Chapter 5: I have been chatting with my Step-Brother!

Zoe’s POV

"Zoe! Open the damn door right now!"

Aiden’s voice roared through the heavy wood, accompanied by the violent rattling of my brass door handle.

My heart wasn't just beating; it was slamming against my ribs like a trapped bird. I stared at my phone screen in absolute, paralyzed horror. The mirror selfie was still glowing in high-definition—the slate-grey towel, the low waistline, and that swirling, intricate dragon tattoo stretching across his right arm.

It was him.

The guy I’d been exchanging late-night secrets with for months. The guy who made me laugh until my chest ached. The guy who told me he’d rather talk to me than anyone else.

Aiden Blackwood. My insufferable, arrogant, coffee-stealing stepbrother.

"I'm giving you three seconds before I take this door off its hinges!" Aiden growled from the hallway.

"I'm turning it off!" I shrieked, my voice cracking slightly.

I frantically slapped the mute button on my speaker, shoved my phone face-down under my pillow, and yanked my charcoal hood over my head so he couldn't see how pale my face was. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely unlock the deadbolt.

I cracked the door open just two inches, keeping my body hidden behind the solid wood.

Aiden was standing in the dim hallway, wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. In his right hand, he was holding his phone—the exact phone that had just sent me the mirror selfie two seconds ago.

"Happy now?" I snapped, forcing as much venom into my tone as humanly possible to cover up the sheer panic in my chest. "The music is off. You can go back to being an unbearable dictator down the hall."

Aiden narrowed his dark eyes, leaning one hand against the doorframe. His dark hair was slightly messy, and he smelled so strongly of cedarwood it made my stomach do a pathetic little flip.

"You don't have to scream, step-sis," he drawled, his deep voice carrying that familiar, infuriating smirk. "I was just making sure you hadn't passed out inside your pile of oversized laundry."

"I was fine until you started pounding on my door like a SWAT team," I retorted, clutching the edge of the door frame until my knuckles turned white.

"Right." Aiden glanced down at his phone screen. His thumb swiped across the glass, his brow furrowing slightly as he checked his notifications. He was waiting for a reply. He was waiting for Princess to react to his shirtless photo.

"If you're done staring at me, get out of my doorway," I grunted.

Aiden looked back up, his eyes sweeping over my hidden face under the baseball cap. "Whatever. Try to keep the noise down. Some of us actually have lives to manage."

"Get lost, Aiden."

I slammed the door in his face, locked it, and leaned my back against the wood, sliding slowly down to the floor. My knees felt like liquid jelly.

Safe inside my bedroom, I crawled onto my bed and pulled my phone out from under the pillow.

My head was spinning in circles.

Aiden is Ace. Ace is Aiden.

The words repeated in my brain over and over like a broken record. But as the initial shock began to settle, another terrifying realization crashed over me.

Aiden didn't know he was talking to me.

He thought he was talking to Princess. And Princess was supposed to be the stunning blonde girl in the red bikini—the photo of Madison I had stupidly uploaded three months ago.

If I stopped replying right now, Ace would get suspicious. He might figure it out. Or worse, he’d think the hot girl online lost interest in him.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. I had to play it cool. I had to keep the cover intact until I figured out how to handle this absolute disaster.

Princess: Not bad, Ace. Though you look like the type of guy who spends two hours in front of the mirror taking selfies.

I held my breath. Down the hall, I heard a faint chime from his room. A minute later, my screen lit up.

Ace: Only for you, Princess. So, did it work? Or are you going to pretend you weren't impressed?

I squeezed my eyes shut, a bitter, strange mixture of heat and guilt pooling in my stomach.

Princess: I'm un-impressible. Goodnight, Ace.

Ace: Sweet dreams, Princess. Try not to miss me too much.

I locked my screen and threw the phone onto the nightstand. I held all the cards. I knew his biggest secret, while he was completely in the dark. But looking at my ceiling in the dark, one thought kept me awake all night: What happens when he finds out the girl he's falling for is the stepsister he hates?

The next afternoon, the campus courtyard of Westbridge University was packed with students enjoying the warm Austin sunshine.

I was walking beside Madison near the main fountain, my hands buried deep inside the front pocket of my charcoal hoodie, my baseball cap pulled down as far as it would go.

"Z, you're walking like you're trying to dodge sniper fire," Madison chuckled, swinging her leather tote bag. She looked ridiculously stunning, wearing a floral summer dress that cinched at her waist, her blonde waves bouncing in the breeze.

"I have a headache," I lied, keeping my eyes glued to the concrete floor. "And I just want to get to the library before lecture."

"You always have a headache when we're near the student center," Madison teased, nudging my shoulder. "Come on, live a little! Logan said he saw you yesterday. Did you guys ever get that coffee?"

"No, Mads, we didn't," I sighed, pulling my hood up further. "Logan is just being nice."

"Logan is interested!" Madison insisted, raising her voice playfully. "Unlike that brooding stepbrother of yours, Logan actually knows how to talk to a girl without sounding like a villain in a movie."

"Speak of the devil," a smooth, loud voice chimed in from up ahead.

My heart instantly dropped into my stomach.

Caleb Mitchell was walking down the brick pathway, holding two iced coffees. And right beside him, wearing a dark leather jacket, sunglasses pushed up into his dark hair, was Aiden.

I instantly froze, grabbing Madison’s arm to pull her toward the side path. "Let's go around."

"Zoe, it's a public walkway, we can't—"

It was too late. Aiden’s eyes caught us.

He stopped in the middle of the path, his dark gaze cutting through the crowd. He looked at me first—taking in the baggy grey hoodie, the faded cap, and the slouching posture—and let out his usual scoff of mild annoyance.

Then, his eyes shifted to the girl standing right next to me.

Aiden’s gaze locked onto Madison.

I watched his entire face change in real-time. The sarcastic smirk faded. His dark eyes widened just a fraction, sweeping over Madison's sun-kissed skin, her blonde waves, and her bright blue eyes.

A sudden, horrifying lightbulb went off in my head.

The red bikini picture.

Madison was the girl in the picture. Madison had the exact same golden hair, the same flawless skin, the same height.

Aiden took a slow step forward, completely ignoring Caleb, completely ignoring me, his eyes glued entirely to my best friend.

"Well, well," Aiden drawled, his deep voice taking on that low, purring tone he usually reserved for his online flirtations. He stopped right in front of us, blocking the path entirely.

Madison blinked, looking slightly startled by his sudden attention. "Um. Hey, Aiden?"

Caleb smirked from behind him, taking a sip of his coffee. "What's up, ladies?"

Aiden didn't look at Caleb. He didn't even acknowledge my existence standing two inches away in my massive hoodie. He lowered his head slightly, stepping directly into Madison's personal space, a confident, predatory smile spreading across his lips.

He looked Madison up and down, his eyes lingering on her face with a mixture of realization and intense curiosity.

"Can I help you with something, Mr Popular?" Madison asked, tossing her hair back and crossing her arms, looking more amused than intimidated.

Aiden leaned in closer, his dark eyes sparkling with absolute certainty as he spoke.

"I don't think so," Aiden purred softly, his smooth voice dripping with charm as he stared dead into Madison's eyes. "I just realized something."

My throat went completely dry. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.

"Realized what?" Madison asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aiden smiled—that dangerous, killer smile that usually made girls on campus melt—and said the four words that shattered my entire world into a million pieces:

"Hey, Princess... you look somewhat familiar."