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홈 / Romance / The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers / 38

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38

작가: Detty Scent
last update 최신 업데이트: 2026-01-11 05:42:41

Anya’s pov

The air in Nashville was a humid weight, smelling of old asphalt and fried grease, a far cry from the sterile chill of Chicago. We were whisked into a blacked-out suburban that smelled like industrial lemon cleaner, weaving through the neon-soaked chaos of Broadway toward the Hermitage Hotel.

I kept my hand buried in my pocket, my fingers tracing the sharp, stiff edges of the envelope I’d found on the plane. Every time the car hit a pothole, the paper bit into my skin, a reminder tha
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  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    69

    Anya’s POVThe move happened with a clinical, terrifying efficiency. I barely had time to throw my belongings into my suitcase before two of Ethan’s "security detail" men with the blank stares of sharks and suits that cost more than my education were standing in my doorway.The private residence wasn't in the heart of the city. It was a secluded estate on the outskirts, a sprawling glass-and-stone monolith hidden behind a perimeter of high stone walls and wrought-iron gates. As the car rolled up the long, winding driveway, the London fog seemed to swallow the world behind us, cutting us off from anything that felt like reality.Inside, the house was a masterpiece of cold, modern minimalism. It was beautiful, in the way a prison cell made of diamond might be beautiful. Every surface was reflective; every corner was monitored."Your room is on the second floor, east wing," Ethan said, not looking back as he stepped into the foyer. "Kai is in the west. My offices are central. You are fre

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    68

    Anya’s POV“To my office now.”My phone pinged with that short, cold message from Ethan and honestly, I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest because I was still vibrating from the "discovery" I’d made in the library. I walked down the hall and the air in the mansion felt different, almost like it was cheering for me, and I felt so powerful because I was convinced that I finally had the leverage I needed to destroy him. I pushed open the doors to his office and stood before his desk, but the room felt stagnant and smelled like old paper and that sharp, metallic tang of a trap finally snapping shut, though I was too blinded by hope to notice it yet."She’s alive," I repeated, and my voice sounded high and thin and totally like a stranger's, but I kept pushing through the fear because I needed him to know I wasn't scared anymore. "I saw the logs, Ethan, and I saw the video of the clinic in Switzerland, so you can stop the lies right now because I know you’ve been hi

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    67

    Anya’s POVKai was sitting on a wrought-iron bench, a guitar resting across his lap, his fingers plucking a discordant, restless melody. I on the other hand, sat opposite him with my legal pad, playing the part of the diligent biographer, but my mind was miles away, locked inside the encrypted drive hidden in the lining of my bag."The bridge of the third track," I said, my voice projecting for the benefit of whatever microphones Ethan had buried in the soil of the oversized palms. "You said it felt like a descent. Can you elaborate on the... psychological state of that moment?"Kai looked at me, his eyes dark and knowing. He knew I was stalling. He knew the "interview" was a front. "It felt like being underwater, Anya. Knowing the surface is there, but having someone's hand on the back of your head, holding you down just long enough to make you forget what air tastes like."The metaphor was too sharp, too real. I looked down at my pad, scribbling nonsense. "And the resolution of the

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    66

    Anya’s POVThe move happened with a terrifying efficiency that felt less like moving house and more like being extradited to a foreign country.I barely had enough time to throw my life into a suitcase before two of Ethan’s "security detail" were standing in my doorway, looking like a pair of high-end sharks in suits that definitely cost more than my entire four-year degree. They didn't say a word, they just stood there with those blank, unblinking stares until I got the message and followed them out like a prisoner of war.The new residence wasn't in the city center where I could at least pretend to be part of the world; it was a secluded estate on the outskirts, a massive glass-and-stone monolith hidden behind high stone walls and wrought-iron gates that looked like they were designed to keep things in just as much as they kept people out.As the car rolled up the long, winding driveway, the London fog seemed to rise up and swallow the world behind us, effectively cutting us off fro

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    65

    Anya’s POVThe move happened with a clinical, terrifying efficiency. I barely had time to throw my belongings into my suitcase before two of Ethan’s "security detail" men with the blank stares of sharks and suits that cost more than my education were standing in my doorway.The private residence wasn't in the heart of the city. It was a secluded estate on the outskirts, a sprawling glass-and-stone monolith hidden behind a perimeter of high stone walls and wrought-iron gates. As the car rolled up the long, winding driveway, the London fog seemed to swallow the world behind us, cutting us off from anything that felt like reality.Inside, the house was a masterpiece of cold, modern minimalism. It was beautiful, in the way a prison cell made of diamond might be beautiful. Every surface was reflective; every corner was monitored."Your room is on the second floor, east wing," Ethan said, not looking back as he stepped into the foyer. "Kai is in the west. My offices are central. You are fre

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    64

    Anya’s POVMy heart wasn't just beating; it was slamming against my ribs like a frantic animal and I couldn't pull my eyes away from that red icon on my screen. User: E. Cole has joined the session. He was watching the files download and he was watching my cursor hover over those Swiss clinic records, which meant he was seeing me dismantle the massive lie he’d spent years constructing right in front of his face.I didn't wait for him to come find me, but instead, I slammed the laptop shut with a crack that sounded like a bone breaking in the quiet alcove. I shoved it into my bag and bolted, my boots thudding against the concrete floor as I ducked into the maze of the O2’s backstage.The hallways felt narrower than they had five minutes ago, and every shadow cast by the stacks of amplifiers and rolls of gaffer tape looked like Ethan waiting to step out and snatch the bag from my shoulder. I was breathing in ragged stabs that made my chest ache, and I could feel the sweat cooling on my

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