All Chapters of STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Roman’s POVThe bonfire crackled, throwing golden sparks into the air like fireflies on acid.Ariana laughed next to me soft, real the kind of sound that felt rare lately. Her head was tilted back, her hair messy from the beach, her cheeks still flushed from the game, and that bikini she wore? Fucking lethal. I swear I couldn’t look at her too long without feeling the fire crawl under my skin.But something felt off.Not with her.With the air. With the way Lana watched her.Too carefully.Too often.Like she was guarding something that didn’t belong to her.I glanced toward the snack table, then leaned down to whisper in Ariana’s ear, "Want anything?"She shook her head, giggling under her breath, still tipsy from the cheap canned sangria someone smuggled in. “Just don’t take forever.”I kissed her shoulder before standing up.Lana was standing near the cooler, digging through melted ice like she was hunting for gold. Her phone was beside her abandoned on the bench, glittery case fac

Ariana’s POV“You’re not wearing that,” my mom said, waving a perfectly manicured hand at the black dress I’d just pulled from the rack. “This isn’t a funeral, Ariana.”I bit the inside of my cheek.She was in full control mode clipboard in hand, Bluetooth in her ear, barking orders at a planner and a florist like we weren’t six days away from her second wedding to the same man.“Try this one.” She shoved a pale blue satin dress into my arms. Strapless. Tight. The color of disappointment.I didn’t argue.Mostly because I was too busy trying not to throw up.From nerves. From guilt.From the way Roman hadn’t looked me in the eye since we got back from the beach.I slipped into the dressing room, peeling off my hoodie and jeans. My body still ached from him. Not just from the things he did to me, but from not having him since.We hadn’t talked.Not since the bus ride.Not since I watched him fake a smile in front of Mark.Not since my mom refused to meet my gaze.> Something shifted.Th

Roman's POVThe house was too quiet.Not the kind of quiet that settles. The kind that wraps its fingers around your neck and waits.I had barely stepped through the front door when Mark called me."My study. Now."His voice was steel. Polished. Controlled. And fucking lethal.The second I walked in, he closed the door and locked it.My heart didn’t race.It beat steady. Defiant.He stood behind his desk like a judge about to pass sentence. The photo of our family sat crooked on the corner, the frame silver and spotless."What did I tell you?"I didn’t answer.His hand slammed down. The photo jumped."What the hell did I tell you, Roman?!"Silence stretched between us like a loaded gun."I built this family. I gave you everything opportunity, power, a name worth more than half this city. And what do you do with it? You screw your stepsister in my house? On school grounds?"I didn’t flinch.He scoffed. "You think this is about love? You think that girl is worth our reputation?""She’s

Ariana's POVI knew the second I stepped out of the Uber that everything had changed.The air felt thicker. The kind of thick that wasn’t about weather it was about whispers. About eyes watching your every move, waiting to see if you’d crack.Campus looked the same. But it wasn’t.I wasn’t.My hands trembled slightly as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, trying to hold my head high. I made it five steps in before I heard it.“She’s the one…”“Isn’t that the stepsister?”“…and they were caught kissing…”The voices weren’t loud. Just sharp enough to pierce skin.And the worst part? No one said it to my face. They just looked with half-hidden smirks, sideways glances, pity laced with disgust.I kept walking. One step. Then another.But inside, it felt like I was breaking apart one breath at a time.I passed the courtyard. The library. The bench Lana and I used to sit on with iced coffees and eye-rolls about boys and professors. But now?Now I couldn’t even remember the last time we spoke.

Roman’s POVThe hallway smelled like waxed floors and something sterile too clean, too quiet. My steps echoed as I walked toward the back of the library building, where Alex said he'd be waiting. The rain had started to drizzle again outside, casting grey light through the long windows. It was supposed to be a normal day. Just a fucking normal day.But nothing’s been normal since Ariana said no.I spotted him before he saw me.Alex stood by the vending machine, same cocky posture, same dark hoodie pulled over his head. Like he hadn’t disappeared for weeks. Like he hadn’t ghosted me when everything in my life exploded.I didn’t walk I stormed."You’ve got some fucking nerve," I hissed as I approached. "Where the hell have you been?"He looked up. And for a second, he actually smiled.But then he saw my eyes.His face fell. "Roman…""No, don’t Roman me. You vanished. You disappeared while I was getting crucified by my father, kicked out of my own fucking house, and. . " My voice cracked