Semua Bab On Thin Ice: A Forbidden Step Siblings Affair: Bab 111 - Bab 120

Grayson"This is everything?" Pablo asks, his fingers drumming against the kitchen table as he scans Charlie's documents."For now." I lean back in my chair, exhaustion hitting me like a freight train. "Hayes was already suspicious. Push too hard and he'd have shut me down completely."The conversation with the principal feels like it happened hours ago, but my nerves are still shot. Seeing Rae's breakdown earlier—watching her crumble when she realized Charlie had been three streets away from her old life—has left me feeling like I'm barely holding it together.She's upstairs now, finally asleep after I practically forced her to lie down. She fought me on it, of course. Said she wasn't tired, that her brain wouldn't shut off. But I could see the exhaustion in her eyes, the way her hands wouldn't stop shaking.Pablo taps the papers with his pen. "Same neighborhood. Same timing. Transfers right after she does." He looks up at me, his expression grim. "This isn't a coincidence, Gray.""I

Raelynn"You haven't turned a single page in the last ten minutes."I look up from my calculus textbook to find Yara watching me with narrowed eyes. We've been "studying" at her place for over an hour since school ended, but my mind keeps drifting to last night—to Gray's hands in my hair, the way his voice dropped when he called me Sunshine, how safe I felt tucked against his chest."I'm reading," I lie."Bullshit. You're practically glowing." She tilts her head, studying my face. "Seriously, Rae, you look like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket. What happened?"Heat floods my cheeks, and I duck my head, pretending to focus on derivatives. But all I can think about is the way Gray looked at me when he explained the nickname—like I was something precious, something worth protecting.'Dark and bright at the same time.'"Nothing happened," I mumble, but even I don't sound convincing.Yara snorts. "Right. And I'm the Queen of England." She closes her own textbook and leans back

GraysonEdward’s office is too quiet.The kind of quiet that presses on your eardrums, thick with the smell of old leather, wood polish, and expensive whiskey that probably cost more than most people’s yearly salary. Everything in here screams control—lined bookshelves in perfect symmetry, not a paper out of place, pens arranged like soldiers waiting for orders.I hate it.I hate him.Still, I’m here, combing through his life, because maybe—just maybe—he’s left something behind that’ll give me leverage. Something to explain Rae’s letters. Something about Charlie. Something I can sink my teeth into before I lose my fucking mind.Edward might not have a direct connection to Ra’s stalker, but he's twisted enough to enjoy watching people destroy themselves from the inside out but regardless he likes to be ahead.That's probably why he married Bridget—to see how much we can all crawl through our problems before we finally break.The thought makes my jaw clench as I start with the obvious p

Raelynn"What the hell?" Isabella scowls, arms crossed as she glares around the empty foyer. "They tell us to come home immediately, then disappear somewhere?"I hug myself, trying to ward off the chill that has nothing to do with the temperature. The last time I was in this house, my mother used me as a human shield while Isabella held a knife. The phantom pain of that cut pulses against my arm.I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory. But worse than the physical pain was the look on my mother's face—that complete absence of care. Like I was nothing. Like I'd never been anything."You okay?"I open my eyes to find Isabella watching me with an awkward expression that might almost be concern."Yeah," I lie."Sunshine."I turn at Gray's voice, and he's there, walking toward me with that intensity he always carries. I move to him without thinking, and his arms wrap around me immediately. I don't care that Isabella's watching. I don't care that we're in the middle of the ha

GraysonFor a moment, no one says a word. We're all just sitting here, trying to process the absolute nonsense that just came out of Edward's mouth.Then Isabella stands up so suddenly her chair scrapes backward with a screech that makes everyone flinch. She looks like a feral cat ready to scratch out Edward's eyes, her whole body trembling with rage."What did you just say?" Her gaze snaps to Jace, who's trying to keep his face unreadable but failing spectacularly. I can see the swirl of emotions flickering across his features—guilt, shame, fear, maybe even hope.Pathetic."How dare you come into our family and cause such commotion!" Isabella's hand slams the table again, and I'm genuinely surprised the wood doesn't crack.Bridget waves her off dismissively. "Hold on." She turns to Edward, her eyes wide with confusion and something that looks almost like panic. "How could you make such a decision without informing me? You can't just switch heirs like they're interchangeable parts!"I