Semua Bab STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER : Bab 91 - Bab 100

The apartment was quiet when I walked in. Not the heavy kind of quiet that drips with tension… but the kind that sinks into your bones, warm and almost tender.The lights in the living room were dim, a soft golden glow spilling from the lamp by the couch. And there she was.Ariana.She’d curled up sideways, her knees tucked in, one arm draped lazily over a throw pillow. Her hair was a little messy, strands fanned over her cheek, and her breathing was slow, deep, steady. She didn’t even stir when I closed the door.For a moment, I just stood there.God, after everything today—the argument with Mark, the venom, the threats—I thought I’d be too wound up to feel anything but rage. But looking at her now… that all slipped away.It’s strange, isn’t it? How one person can be your calm and your chaos at the same time.I walked closer, my steps slow, quiet. She had no idea how beautiful she looked like this. She didn’t have to try. No makeup. No pretense. Just Ariana. My Ariana. The same girl

Ariana's POV.The sun spilled lazily into the room through the half-drawn curtains, warm and golden against my skin. Roman was leaning against the balcony rail, his shirt hanging open as though he’d forgotten to finish dressing, his phone tucked into his palm. He had that quiet, unreadable look again, like his mind was circling a dozen places at once. But when his eyes met mine, it softened—like it always did, like I was the one thing capable of grounding him.“We’re done with exams,” he said simply, as though the idea had just come to him. “Let’s disappear for a while. Just you and me. Maldives. A whole month.”I blinked, sitting up in bed, his words sinking in slowly. “A month?” I repeated, half laughing, half choking on the possibility.He only smirked, stepping closer. “Yes, a month. I already checked—private villa, by the beach, no one to bother us. Just you, me… and the baby.” His hand slid absently across my stomach, though it was still too early to show.I swallowed the flutte

Ariana’s POV.The mirror almost made me blush at my own reflection.The silky red nightdress clung to me like it had been made for this very moment, the thin straps sliding against my shoulders, the fabric soft and daringly sheer. I could feel my own heart racing as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, smoothing the trembling in my hands. It wasn’t just the color that made it bold — it was what it meant. Tonight wasn’t just about passion. Tonight was the first time I’d walk into Roman’s arms not as his secret, not as his step-sister, not as the girl he stole moments with in the shadows.Tonight, I was his wife.The word itself sent a shiver down my spine. His wife. Roman’s wife.I breathed out slowly, clutching the edge of the nightdress as I walked toward the bedroom. The apartment was silent except for the hum of the ocean in the distance, the salty air drifting through the half-open window. My bare feet padded softly against the floor, and my chest tightened with each step clos

Ariana’s POVThree Years LaterThe auditorium was alive with noise—applause, cheers, and proud tears. But for me, everything blurred into the background. My eyes found only one thing: Roman, sitting in the front row, our three-year-old son against his chest.He looked breathtaking, as always. Dark suit, broad shoulders, and that controlled calmness that had always made him seem untouchable. But not today. Today, his eyes glistened with the softest pride, a pride that belonged not to Roman Sinclair, the powerful businessman, but to Roman, my husband, my everything.Our little boy—Ethan—squirmed in his arms, his tiny hands tugging at Roman’s tie. Roman smiled down at him, that rare, unguarded smile that melted me every single time. He kissed Ethan’s hair and then lifted his gaze back to me. Even from across the hall, I felt the weight of it—the warmth, the love, the unspoken words.“And now,” the dean’s voice boomed across the hall, pulling me back, “we present the graduating student wh

Lana’s POVRegret has a strange way of sitting inside you. It doesn’t just pass—it settles. It builds a home in your chest, in your bones, in the pit of your stomach until you can’t breathe without feeling it. That’s what it’s been like for me these past years.I thought I’d buried it all buried Ariana, buried Roman, buried the memory of Clara and that night. But nothing stays buried. Not when you close your eyes at night. Not when the silence creeps in. That’s when the voices come back, whispering. Reminding me of every mistake.I didn’t even finish school. I was supposed to. But my dad… of course, he fixed it the way he fixes everything—with money. He bought me a degree like it was a handbag. Just a transaction. A fake accomplishment to put on the wall and parade around. Everyone thinks I graduated, but the truth is, I didn’t even try. I couldn’t.Not because I wasn’t capable, but because every time I opened a book, I saw Ariana’s face. Every time I tried to sit in a classroom, I r