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Chapter 15 - Enticing Danger

作者: Steph Starry
last update 公開日: 2026-04-22 01:22:55

꧁ Marisella ꧂

I jerk out of slumber with a choked gasp.

The warm rays of early morning sunlight stream across my face, confirming what my sleeping consciousness had warned.

A frenzied check of my alarm clock reveals the time. 9:25 AM.

I overslept.

Shit.

I have less than an hour to take care of Mom before Nurse Elise would take over in my absence.

Pascal will not forgive lateness just a day after I’d left work early. But that can’t be helped.

I’ll rather fulfill my obligation to Mom than rush of
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  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 15 - Enticing Danger

    ꧁ Marisella ꧂I jerk out of slumber with a choked gasp.The warm rays of early morning sunlight stream across my face, confirming what my sleeping consciousness had warned.A frenzied check of my alarm clock reveals the time. 9:25 AM.I overslept.Shit.I have less than an hour to take care of Mom before Nurse Elise would take over in my absence.Pascal will not forgive lateness just a day after I’d left work early. But that can’t be helped.I’ll rather fulfill my obligation to Mom than rush off to a job that could replace my labor on a whim.A throbbing ache flares from my nose to my skull, reminding me of the violence behind the bar. I shiver at how last night had ended.Stumbling over my own feet, I don’t bother to freshen up, instead hastening to Mom’s room.The door swings open under an urgent shove—She’s not in bed.My body feels weightless as I gape into the empty room. My mind scrambles through every scenario.I’d planned to ease Mom into the reintroduction to Alexei, the pr

  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 14 - Complication

    𖤓 Alexei 𖤓I watch Marisella retreat up the stairs, gaze locked on her form until her ankles disappear from view.The urge to pulverize something, anything, eats at me.My fists tremble, tight with a mix of fury and… dread.Dread of the mistake I’m already making. Of the dangerous thing I’d escaped seven years ago, only to hang a noose around my own neck days after arriving in Miami.I rake numb fingers through my scalp, a hiss between my teeth.I hadn’t lied to Marisella. I’d meant every word. I wasn’t going to return to her and Elena. Ever.I’d made a promise, and I’d been more than willing to honor it. How could I not? The woman had lost her husband and still took in the son of the monster amidst the agony of betrayal. She’d nurtured and loved me without blaming me for my fathers sins. Not once.My throat bobs on a thick swallow.Elena Moreau had saved my life within a year of being my guardian after my parents’ deaths.She’d done, with love and the last dregs of her money, wha

  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 13 - A Challenge

    ꧁ Marisella ꧂ (Present) “I know you still have it.” Alexei’s icy voice cuts through memory. “Huh?” His voice is hard when he says, “My photograph.” My eyes widen, but I quickly school my expression. “You deleted it yourself, remember?” “I know how cameras work, Marisella. I let you keep it because I’d already scared you once.” And he hadn’t wanted to scare me again. I don’t respond, at a loss for words. I should be sleepy, tired. But around Alexei, my senses are on high alert, everything else fading into the easy flow of his company. The house is quiet, but not silent. The low hum of appliances and ghost creaks punctuate the lull in conversation. My face flames when I realize we’ve both been staring, and I move to lean back against the window. “Were you sleeping on the sofa?” I ask, suddenly ashamed of the poor hospitality I’d shown. “I don’t have a choice. Unless you want to give me back my room?” “It was never your room in the first place,” I retort. The

  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 12 - Prized Shot

    ꧁ Marisella ꧂ (15 years old) Hate boils in my heart like a cauldron atop hot coals.I scrub a dish so hard I’m getting off germs on a molecular level, soapy water splashing like a stormy sea.Mom sighs beside me. “Are you seriously jealous of your brother, Mari?”“He’s not my brother,” I sneer under my breath, scrubbing harder.Mom gently cups my shoulder, her other hand smoothing my hair. “I know it looks like I let him have his way, but you know he’s sick. He needs us.”“Then he should act like it.” I stop scrubbing, my chest heaving. “He hates me. He acts like I’m the outsider here.”“Neither of you is an outsider. Honestly, I don’t know why you hate each other so much. Has he hurt you?”“No. He’s just too proud. I don’t like him.”“He’s probably interpreting your behavior the same way. Why don’t you go talk to him?”“I’ve tried. He won’t even smile.” My brows furrow.My stepbrother, ever since coming to live with us, has been a thorn in my throat. He accepts our care but remains

  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 11 - Candid

    ꧁ Marisella ꧂An insistent ringing pulls me out of slumber. As my eyes flit behind closed lids, the sense of some responsibility tugs at me.I need to wake up. But I don’t want to.Why do I need to wake up?Then it slams into me.Mom. And the owl.I swing my legs off the bed before my mind has time to catch up.Every night since Mom’s diagnosis, I wake up at 2 a.m. to check her vitals. Then I photograph the owl that perches about 30 minutes later on the tree just opposite the kitchen window.My mouth is dry, my face aflame. It feels like I walked right into a truck.Ignoring my body’s many complaints, I trudge to Mom’s room and fulfill my duties.She sleeps soundly, her face relaxed in sleep. The slight frown, only present when she is awake and in pain, is absent.This little detail tugs at my heart, and I ghost my knuckles down her cheek.After confirming her status, I head past my room to the darkroom where I develop photos.It’s dark, but I’ve lived here all my life. I know every a

  • The Assassin’s Portrait: Stepbrother Dark Romance    Chapter 10 - Here to Stay

    ꧁ Marisella ꧂ He catches me in time before I crash backward onto Mom’s resting form. His fingers scald my back with heat not nearly as strong as the one that pools in my belly. Get it together, I chide myself. My heart slams in my chest. He’d followed me in? I spin the surprise to loathing, glaring at him. But he doesn’t even see me, his gaze is transfixed on Mom. Shock, sadness, and fear play on his face like a montage. He parts his lips to speak, but I shut him up with a hand over his mouth. God. His lips are impossibly soft against the sensitive skin of my palm, and a wayward spirit in me wills him to lick it. His eyes flash open in surprise, brows drawing together in confusion. Then warning. With an answering glare, I mouth, “Leave. Leave now.” His lips thin beneath my palm, and we both glance toward my mother. But her eyes are still closed, her breaths steady. When I face Alexei again, I remove my hand from his mouth and point firmly at the door. The light leaves his

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