All Chapters of Bound By Blood: The Step-Brothers' Temptation: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

_Amelie’s POV_ The warmth in the estate was different now, not what I was used to. It was quiet footsteps and soft-spoken apologies, the gentle clatter of a spoon in a porcelain bowl, Nico adjusting the curtains to keep the sun off my face. It was Matteo making sure my tea was the right temperature before handing it to me, and Luca watching me with a stare that no longer held knives—but regret. They didn’t leave me alone. Not even for a second. It was suffocating and sweet all at once. I’d been home for two days, but it felt longer. Like my pain stretched time itself. I didn’t mention the blood. I didn’t mention the ache that wouldn’t leave my lungs or the heaviness in my limbs that no amount of rest could fix. I told myself it was trauma. Exhaustion. Healing. I didn’t want to believe it was whatever Santiago had put it in me. I told myself I could survive it—whatever Santiago had done to me. Whatever poison was buried in my veins. I just needed one more day. “Are y

_Author’s POV_The triplets stared as she collapsed, each of them frozen in shock.Just like that. One second she was standing—staggering, but upright—and the next, she crumpled like her body had finally had enough.They had never been as scared as they were right now.It took just a split second for Nico to react and he caught her before her head hit the floor. “Amelie?!”Her eyes were open—but empty. Her lips parted. A soft sound came out, like the start of a word—“Oh… shit.”Then nothing.“Amelie!” he shook her, hard enough to snap a neck. “Look at me—open your fucking eyes!”She didn’t.She didn't respond to anything. “Fuck—Matteo—”“I’m here.” Matteo was already moving, already crouched next to him, checking her pulse, his hands fumbling. “Her heart’s still beating—fast. Too fast. She’s burning up.”They didn't know what was wrong with her, but they knew they had to get her to a doctor, and fast. Luca stood frozen, his eyes locked on the blood soaked into her clothes. His jaw

_The triplets._They had watched her go unconscious once again, their heart pounding as they hoped she regained consciousness.The room had gone too quiet when her head hit the bed. She was delirious, calling out to someone who wasn’t there, fighting hands that weren’t even on her.Nico was certain that whatever was wrong with her had something to do with Santiago, but they couldn’t tell whatAmelie hadn’t told them anything when she had returned, and now he hated himself for not noticing anything previously.He sat in a chair pulled closed to the bed, elbows braced on his knees as he stared at her motionless body. Her lips were pale, breathing barely there, like it was a conscious effort for her to stay.Like one wrong thing and she would come crashing down, slipping away from them.And Nico didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t want to lose her, even if it meant sharing her with his brothers.He didn’t mind it, as long as he still had a piece of her.A lone tear slid down his cheek

_Matteo_ I watched as Amelia’s body jerked once, then it stilled. The beeping of the monitor stopped and it was followed by a shrill, endless note.And I froze.My eyes widened and I could barely breathe. “No,” I whispered before I could stop myself. “No—no—NO!” She couldn't leave me, she wasn’t allowed to leave me. My hands shook as I stared at her lifeless body, there was no way I would let Amelia leave me. Luca slammed the emergency button. The room blazed red with light. That snapped me out of whatever trance I had found myself in. I wouldn’t let her leave me. I reached for her, grabbing her shoulders like I could shake her back to life. It felt as if her skin was going cold already, and that made my heart drop. She wasn’t going to die, was she? “Help!” Nico shouted, but it was distant. I couldn’t hear over the static in my own ears. I instantly threw the blanket off her chest and started doing compressions. “One, two, three—“ Not again. She didn’t get to walk into

Luca’s POV She was breathing, barely. The ventilator hissed softly. A mechanical, unnatural sound.Like a machine imitating life.Her life.She lay still with her body pale. Her hand in mine was cold, but not frozen. Even her pulse was faint beneath my fingers. A thread. A whisper. It wasn't enough. I stared at her, and I couldn’t stop thinking: I did this.I sent her back. I watched the car take her away. I ignored her eyes—wide and terrified—and told myself she deserved it. I told myself I didn’t care.Because I saw her kiss Nico.Because I thought punishment would be easier than pain.But now she was here. Dying. In that sterile room, surrounded by machines and staff who wouldn’t meet my eyes. She was hooked up to beeping monitors and plastic tubes, as if wires and voltage could hold her soul in place.I let Santiago touch her.And now I didn’t know if she’d wake up.It was all my fault. “You’re not allowed to die,” I whispered.My voice cracked halfway through the sentence.“