All Chapters of My Step-Brothers’ Forbidden Addiction: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Delilah’s POVI dragged myself out of bed and got dressed, choosing long sleeves to hide the bandages on my hands. My reflection looked hollow and exhausted, dark circles under my eyes that makeup couldn’t quite hide.The walk downstairs felt like walking to my execution.Everyone was already seated when I entered the dining room. Ryker at the head of the table, Mom to his right, and both brothers across from each other. They all looked up when I walked in.“Good morning, honey,” Mom said with a smile that dimmed slightly when she saw my face. “How are you feeling?”“Fine,” I managed, taking the empty seat next to Mom.“You don’t look fine,” Ryker observed. His tone wasn’t unkind but it wasn’t warm either. “Rough night?”Before I could answer, Mateo spoke up from across the table. “She had a lot to drink at the celebration. Probably hungover.”My eyes snapped to his and found him watching me with that amber gaze that seemed to track my every micro-expression. There was something diffe

Delilah’s POVI went straight to my room and tried to calm my racing heart. The image of Mateo wiping blood from his mouth with that dark, hungry expression wouldn’t leave my mind.A soft knock came an hour later.“Delilah?” Mom’s voice. “Can we finalize plans for tomorrow? I want to leave early for the bookstore before it gets crowded.”Tomorrow. The bookstore trip. I’d almost forgotten amid everything else.“Sure, Mom. What time?”“Let’s leave by eight. We’ll find something perfect for Ryker, I just know it. Get some rest, honey.”Her footsteps faded down the hall and I lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling, Mateo’s dark promise still burning in my mind. Tomorrow felt like walking into another trap, but I couldn’t tell Mom that. Couldn’t explain why leaving the house terrified me.I barely slept.The next morning, I woke to Mom knocking softly on my door.“Delilah? Are you awake? We need to leave in twenty minutes if we want to beat the traffic.”The bookstore trip. Today was

Delilah’s POVThe drive home felt endless. Every mile brought us closer to whatever the brothers had planned, and my phone sat heavy in my pocket like a bomb waiting to go off.Mom chattered happily about the journal, about how perfect Ryker’s birthday was going to be, completely oblivious to the threat text burning holes in my mind. I tried to respond appropriately, to smile and nod, but my jaw was clenched so tight it ached.When we pulled into the driveway, both brothers were outside. Dante was adjusting strings of lights along the porch railing while Mateo stood near the garage holding what looked like decoration boxes. They both looked up as we parked, and matching smiles spread across their faces.“How was the bookstore?” Mateo called out as Mom and I got out of the car.“Wonderful!” Mom beamed, holding up the gift bag. “We found the perfect journal for Ryker. Delilah had such a thoughtful idea.”“I’m sure she did,” Dante said, his storm-gray eyes locking on mine. “Always so tho

Delilah’s POVThe walk back to the car had been torture. Every step through that market felt like walking through a gauntlet of judgment. People whispered behind their hands, their eyes tracking my movement like I was some kind of spectacle. A woman I vaguely recognized from pack gatherings had made deliberate eye contact before turning her back, pulling her own child closer as if I might contaminate them.I’d kept my head down and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The vendor who’d been cold to me earlier had looked almost smug when I returned to his stall for the carrots I’d dropped during the attack. He’d handed them over without a word, but his expression said everything.By the time I reached Mom’s car, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely grip the grocery bags. I’d loaded them into the passenger seat with jerky, uncoordinated movements, my whole body vibrating with suppressed emotion. Then I’d just sat there in the driver’s seat, staring at nothing, tryi

Delilah’s POVMy blue dress lay across my bed in tatters, destroyed beyond any hope of repair. Someone had taken scissors or a knife to the fabric, shredding it methodically from neckline to hem until the bodice hung in strips and the skirt looked like it had been through a paper shredder. Dark stains that looked suspiciously like motor oil covered what remained of the silk.I stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the ruins of the only formal dress I owned, the dress I’d worn to my university graduation, the one Mom had saved up for months to buy me because she wanted me to feel special that day.Now it was destroyed.My hands shook as I moved closer and picked up a piece of torn fabric, examining the clean, deliberate cut. Someone had spent time doing this, making sure every inch was ruined so thoroughly that even the best seamstress couldn’t salvage it.Mateo’s voice echoed in my head from dinner. “She should probably bring a backup. Formal events can be unpredictable.”They’d kno