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Chapter 13

Author: Camila Lee
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-26 20:42:18

Mason:

Sleep refused to come. The ocean outside whispered against the rocks, steady and endless, but my mind would not quiet. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling fan turning in slow, uneven circles. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her. Lily. A week was all it had been, and already she lived inside me like she had always been there.

It made no sense. Nothing about this made sense.

I tried to push her out of my head and let my thoughts drift somewhere safer, somewhere familiar, and they landed on my father.

The man who shaped me, the man who ruined me. For most of my life he was stone. Cold, unyielding, sharp in every word he spoke. He believed emotions were weakness, that softness broke a man. I grew up under that philosophy, learning to keep my voice steady, my face blank, my desires buried where no one could find them.

I became good at it. Too good.

My earliest memories of him are filled with silence and order. I remember mornings at the dining table where he read the paper while
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    MASON: The moment Lily turned away from me, something inside my chest tore. Not a crack, not a fracture. It felt like a clean rip straight through the middle. I watched her walk back toward the house, each step slow and uneven, as if her legs barely held her weight. She did not look back. Not even once. I wanted to go after her. Every part of me screamed to go after her. But my father stepped forward, placing a firm hand against my shoulder. I felt the pressure of it like a command I refused to obey. “Move,” I said quietly. “No,” Dylan replied. “Let her breathe.” I stared at him, my jaw tight. “You do not get to talk to me about breathing when you are suffocating her.” “She is doing what is necessary,” he said. “She is protecting you.” I jerked out of his grip. “This is not protection. This is sacrifice. And she only feels like she has to sacrifice herself because of you.” His expression tightened, but he said nothing. Mildred remained near the patio table, watching calmly,

  • Stepbrother Wants Me   Chapter 167

    MASON: The moment Lily turned away from me, something inside my chest tore. Not a crack, not a fracture. It felt like a clean rip straight through the middle. I watched her walk back toward the house, each step slow and uneven, as if her legs barely held her weight. She did not look back. Not even once. I wanted to go after her. Every part of me screamed to go after her. But my father stepped forward, placing a firm hand against my shoulder. I felt the pressure of it like a command I refused to obey. “Move,” I said quietly. “No,” Dylan replied. “Let her breathe.” I stared at him, my jaw tight. “You do not get to talk to me about breathing when you are suffocating her.” “She is doing what is necessary,” he said. “She is protecting you.” I jerked out of his grip. “This is not protection. This is sacrifice. And she only feels like she has to sacrifice herself because of you.” His expression tightened, but he said nothing. Mildred remained near the patio table, watching calmly,

  • Stepbrother Wants Me   Chapter 167

    MASON: The moment Lily turned away from me, something inside my chest tore. Not a crack, not a fracture. It felt like a clean rip straight through the middle. I watched her walk back toward the house, each step slow and uneven, as if her legs barely held her weight. She did not look back. Not even once. I wanted to go after her. Every part of me screamed to go after her. But my father stepped forward, placing a firm hand against my shoulder. I felt the pressure of it like a command I refused to obey. “Move,” I said quietly. “No,” Dylan replied. “Let her breathe.” I stared at him, my jaw tight. “You do not get to talk to me about breathing when you are suffocating her.” “She is doing what is necessary,” he said. “She is protecting you.” I jerked out of his grip. “This is not protection. This is sacrifice. And she only feels like she has to sacrifice herself because of you.” His expression tightened, but he said nothing. Mildred remained near the patio table, watching calmly,

  • Stepbrother Wants Me   Chapter 166

    MASON: The moment Lily turned away from me, something inside my chest tore. Not a crack, not a fracture. It felt like a clean rip straight through the middle. I watched her walk back toward the house, each step slow and uneven, as if her legs barely held her weight. She did not look back. Not even once. I wanted to go after her. Every part of me screamed to go after her. But my father stepped forward, placing a firm hand against my shoulder. I felt the pressure of it like a command I refused to obey. “Move,” I said quietly. “No,” Dylan replied. “Let her breathe.” I stared at him, my jaw tight. “You do not get to talk to me about breathing when you are suffocating her.” “She is doing what is necessary,” he said. “She is protecting you.” I jerked out of his grip. “This is not protection. This is sacrifice. And she only feels like she has to sacrifice herself because of you.” His expression tightened, but he said nothing. Mildred remained near the patio table, watching calmly,

  • Stepbrother Wants Me   Chapter 165

    MASON:The moment the press release hit the news, chaos erupted. Notifications pinged endlessly on my phone. Every headline screamed the same story: Mason Denver rekindles romance with Nicole Grant amidst leaked private video controversy.I felt my chest tighten. Every message, every comment, every share was a reminder of the lie we were being forced to live.My office was filled with the hum of phones, the quiet chatter of assistants, and the heavy presence of Dylan pacing back and forth. Mildred stood near the window, arms crossed, her expression sharp.Lily sat quietly at the edge of the room, her hands clenched in her lap. She was pale, but her eyes were steady, focused. She refused to look at the screens, refused to let the headlines dictate her mood. I could feel her fighting to maintain her composure, and it made my blood boil even more.Nicole, naturally, seemed untouched. She leaned against the table, pen in hand, glancing casually at the chaos as if she were watching a small

  • Stepbrother Wants Me   Chapter 164

    LILY:The flash of the cameras hit me before I could even breathe. The world was waiting, and I was standing on the edge of it, invisible to everyone except the lens. I felt exposed, fragile, and furious all at once.Nicole stood beside Mason, perfectly poised, her smile practiced and effortless. Every movement she made was controlled, precise, polished. She looked like a queen in her element, while I felt like a ghost hovering at the margins.Dylan and Mildred were behind us, orchestrating everything like generals, giving silent instructions, nudging Mason when needed. I had no voice here. No say. Just the role I was forced to play: the invisible, forgotten woman.The photographer clicked again, and Nicole leaned toward Mason slightly. Not touching, just enough to look intimate. My stomach twisted. She wasn’t doing this to me personally. She was just… good at her role. Perfectly subtle, perfectly effective.I felt Mason tense beside her. His jaw clenched. His hand hovered near hers b

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