Lahat ng Kabanata ng Claimed By My Stepbrother : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

I don’t want to be the horrible daughter who stands in the way of her mom’s happiness. Seriously, I don’t. But when she dropped that bomb on me, I couldn’t keep my cool. “What the fuck do you mean you’re getting married, Mom?” I blurted out before I could even think to filter my words. My voice came out way louder than I intended, and her eyes snapped up, meeting mine with a look that clearly said she didn’t appreciate the tone. But, come on—she had just blindsided me with this whole getting-married news, and she expected me to what? Clap my hands and throw her a party? “No curse words, Camila,” she chided, almost calmly, as if we were talking about the weather and not her dropping an emotional grenade on me. She set down a plate on the dining table, patting it like this was all normal. “He’s a good guy, and I’m sure you’ll like him.” “‘Good guy’? That’s all you’re giving me here?” I scoffed, throwing my hands up in frustration. “Who is he, Mom? Where did he come from? Are you

The name "Ethan" didn’t even faze me when Mom first mentioned it. I mean, everyone knows an Ethan, right? It’s one of those names that’s everywhere. And yeah, there was an Ethan at my school who was basically the most popular guy there, the kind of guy who could have anyone he wanted, who everyone either admired, feared, or secretly crushed on. But what were the odds? I just didn’t make the connection. Until now. Because there he was, standing right in my doorway. The Ethan. The one from my school. The Ethan who was in my grade, who girls swooned over, who teachers let slide by on charm alone, and who was always surrounded by a group of friends. The Ethan who had never even glanced my way before. I felt my stomach drop. It was like the ground shifted beneath me, like I had just stepped into a nightmare where nothing made sense. This couldn’t be real. Of all the people in the world—of all the Ethans—it had to be him? He stood there, looking at me, his eyes widening just a f

After lunch, I had convinced myself that with any luck, I could avoid Ethan for the rest of the day. The way I saw it, if I didn’t cross his path, I wouldn’t have to deal with the thousand questions Lexie had stirred up in my head about living under the same roof as the school’s resident heartthrob-slash-playboy. I figured if I just stayed out of his way, he would do the same. But nope. That’s not how my luck worked, apparently. Every time I looked around, I felt like Ethan was there, just... watching. Not in a creepy way, exactly, but in a way that made me hyper-aware of him. His gaze was like this constant weight on the back of my neck, like I could feel him noticing me, studying me even. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed him before—everyone at school noticed Ethan. But today, something about it was different. Like, every time our eyes met, he would look away quickly, like he had just been caught red-handed. And it was just plain weird. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

The karaoke place continued to buzz, the sound of off-key singing mixed with laughter and chatter. I was finally beginning to feel like I could breathe again when my phone buzzed in my pocket. Groaning internally, I pulled it out and saw Mom plastered across the screen. Perfect timing, as always. “Hello?” I answered, trying to sound casual even though my heart was still racing from earlier. “Where are you?” she asked, her voice carrying that tone of concern that usually meant she was gearing up for a lecture. “Karaoke,” I replied, keeping it short. I wasn’t in the mood to explain the sudden change in my personality or why I wasn’t holed up in my room as usual. “Karaoke?” she repeated, like I had just told her I was skydiving off a cliff. “Since when do you go to karaoke?” “Since now,” I said, rolling my eyes even though she couldn’t see me. “I’m out with Tessa. Just hanging out.” There was a pause on her end, and I could practically hear her trying to decide if she want

The night was hell. Absolute, unrelenting hell. I didn’t sleep a wink—not even close. Part of it was because I was still on edge, my nerves frayed from the whole “Ethan might be a psycho” situation. The other part? I kept expecting him to burst into my room like some deranged horror movie villain. Staring at me from the corner, whispering creepy things like, “There you are, my mate.” Ugh, the thought alone made my skin crawl. I lay there, eyes wide open, every creak of the house sending my imagination spiraling. Was that the wind, or was Ethan scaling the wall outside my window? Was that the fridge humming, or was he lurking in the hallway? By the time the first rays of sunlight crept through my curtains, I was half-convinced I was losing my mind. “Okay, Camila, get it together,” I mumbled, sitting up and stretching out the stiffness in my body. My reflection in the mirror across the room looked as bad as I felt—dark circles under my eyes, hair sticking out at weird angles.