Semua Bab Bound by Sin: My Stepbrother’s Obsession: Bab 61 - Bab 70

Sage.I sank into the couch, Theo finally settled upstairs in his crib, the gentle rise and fall of his chest lulling me into a sense of fragile calm.Maya flopped down beside me, still buzzing with energy, her eyes darting toward the living room window as if she expected someone to appear out of thin air. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head, all chaotic and unfiltered.“Can you believe her?” Maya said suddenly, shaking her head, her voice low but sharp. “She actually faked a whole pregnancy. I mean, a whole pregnancy to keep a man.”I sighed, curling my fingers around the edge of the couch cushion, feeling the tension in my shoulders. “Maybe she really is pregnant,” I said carefully, trying to keep my tone neutral, because I didn’t want to escalate Maya’s already fiery thoughts. “You never know.”Maya turned to me, her eyes wide, incredulous, like I had just suggested that pigs might fly. “Oh, baby, you are so naive, no,” she said, leaning back dramatically. “She is not

Sage. I gripped Theo a little tighter in the crook of my arm as we walked toward the hospital doors. He was half asleep, the gentle weight of him warm against my chest, his tiny fingers curling around mine. Maya bounced alongside me, her usual energy on high alert. I could feel it radiating off her, a mixture of mischief and vigilance. Today was supposed to be simple drop by to see Mom, let her hold her grandson, and get back home before things got complicated.But life, as usual, had other plans.We stepped out into the parking lot, the sunlight catching on the sleek black cars and glinting off the hospital windows. I took a deep breath, bracing for the ordinary. And then I saw them.Andre and Ella.The world seemed to compress for a second. My chest tightened, Theo stirred slightly against me, and Maya’s eyes immediately narrowed as she noticed them. Andre was talking, his hand casually resting on the back of Ella’s chair as they walked toward the hospital. Ella she had that sm

Andre.I can’t focus on anything after that elevator kiss.Not the hum of the engine beneath us, not the familiar stretch of road leading away from the hospital, not even the dull ache settling behind my eyes from a day that’s wrung me dry. All I can see,feel is her. Sitting there in the passenger seat like nothing happened. Like the world didn’t tilt on its axis the moment our lips touched in that elevator.Sage stares out the window, her face calm, unreadable, the city lights sliding across her features as if they have no right to linger. One hand rests in her lap, the other loosely holding her phone, though I don’t think she’s actually looking at it. She hasn’t said a word since we got in the car.And it’s driving me insane.I grip the steering wheel tighter than necessary, my jaw clenched so hard it hurts. I have faced hostile boardrooms, life or death decisions, pressure that would crush most people, but this? This silence? It’s unbearable.Because how can she sit there like th

SageThe car disappears behind me in a rush of red taillights and silence.For a moment, I just stand there on the side of the road, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, the night air biting through my clothes. My chest feels hollow, like something vital was scooped out and left behind on the asphalt with Andre’s words still ringing in my ears.Come back, Sage, but I didn’t, I couldn’t.Walking felt like the only thing I could do one foot in front of the other, letting the anger burn itself out, letting the ache dull into something manageable. The streetlights blur as tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Not here. Not over him. Not again.I don’t get far before a car slows beside me.I tense instantly, instinct screaming at me to keep moving, to say no, to protect myself. The passenger window rolls down, and a man leans slightly toward me, hands still firmly on the wheel.“Hey,” he says gently. “You okay?”His voice isn’t threatening. Just concerned.I stop walking,

RosaI had learned, over the years, that hospitals had a way of pulling memories out of you whether you wanted them or not.The smell of antiseptic. The soft beeping of machines. The muted footsteps in the hallway outside my room. They all blended together, tugging at threads I had spent decades carefully knotting and tucking away. Tonight, those threads were unraveling.Andre sat beside my bed, his large hand wrapped around mine, his thumb rubbing slow circles into my skin like he had done so many times before. It was a habit he didn’t even realize he had picked up. When he was anxious. When he was afraid. When he felt like the ground beneath him was cracking.And tonight, he felt like he was standing over a fault line.The door had just closed behind Sage minutes earlier. I had watched her walk out with that familiar tightness in her shoulders, pretending she was stronger than she felt. I had seen that posture before in the mirror, many years ago.Andre stared down at our joined h