All Chapters of The Wrong Brother’s Obsession: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

“Come on, Elle! You’re too slow!” Liam’s laughter carried down the trail as he jogged ahead, his hand holding mine just tightly enough to pull me along. I tried to catch my breath, but my chest was already aching—not from running, but from how easy he made it look. How easy he always made us feel. “Wait!” I called, laughing despite myself. “Not all of us are marathon runners!” He slowed just enough for me to catch up, then leaned in close, grinning. “Fine. But only because I don’t want you blaming me when you collapse in the middle of nowhere.” His eyes sparkled like they always did when he teased me. That boyish charm had been my undoing since forever. The lake came into view, still and glittering under the afternoon sun. Liam spread his arms wide. “See? Worth it.” And God, he was right. We sat on the dock, feet dangling above the water, the air filled with nothing but cicadas and the occasional splash of a fish. He tossed a pebble into the lake. “Remember when we

The rooftop air was colder than I remembered. The kind of cold that seeped through the blanket and into my skin, reminding me this wasn’t some dream I could hide in forever. Aiden hadn’t moved from the ledge. He was still there, still watching the horizon like it held answers the rest of us didn’t deserve. I hated how steady he looked. Like even the sky bent around his silence. I hugged my knees to my chest, forcing my eyes away from him, willing my heartbeat to slow. And then— The door creaked open again. “Elle,” Liam’s voice called, warm, easy, the sound of home. I turned so fast my neck almost cracked. He stepped out, hair a mess, hoodie zipped halfway, the sleepy smile that always undid me tugging at his mouth. He carried two steaming mugs, the scent of coffee drifting up with him. “There you are,” he said, like he’d been looking everywhere. His gaze slid past Aiden without a flicker, landing back on me. “You’re freezing. Why didn’t you come inside?” I smiled,

The rest of the morning blurred into small, ordinary moments that felt bigger than they should’ve. Liam cracking eggs into a pan, humming some half-forgotten tune. Me setting the table, pretending not to notice how the sunlight caught in his hair. Him stealing a bite of toast from my plate, grinning like a kid. I told myself not to read into it. But my heart… my heart was a terrible liar. “Want to do something later?” Liam asked, his eyes still on his food. My pulse tripped over itself. “Like what?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. We could go for a drive. Hit that trail we used to bike. Just… hang out. Like old times.” Old times. He didn’t realize those were the moments I lived for. “Yeah,” I said quickly. “I’d like that.” His grin widened, warm and effortless, and for a second, I thought maybe—just maybe—this was how it began. Maybe we were finally shifting into something more. The sound of a chair scraping broke my daydream. I looked up just in time to see Aide

The cafeteria buzzed louder than usual, trays clattering and voices overlapping in the way that made it almost impossible to think. I was halfway through my fries, idly stabbing at them, when the door swung open. Liam walked in, laughter spilling from him as he talked with two of his classmates from economics. His hair was ruffled, his sleeves rolled halfway up, and there was that same boyish grin that always knocked the air out of my lungs. He didn’t notice me right away—he rarely did in crowded rooms. But my eyes found him instantly, like they always did. He grabbed a tray, still talking animatedly with his friends. The way he leaned his head back when he laughed, the easy tilt of his shoulders… God, sometimes it felt unfair how effortlessly he could light up a room. “Earth to Elle.” My best friend, Maya, waved a fry in front of my face. “You’re staring again.” I shoved her hand away, cheeks heating. “I’m not.” “You so are,” she sing-songed. “At this point, I’m startin

(Elle’s POV) The note lay on the counter, mocking me in its crooked letters. My pulse hammered as I read it again, then again, like maybe the words would change if I stared long enough. They didn’t. But admitting what they meant? No. I wasn’t ready. With a shaky laugh, I crumpled the paper in my fist and shoved it deep into the trash. “Some stupid prank,” I whispered to the empty kitchen. “People have too much time.” Even as I said it, my hand wouldn’t stop trembling. The next morning, I acted like nothing happened. I plastered on my smile, teased Liam the way I always did, even let him copy off my notes because he’d been half-asleep in class again. And for a while, it worked. I almost believed it myself. Almost. Except every time my eyes wandered, I looked for Aiden. And when he wasn’t there, the ache grew heavier, sharper. He’d been slipping further away, his silence stretching between us like a canyon. And instead of chasing him like I probably should have,