Semua Bab The stepbrother I ran away from is my new professor.: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Chapter forty-one— drunk ☆Micaiah's POV☆ "Moretti's here." Kieran's voice cut through the noise. I followed his gaze to the VIP section across the club where Vincent Moretti held court, surrounded by his usual entourage of yes-men and women who cost more per hour than most people made in a week. "Wonderful," I muttered. "We should say hello. Politics and all that." "I'd rather drink battery acid." "Come on. Five minutes. We need to know where he stands with this newcomer situation." He was right. As much as I hated the idea of making small talk with Vincent fucking Moretti, we needed intelligence. And Moretti had his fingers in enough pies to know who was making moves in Phoenix. We made our way across the club. Moretti saw us coming and waved off the blonde draped over his shoulder. "Hayes. Walker." He gestured to the empty seats. "Didn't expect to see you boys out tonight. Thought you were too busy playing war games." "Taking a break," I said, sliding into the offered sea

Chapter Forty-One— little liar ☆Micaiah's POV☆Rain started falling the moment I left the club.Fat drops that turned into a downpour within seconds, drenching everything. The kind of sudden Arizona storm that came out of nowhere and flooded the streets.Perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.I stood in the alley behind Neon, water streaming down my face, and dialed Mali's number again.It rang. And rang. And rang.Voicemail."Mali, answer your goddamn phone. I'm not playing games. I know you're upset but you're drunk and alone and—" I stopped myself before I said something I'd regret. "Just call me back. Please."I hung up and immediately tried again.Straight to voicemail this time.She'd turned off her phone. Or blocked me. Either way, she was out here somewhere in the rain, wasted and vulnerable and probably hating me.And she thought I was the loser.She'd called Daemon. Asked him for help instead of me.The jealousy burned hotter than it should have.I pulled up the tracking app

Chapter Forty-Two— obsessed ⚔Daemon's POV⚔I sat in my office, staring at Maliya's contact in my phone.No messages. No calls. Nothing since our last conversation two days ago.She should have texted by now. She always texted—little updates about her day, complaints about homework, random observations that made me smile despite myself.But there was nothing."You're staring at your phone again."Victor stood in the doorway, arms crossed, looking entirely too knowing."I'm working.""You're obsessing. There's a difference." He moved into the room, closing the door behind him. "When was the last time you heard from her?""Two days ago.""And you're worried.""I'm concerned. She's consistent with communication. The silence is unusual.""Or maybe she's busy. College students have lives that don't revolve around mysterious consultants they barely know."He wasn't wrong. But something felt off.I pulled up the surveillance reports Victor's team had compiled. Maliya's movements over the pas

Chapter Forty-Four— interview★Maliya's POV★I couldn't remember the last time I'd looked forward to something.But as I sat through my morning classes, I kept checking my phone for the time, counting down the hours until two o'clock.The bookstore interview.A chance to be around books. Stories. Worlds that weren't my own mess of a life.I'd always loved reading. It was the one thing that had kept me sane in Seattle—losing myself in dark romance novels where the damaged heroes always got their redemption, where the heroines were strong enough to survive their own stories.Books where the pain meant something. Where the suffering led somewhere other than more suffering.Dark fantasy worlds with magic and monsters and stakes that felt real even though they weren't. Romantasy where love conquered impossible odds and broken people found ways to heal each other.Fiction was better than reality. Safer. More honest, somehow, even when it was complete fantasy.And now I had a chance to work

Chapter Forty-Six— coffee★Maliya's POV★Micaiah didn't come home Friday night.I knew because I'd listened for his car in the driveway until past midnight before finally falling asleep.Not that I cared.Saturday morning, I texted Stephanie.Me: Can I come over? Need to get out of the house.Stephanie: YES! Come now. I'm dying of boredom.I packed a bag with enough clothes for the weekend and left before Micaiah could show up and try to talk to me again.Stephanie's house was exactly as I remembered—massive, perfectly decorated, the kind of place that screamed old money without being tacky about it.She answered the door in pajamas at eleven a.m., pulling me into a hug."Thank god you're here. My parents are in Palm Springs and I've been alone with Edward all weekend. He's being insufferable.""Your brother's here?""Unfortunately. He's working from home all weekend because apparently he never stops." She grabbed my bag. "Come on, I'll show you the guest room."The guest room was ni