Chapter 4

Stella's POV

The broom crashed to the floor at my feet. My eyes remained fixed on it for a moment before shifting slowly to Anya.

"Don't sulk. If you won't be useful for my brother, you might as well be able to clean after yourself, right?"

Those around laughed, and I could feel angry tears prickling at my eyes. My fingers closed into tight fists.

Then Eli leaned down, right at my feet, and picked up the broom. He looked up at me with that same smirk that continuously tempted me to smack him.

He stretched his hand out to me, and for a second, I thought he'd order me to clean.

With his status, I wouldn't have had a choice but to swallow my pride and do it.

Instead, he turned, still smiling as he handed the broom to Anya. "Clean it."

Her eyes widened, her lip trembling. "What?"

"You don't expect a new bride to clean on her wedding night. It's bad enough Father left her, and now you want her to clean. Where's your heart?"

The way he said it was nothing short of mocking, but it seemed to rake together enough sympathy to make Anya take the broom from him.

And then he turned me around, his hand firm on my waist, guiding me back to the bedroom.

"I told you not to go out. Why don't you listen?"

I pulled away from his touch the moment we were out of sight, glaring up at him. "Don't touch me."

"Is that your way of saying thank you? Because if it is, then you seriously need to work on it. Most people tend to smile when showing appreciation."

Goddess, he was so insufferable. "Then maybe I'm not showing you appreciation at all."

"Now, wouldn't that be weird? I just saved you." He turned, openly pointing back.

My hand wrapped around his wrist, forcing it down with a sharp hiss. "Are you crazy? Why are you pointing? And what the hell did you save me from?"

"What? Afraid we'll get caught, princess?" He leaned down, taking a big step forward.

My palm pressed against his hard chest. The position was way too familiar and way too soon.

"Stop calling me princess." My back pressed against the wall, the concrete digging into my skin. "And there's nothing for us to get caught doing. Get lost."

"Not until you say thank you."

Despite my denial, the position we were in would only give anyone who spotted us a further excuse to insult me.

Eli would get away with it as the alpha of this house, but I, on the other hand, needed to secure my place here.

Otherwise, my family would lose everything, and all this humiliation would be for nothing.

"Thank you." The words were forced out through gritted teeth.

His smile widened. "Didn't even sound remotely genuine. Try again."

"Thank you!" My fingers pushed forward.

Him being an alpha, I was sure he wouldn't have moved unless he wanted to, but it still got me just enough space to slide away from him.

"Why are you walking so fast? I didn't think you were so eager to get into my father's bed."

My teeth clamped down on my tongue, keeping down the screams that threatened to spill out of my mouth.

I needed to be alone before my emotions tipped over. The thought of it happening here, right now, in front of the son of the man who'd conveniently destroyed my life, disgusted me more than anything.

Thankfully, my heels had been abandoned in the room, and running became easier.

He kept up with my pace though, barely breaking a sweat. "Are you running from me? Or something else?"

"Just go away."

"Your voice sounds thinner. Don't tell me you're going to cry. And you were just getting interesting." He snorted.

"Just shut up." I finally reached the room, fumbling with the handle to shove the door open.

"If you think Anya's worth crying over, then maybe you aren't as strong as I thought." He leaned down, whispering in my ear like he had a secret. "Those before you were soft. And this is the first step in how they all found themselves and their luggage thrown out of those gates."

"Why are you telling me this?" I turned, blinking back what was left of my distressed tears. "I can't tell if you're trying to help me or if you're just making fun of me like the rest of them."

He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You're really interesting. I can tell a lot goes on in your mind, and honestly, I like you."

I scoffed, my hand still twisting the doorknob desperately. "You can't like me, Eli. I'm literally your stepmom now."

"Somehow, I didn't think you had a moral conscience at all."

"Why? Because I married your dad?" I couldn't hold in the bitterness in my voice.

A pause, then his head shook. "Nope. It's something else. I just need a minute to find out what."

"Well, you don't have one." I turned to face the door fully, turning the knob so violently I feared it would break.

"It's locked." He finally pointed out.

"Yes, I can see that now." I snapped, still struggling to pry it open. "Why would this even be locked? It was open just a few minutes ago."

"We'd probably have an answer to that if you'd listened to me." His palm pressed on the door, his weight hovering over me.

"I am still yet to fully understand why you're here."

"Am I not allowed to take care of my beautiful stepmother?" His body leaned down, and two words carried from his lips to my ears.

My skin froze, goosebumps rising across it when he spoke, nearly making me choke.

"Want to go to my room instead?"