Lahat ng Kabanata ng Getting back at my ex with his billionaire stepbrother : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Zara held her phone, her thumb hovering, poised. Behind her, Leo’s tall figure was partially reflected. He wore a black fitted tee, his toned bicep resting lazily around her waist. He didn’t say a word he didn’t need to. He was the calm in the storm she used to live in.The photo was casual. Effortless. The kind of picture that looked like it wasn’t planned, when in reality, they’d taken seventeen versions before landing on this one.Her caption was already typed:> Healing looks good on me. With a decisive tap, Zara released the image onto the internet. Then, with a slow, controlled exhale, she dropped her phone face down onto the polished café table, as if severing a physical connection to the impending storm. She took a deep, steadying breath, the scent of fresh coffee grounding her.Leo, seated across from her, watched her with a knowing smirk, his eyes glinting with a predatory satisfaction. “Posted?” he asked, his voice a low, confident rumble.Zara nodded, a faint smile playin

Leo sat hunched over his sleek, expensive desk in his home office, the glow of his monitor casting stark shadows on his troubled face. On the screen, a half-drafted message to Zara flickered, a testament to his internal turmoil. Words appeared, flowed, only to be ruthlessly deleted. Rewritten, only to be erased again. The cursor blinked at him like it was judging his cowardice.> Zara, there’s something I need to tell you…Delete.Start over.> This might change the way you see me…Delete.Start over.> Jayden is my stepbrother…Delete.He dropped the phone on the desk like it burned his hand.He couldn’t do it. At least not yet.Fred strolled in, as if he owned the very air as usual, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand, a casual air that belied the pointed question already forming on his lips.“You look constipated,” Fred said casually, eyeing Leo’s blank screen. “Bad night?”Leo didn’t answer. “You told her?” he asked, his voice smooth and deceptively casual.Leo didn’t even both

A sudden, sharp pang hit Zara as she ran, Elena’s face, bright with genuine excitement, in the crowded high school hallway. It was the day Jayden, her long-time crush, had finally, finally noticed Zara. Elena had been practically vibrating with joy, grabbing Zara’s arm, her eyes wide. "He looked at you, Zara! He actually looked at you! Oh my God, this is happening!" Her enthusiasm had been so real, so infectious, that Zara had allowed herself to believe it. What went wrong? The question, old and unanswerable, twisted in her gut. There had been no signs, no subtle shifts, no cracks in Elena’s loyalty that Zara could recall. It had simply… happened. The betrayal, sharp and sudden, had blindsided her.Exhausted, both physically and emotionally, Zara finally returned to her apartment. The familiar walls offering her a little solace. The air still felt heavy, contaminated by Elena’s desperate presence. She needed to clear her head, to literally sweep away the emotional dust.She decided t

Zara was sprawled across her bed, flipping through a fashion magazine lying opened but unread on her chest. The glossy page was blurred into colourful haze as her mind replayed the snippets of conversations she had had with Leo. Just thinking about him now sent a familiar flutter through her chest, a feeling she had been trying to ignore for days.Her phone buzzed. She reached lazily for it with a sigh, expecting some forwarded meme or her dad asking what was for dinner. Instead, it was a text from Leo.> "Hey, you free this weekend?"She stared at the screen, heart skipping just a bit faster than she liked to admit. She swallowed, sat up, and read it again.> "I have something to tell you, Zara. And no, we don’t have to meet at the coffee shop. What about going to an art gallery instead?"An art gallery? That was new. That was… kinda intimate. Was he…? No. Maybe. She shouldn’t overthink it.But her mind was already spiraling. What if he wants to confess something to her?Her thumbs

The morning sun streamed through the large windows of Leo’s penthouse apartment, bathing the room in gold. Leo sat at his sprawling mahogany desk, still in his sleepwear, eyes glued to his laptop screen before him. Coffee in hand, he refreshed the Lume Skincare homepage for the third time in ten minutes.Zara had mentioned them to him casually during their gallery visit something about wanting to be their brand ambassador, how they hadn’t responded to her emails, and how influencers with far less talent and beauty kept getting deals. Leo had listened. And now, Leo was acting.He wasn't just going to hope the world noticed Zara again.He was going to make them notice her.He began to type his fingers moving with a quick Confident rhythm.Subject: Sponsorship ProposalFrom: Leo Wellington (leo.wellington@wellingtoncorp.com)To: partnerships@lumeskincare.comDear Lume Skincare Team,My name is Leo Wellington. I believe the name might ring a bell.I’ve recently taken an interest in your b