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Chapter 9

Author: Abby
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-11-06 19:47:47

Roman’s POV

The house was too quiet.

I’d spent the last hour flipping through the same playlist, trying to drown out the silence. But music didn’t do shit when your thoughts were screaming louder. The sofa was still warm from where I’d been sitting for too long, doing nothing but clenching my jaw and trying not to think about her.

So when Maddie texted me—“u home? i’m bored and hot ;)”—I didn’t even hesitate before I replied.

Yeah, come over.

That was all she needed.

Ten minutes later, she was at the door, perfume hitting me before she even stepped in. Vanilla. Cheap. Sticky sweet, like every time she came over already meant nothing. Her smile was stretched too wide, her blonde hair in those perfect waves she spent hours on, like she expected me to care.

“You gonna let me stand out here or what?” she teased, already walking in like she owned the place.

I shut the door behind her.

She didn’t wait. Dropped her bag by the stairs and turned around to press herself against me, her lips bru
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  • STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER    Chapter 93

    Roman's POV.The apartment smelled like her again. Vanilla and something softer, something that clung to her skin and the cushions she curled herself into. I dropped my keys on the counter, loosening my tie, and for the first time all day, I let myself breathe.A month. That’s how long it had been since I last stood toe-to-toe with my father. Since the venom between us nearly burned through the air. Since I swore to myself I wouldn’t let him pull me back into his shadows again. One month, and I hadn’t regretted a single thing I’d done. Not walking away from his empire. Not cutting through his threats. Not even spitting his own sins back in his face.Because at the end of it, I had her.Ariana was sitting on the couch when I walked in, her legs curled under her, a loose shirt hanging from her shoulders. She was awake this time, eyes following the door the second I opened it. And God, she smiled. That stupid, disarming smile that tore right through every wall I had left.“You’re late,”

  • STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER    Chapter 92

    The apartment was quiet when I walked in. Not the heavy kind of quiet that drips with tension… but the kind that sinks into your bones, warm and almost tender.The lights in the living room were dim, a soft golden glow spilling from the lamp by the couch. And there she was.Ariana.She’d curled up sideways, her knees tucked in, one arm draped lazily over a throw pillow. Her hair was a little messy, strands fanned over her cheek, and her breathing was slow, deep, steady. She didn’t even stir when I closed the door.For a moment, I just stood there.God, after everything today—the argument with Mark, the venom, the threats—I thought I’d be too wound up to feel anything but rage. But looking at her now… that all slipped away.It’s strange, isn’t it? How one person can be your calm and your chaos at the same time.I walked closer, my steps slow, quiet. She had no idea how beautiful she looked like this. She didn’t have to try. No makeup. No pretense. Just Ariana. My Ariana. The same girl

  • STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER    Chapter 91

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  • STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER    Chapter 90

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  • STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER    Chapter 89

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