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Home / Romance / My Stepbrother, My Ruin / Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

All Chapters of My Stepbrother, My Ruin: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

152 Chapters

121

Evie's POV One month. It had been exactly one month since I'd spoken to Ryder beyond polite pleasantries in front of our parents. One month of avoiding his calls, ducking into bathrooms when I saw him in the hallway, and pretending my heart didn't shatter a little more each time our eyes met across a room.But it was working. My GPA had climbed to a 3.1—safely above the cheerleading requirement. I'd aced my last three exams, turned in every assignment on time, and even earned praise from Professor Chen for my improvement in calculus. For the first time in months, I felt like I had control over at least one aspect of my life.The Halloween party at Delta Phi was supposed to be my reward—a chance to celebrate surviving the worst month of my life with something approaching normalcy. Maya had convinced me to go, arguing that I needed to get out of the library and actually enjoy being twenty-one for once."You look hot," she said, adjusting my costume in the mirror of the sorority hous

122.

"She's nothing," he said, reaching for me. "She's a friend who asked me to come with her because her ex would be here and…""Don't." I stepped back, avoiding his touch. "Don't you dare try to explain this away.""Explain what? I'm not with her, Evie. I don't want to be with her. I want to be with you, but you won't even talk to me!""Because I can't!" The words exploded out of me, loud enough that a few other party-goers turned to stare. "Don't you understand? Being with you is dangerous. For both of us.""So you're just going to give up? Throw away everything we have because you're scared?""Yes!" I screamed, not caring who heard. "Yes, I'm scared! I'm scared that loving you is going to get us both killed. I'm scared that my mother will hate me when she finds out. I'm scared that your father will destroy my family to protect his reputation. I'm scared that I'm not strong enough to survive losing you, so I'd rather push you away first!"The silence that followed was deafening. Ryder s

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Evie's POV The pounding on my apartment door came at 2:47 AM, according to the glowing red numbers on my alarm clock. I'd been lying awake anyway, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about gray eyes and broken angel wings, so the sound didn't startle me as much as it should have.What did startle me was Nate's voice through the door intercom. "Evie? I'm sorry to wake you, but I've got a situation here."I threw on a robe and opened the door to find Nate standing in the hallway, looking frazzled and exhausted. His usually perfect hair was disheveled, and there were dark circles under his eyes."What's wrong?" I asked, then noticed he wasn't alone. "Is that—""Ryder's in my car," Nate said grimly. "Passed out drunk. Has been for the last hour."My stomach dropped. "What happened?""I found him at Murphy's Bar downtown, three sheets to the wind and picking fights with anyone who looked at him wrong. Bartender said he'd been there since the party ended, drinking everything t

124

I found him three days later, walking along the back road that led from campus to the old Ravencrest Cemetery. It was the same route we'd taken after Liliana's trial, when everything felt simpler even though it wasn't.He looked better than he had drunk on my couch—showered, properly dressed, no longer swaying on his feet. But there was something defeated in the way he carried himself, a heaviness that hadn't been there before our fight.I pulled my car over to the shoulder and rolled down the window."Need a ride?"He stopped walking but didn't turn around immediately. When he finally did, his expression was carefully neutral."I'm fine walking.""It's going to rain," I said, nodding toward the dark clouds gathering overhead. "And you're still probably dehydrated from your whiskey marathon.""Evie…""Get in the car, Ryder."For a moment, I thought he might refuse. Then the first drops of rain began to fall, and he sighed and walked to the passenger side.The silence in the car was de

125

After we finished our terrible diner food- which was actually pretty good–we drove to the arcade attached to the bowling alley downtown. It was the kind of place that catered to kids' birthday parties and date nights for people who couldn't afford fancy restaurants—in other words, perfect for two people trying to remember how to be normal."Skee-ball," Ryder announced, heading straight for the row of lanes. "I'm going to destroy you.""Is that a challenge?""It's a promise."I was terrible at skee-ball. Ryder was worse. We spent twenty dollars in tokens and barely managed to win enough tickets for a plastic spider ring and a piece of candy that tasted like it had been manufactured with too many chemicals. "This was a waste of money," I said, examining the spider ring."Are you kidding? This is the best twenty dollars I've ever spent," Ryder replied, sliding the ring onto my finger with mock solemnity. "With this ring, I thee wed to terrible arcade games and questionable candy.""Tha

126

Evie's POV The photograph was perfect.That was the first thought that ran through my mind when I saw it splashed across the front page of the university newspaper three days later. Whoever had taken it was either very lucky or very skilled, maybe both.It captured everything.The way Ryder's hand cupped my face as we kissed in the botanical gardens, the soft autumn light filtering through the trees behind us, the expression of pure love and relief on both our faces. It looked like something out of a romantic movie, the kind of photograph that would be beautiful under any other circumstances.Under these circumstances, it was a nuclear bomb."FORBIDDEN LOVE: Caldwell Heir's Secret Romance with Stepsister" read the headline in bold letters that seemed to scream from every newsstand on campus. Below it, in smaller text: "Exclusive photos reveal months-long affair between Alexander Caldwell's stepson and stepdaughter."I stared at the newspaper in Maya's hands, my coffee growing cold

127

The ride to the Caldwell mansion felt like a funeral procession.Neither of us spoke, both lost in our own thoughts about what we might be walking into. The security gates were closed when we arrived, and there were news vans parked along the street outside, reporters and cameramen waiting for any glimpse of the scandal-ridden family."Jesus," Ryder muttered as we drove through the gates. "It's like a circus out there."Inside the house, the atmosphere was thick with tension. We found Alexander in his study, along with Mom, who looked like she'd been crying. She was clutching a tissue in one hand and a copy of the newspaper in the other."Sit down," Alexander said without preamble.We sat in the chairs across from his desk like children called to the principal's office. Mom wouldn't look at me directly, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy."I'm going to ask you both one question, and I want a straight answer," Alexander continued, his voice eerily calm. "How long has this been going on?"Ry

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Evie's POVWe drove in silence for twenty minutes before I realized I had nowhere to go.My apartment—technically Mom's apartment that she'd been paying for—was probably swarming with reporters by now. The campus was out of the question. Even Ryder's penthouse would be a target."Where are we going?" I asked as he turned onto a highway I didn't recognize."Somewhere we can think," he said, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel.The 'somewhere' turned out to be a small motel on the outskirts of town, the kind of place that rented rooms by the hour and didn't ask questions as long as you paid in cash. The neon sign flickered weakly in the growing dusk, half the letters burned out so it read "Mo_el" in stuttering pink light."This is depressing," I said as Ryder paid the desk clerk—a man who looked like he hadn't seen sunlight in years."It's temporary," Ryder replied, pocketing the room key. "Just until we figure out our next move without reporters following us everywhere

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The headlines were brutal. "CALDWELL EMPIRE CRUMBLES AS INVESTORS FLEE FAMILY SCANDAL""ALEXANDER CALDWELL: BUSINESS TITAN OR FAMILY FAILURE?""INSIDE THE TWISTED CALDWELL HOUSEHOLD: HOW A BILLIONAIRE LOST CONTROL"I scrolled through the news feeds on my laptop, each article worse than the last. What had started as a story about Ryder and me had morphed into a full-scale character assassination of Alexander and, by extension, the entire Caldwell business empire."Meridian Holdings announced this morning they're withdrawing their 2.3 billion dollar partnership with Caldwell Industries, citing 'concerns about leadership stability and family values,'" the business reporter droned from the TV. "This marks the third major investor to pull out since the stepsibling scandal broke four days ago."Four days. It had only been four days since our world imploded, and already Alexander's carefully constructed empire was showing cracks. Four days since we sneaked into Ryder's penthouse like thieve

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The penthouse felt different after Maya and Nate left—quieter, more intimate, like the eye of a storm where we could finally breathe. I was sprawled across the leather couch, my laptop finally closed after hours of digging through Victor Langston's digital footprints, when Ryder collapsed beside me with a dramatic sigh."My brain hurts," he announced, rubbing his temples. "I never knew corporate espionage could be so... technical.""Welcome to my world," I said, stretching my arms above my head. "Most of engineering is just organized problem-solving with really complicated math.""Remind me to never take one of your classes.""Too late. You're already living in one."He turned to look at me, that familiar crooked smile playing at his lips. "Is that what this is? An extended homework assignment?""The most complicated one I've ever had," I admitted. "Variables keep changing, new problems keep arising, and I'm pretty sure the professor is trying to fail me.""Well, lucky for you," he sa

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