Too Late to Regret: Claimed by my Stepbrother

“For the umpteenth time, I don’t love Rose. The only woman I’ve ever loved is your sister.”

Cruz’s voice echoed hard against the walls and leaked under the closed door, every single word hitting Rose like a slap she never saw coming. She locked up right there in the hallway, shopping bags digging deep into her fingers until the plastic handles burned angry red lines across her skin.

For a long second she couldn’t pull any air into her lungs, couldn’t move a single muscle. All she could do was stare at that door while another familiar voice rose up inside, sharp and confused.

“Then why the hell are you marrying Rose? Shouldn’t it be Jessica?”

Rose’s heart kicked hard against her ribs, a sudden painful thud that left her dizzy.

Jessica?

Silence stretched for a beat, thick and heavy, and she held her breath so tight her chest ached and her vision blurred at the edges.

Cruz’s voice came back colder this time, the kind of cold that sank straight into her bones. “I’m disappointed in you. You really think I’d marry Rose after what she did to my sister? I only went after her fiercely so I could break her on our wedding day. By the time I’m done, she won’t be able to show her face in public, and the whole Novarian Group will come crashing down right along with her.”

Something inside Rose’s chest cracked open wide. Tears rushed up hot and fast, stinging the backs of her eyes until the hallway lights smeared, but she blinked hard and shoved every bit of feeling back down her throat until it burned. Her lips parted, and nothing came out, not even a whisper.

All this time Cruz had kept his family locked away from her like some dirty secret. Whenever she asked, he tossed out some easy excuse, and eventually he promised both families would meet before the wedding.

How could she have known the real reason he kept them away was so he could hide this kind of poison?

He’d chased her since her first year of college, persistent, charming, endlessly patient in that soft way that always made her lower her guard.

She’d turned him down more times than she could count before finally giving in senior year, heart fluttering every time he showed up with coffee or just waited outside her classes like he had all the time in the world.

And now she stood outside his door listening to the man she’d slowly fallen for talk about destroying her like she was nothing more than a problem to solve.

“Call me dumb, but I still don’t get it,” his best friend said from inside, voice rising with frustration. “You could get your revenge without a wedding, and truth is, Jessica’s not okay with this. Besides, you slept with her without protection. Cruz, if you leave my sister as a single mom, I’ll kill you myself.”

Ice flooded Rose’s veins so fast her fingers went numb. Her heart beat so hard she was terrified they’d hear it through the door.

Jessica was pregnant with Cruz’s baby?

Her fingers shook around the bags until the plastic rustled. All this time she’d believed he never tried to get intimate because he respected her.

She’d felt lucky to have a guy who never pressured her, never pushed past what she was comfortable with, always acted like the perfect gentleman with that easy smile and careful hands.

She’d praised him for it to her friends, defended him for it when people raised eyebrows, and fallen for him because of it, soft and sure.

Now every beautiful excuse she’d built for him was crumbling right in front of her, piece by piece, until nothing solid remained.

If only she’d known the man she’d given her heart to was nothing but a scam.

The pain cut deep, sharper than anything she’d felt before. She’d turned down good men, men her father approved of, men who actually wanted a real shot with her and showed up with honest intentions because she thought she already had someone worth fighting for.

All of it was a lie that left a hollow ache under her ribs.

“This isn’t the time,” Cruz’s voice came again, edged with irritation that made her flinch even through the door. “All I plan to do is set her up the night before the wedding and blast the video on the big day. Wait till you see her face in front of her doting father and all those people she’s inviting, most of them I presume to be her dad’s business associates.”

Rose stopped breathing. For one terrifying second her mind went completely blank, the hallway tilting under her feet. Then the meaning of his words crashed over her like cold water, soaking every hope she’d held.

He wanted to humiliate her on their wedding day in front of her father, in front of her family, and all the honorable guests she planned on inviting with such careful joy.

“The shame’ll make investors pull out of the Novarian Group. Two birds, one stone. I get to avenge Maya, and I get her father’s investors running straight to me.”

Rose clamped a hand over her mouth, barely holding back the sob that rose from deep in her gut, raw and desperate.

Her chest hurt so bad she pressed harder against her lips, scared that if she made even the smallest sound the tears she’d been fighting would pour out and give her away. The taste of salt already sat on her tongue.

All she’d ever done was love Cruz. She’d loved him even when her father disapproved, even when her stepfamily questioned him, even when people close to her warned that something about him didn’t feel right. She’d defended him every single time.

Their wedding was set for two weeks after graduation because she’d been planning something special, staying up late with guest lists and little details.

She meant to invite every member of her stepfamily, the people she’d barely mentioned to Cruz, wanting the moment to feel perfect.

It was supposed to be a surprise, and she’d even planned to ask her mom to invest in the Whites Corporation after the wedding, thinking it would help Cruz build the future they’d talked about so many times.

And now, standing outside his door with bags full of food and gifts she’d happily picked out for him earlier that day, she felt like the biggest fool alive.

What hurt even more was that she had no idea who Maya was. She couldn’t even recall offending anyone.

Rose had been spoiled growing up, but she’d never been cruel. She’d never gone out of her way to hurt people. Her friends teased her for being too generous, too friendly sometimes to the point where they warned her that one day somebody would take advantage of that kindness and leave her bleeding.

She never imagined that somebody would be Cruz.

The shopping bags slipped from her numb fingers, food and gifts crashed to the floor, but did not cause a mess because of the paper and plastic.

Still, the sound was sharp in the quiet hallway. Rose’s eyes flew wide, pulse roaring in her ears.

Inside, everything went dead silent for a heartbeat before a panicked voice burst through the door. “Who’s there?”

Rose froze. Her pulse jumped into her throat as footsteps rushed toward the door, heavy and fast.