and defeated as I get into the car. “Take me home, please.”

“Are you sure?”

I reach for the champagne bottle and drain it completely. “Yes.”