Lahat ng Kabanata ng STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER : Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

Ariana's POV.The sound was rhythmic. Heavy. Violent. Like a storm punching through silence.Thud. Thud. Thud.It rattled the thin walls and made my chest tighten. I knew that sound—it was the punching bag in the gym corner of the apartment. And I knew who was hitting it like it owed him blood.Roman.I curled deeper under the sheets, but sleep had long abandoned me. I’d barely gotten any rest the night before. My body was restless. My thoughts, worse. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his smirk. Felt the heat of his breath against my ear when he cornered me in the hallway.“So am I,” he’d said when I told him I was just hungry. The way he looked at me… it wasn’t fair. It made my knees weak. My resolve even weaker.I shouldn’t have come out that night. I shouldn’t have looked for milk.And I definitely shouldn’t have let him get that close.But now, the morning was bleeding into afternoon and I was still hiding in the guest room like a coward. Like a girl who didn’t want him to see t

Roman’s POV.The last thing I expected that afternoon was to see her name flashing on my phone screen.Jena.Ariana’s mother.I just stared at it, thumb hovering, brain short-circuiting. She hadn’t called me in months not since the aftermath of everything. My jaw clenched, stomach tightening as I finally accepted the call."Roman," she said, her voice clipped, irritated. "Can you come over? Now."No explanation. No greeting. Just that sharp motherly command I’d always hated.I didn’t know why I said yes. Maybe because Ariana had been acting strange all week—distant, distracted, restless. Maybe because I was tired of being left in the dark. Or maybe because deep down, something ugly inside me already knew this wasn’t just a casual chat.I drove to the estate with my teeth grinding the whole way. The moment I stepped inside that cold, marble-coated mansion, I regretted it.She was waiting in the sitting room, arms folded. Her eyes scanned me like I was something she wanted to erase."So

Roman's POV.Sunlight leaked in through the curtains. Soft. Warm. Peaceful.It didn’t belong here.Not in this apartment.Not in this moment.Not when everything inside me still felt like broken glass.I stood by the kitchen counter, nursing a black coffee I didn’t even want. I just needed something bitter in my mouth that wasn’t her name.She hadn’t come out of the guest room.I didn’t knock.I didn’t need to.She came out eventually barefoot, hair messy, eyes swollen. That oversized hoodie swallowed her small frame. Mine. She still wore mine.She paused when she saw me, like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to breathe in the same room.I didn’t say anything. Just looked at her.“Roman…” Her voice was soft. Apologetic.I gestured toward the chair across from me. “Sit.”She did. Slowly. Carefully. Like I might snap if she moved too fast.Good. Let her be nervous. Let her feel everything I was holding back.“I’ve been thinking,” I said, tone calm, but cold enough to make her flinch.

Roman’s POVHer fingers brushed my jaw tender, like she didn’t know whether to hold me or let me fall apart and I did. In her hands.Something inside me broke wide open. All the fury, the guilt, the betrayal it bled through the cracks. I wasn't just angry anymore.I was shattered, But she didn’t move and She didn’t flinch.She just stood there, looking at me like I was still worth saving.My breath came out rough, shaky. I grabbed her wrist not hard, but firm just to make sure she wouldn’t pull away. My eyes locked onto hers, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I only knew I was drowning in everything I had tried to bury.“Ariana…” Her name broke in my throat.She blinked up at me, soft lips parted like she was about to whisper something something that would’ve destroyed me more.So I kissed her.I kissed her like it was the only way to survive.It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t calm. It was chaos and desperation colliding. My mouth crashed into hers as I pinned her back against th

Roman's POV.The kitchen smelled like garlic and butter.Ariana had been hovering beside me, passing me plates and making soft jokes that curled the corners of my mouth without me realizing.For the first time in days, I wasn’t thinking about the mess outside these walls.Then—three knocks.Not rushed. Not hesitant.Measured. Exact.I froze.Ariana looked at me. “Want me to—?”“No.” My voice was sharper than I meant it to be. “I’ll get it.”She stayed put while I wiped my hands and walked to the door. My steps felt heavier with each one. I already knew.When I opened it, there he was.Mark.Perfect suit, perfect tie, perfect mask of composure. His cologne—expensive, suffocating—hit first. His eyes, however, were the same as they’d always been: calculating, predatory, the kind that could strip you down to the bone without lifting a finger.> “Roman,” he said, with the kind of smoothness people mistake for charm. “We should talk.”“What do you want?” I didn’t step aside.> “Privately.”