บททั้งหมดของ ACHING MY STEP BROTHER : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

RACHEL“Uhm…” I stammered. Any dump person can see that this surface-level invitation has something deeper to it, and I'm honestly not ready to be in the middle of whatever games he's playing at.“I think that’s enough, Dad.” Jae finally cut in, lightly grabbing my shoulders as if steadying me. “Can you adults excuse us now?”His father frowned slightly. “Alright. I get it. We’ll let you two be.” He turned to me. “Please think about my offer, Rachel. I’d be happy if you do.”I forced a smile and nodded before Jae guided me toward the hallway. The moment we settled on an empty chair we found, he shifted to face me. Heat crawled on my skin slowly. The way his brown eyes looked at me almost made me wonder if he had done this a million times before.“Look, I’m really sorry about what happened back there. My father…” He lifted a brow. “Well, he’s not always like that. I can only say he probably likes you, which is kind of rare.”I rolled my eyes. “No comment. I guess I was too shocked to

THANEMy shoes echoed against the tiles as I marched through the parking lot. The whole place was packed with cars, making it difficult to spot anywhere someone could be hiding.Just as I moved further in, my phone rang again. My hand shoved into my pocket instantly to grab it.I didn’t even bother checking the screen before answering.“Where the hell are you?” I demanded, my tone dropping rougher than before.“Is that what’s been keeping you?” Pops’ voice came through the line, low and controlled. “You’ve been waiting for someone?”I inhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. “Pops, this isn’t a good time. I’ll call you back.”“Don’t give me that nonsense, Thane.” His tone hardened, though it still sounded controlled, like he was trying not to draw attention around his guests. “You missed the entire event, and now you’re still nowhere to be found. Where the hell are you?”“Somewhere,” I replied calmly, moving toward a suspicious-looking jeep.“You made your sister cover for you and tha

RACHELMy head felt heavy and hazy as I slowly stirred awake.I wasn’t fully conscious yet, but something inside me didn’t want to wake up at all.Maybe I was too terrified to. Or maybe it was just the pounding headache from whatever knocked me out yester—Wait.Oh my God.My eyes snapped open.I had definitely been hit with something yesterday. Something heavy.I didn’t even know how it happened.The last thing I remembered was fixing my bra and staring at myself in the huge bathroom mirror. Then the next thing I saw was a man in a red suit appeared behind me.I never even got to see his face when something slammed hard into my head before I could turn around.My gaze dropped to the bed beneath me. Definitely not my bed.I’d be crazy to think it was Thane’s… although a stupid part of me wished he had somehow saved me.A sharp pain shot through my forehead and down my back when I pressed my palms into the mattress to sit up.The moment I tried lifting my weight and swinging my legs of

THANEThe moment the cab pulled up in front of the hotel, I barely registered it.My head had been resting against the seat, one hand draped over my forehead, my thoughts spiraling out of control.“We’re here, sir.”I straightened and leaned forward just enough to confirm we were actually there. Not that he’d lie. Truth is, my head was just… messed up.And I still couldn’t believe I had taken a cab for the first time in my life.I dropped my hand to my lap and started pulling off my wristwatch.I definitely didn’t have any cash on me, but if he wasn’t dumb, he’d know exactly how much this was worth.A Rolex Submariner. Latest model. About ten thousand dollars when I got it last year.Yeah… I was probably the dumbest person alive for handing something like this to a cab driver.But I didn’t care. I stepped out of the car, leaned toward the window, and held the watch out to him.He stared at it nervously and I could still see the hesitation in his eyes, like he wanted to argue.But he d

THANE“What the hell, Thane?” Wendy shouted behind me, like she had any right to be mad after the stunt she just pulled.I didn’t care if she did it because Rachel was watching. I wasn’t letting her get away with it. But neither am I gonna give her that attention she craves so badly. “Fucking shut up, Wen,” I snapped, turning to glare at her. “Whatever you think we had. it’s over. Since a long time. So don’t ever pull that shit with me again. Got it?”“You can’t be serious right now,” she let out a bitter laugh, her voice cracking like she was forcing herself not to cry.“Try me,” I said coldly, not waiting to hear anything else.I didn’t give a damn.I turned and rushed toward the stairs, but I barely made it three steps before Jae appeared, blocking my path.If Wendy was a problem I could ignore, Jae was one hell I couldn’t.I tried to push past him, but he stepped in my way again.“Move,” I said, my voice dropping lower. More colder than when Wendy provoked me. Even I could hear t