All Chapters of RIVAL'S TO LOVER'S: My Step Brother Is Now My Roommate : Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

196 Chapters

Chapter 101: His Voice Is Quieter

HAYDEN’S POV:I knew something had changed the moment I saw him.Stephen didn’t say anything at first when he walked into the living room. He just stood there for a second, like he was taking it all in—the space, me, the quiet. Like he was grounding himself.And I felt it.“Hey,” I said softly.“Hey.” His voice was quieter than usual, but steadier and certain.I shifted on the couch, lifting the blanket slightly in silent invitation. He didn’t hesitate this time. Just crossed the room and dropped down beside me, close enough that our sides pressed together immediately.And then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, he pulled me into him.I didn’t fight or overthink it. I just… melted.My head rested against his chest, his arm wrapped around me, his fingers absentmindedly brushing over my sleeve. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat grounded me in a way I didn’t want to question too deeply.Because if I did, I might start asking things I wasn’t ready to hear answers to.For a

Chapter 102: My Glance Towards The Door

HAYDEN’S POV:The whispers started before we even stepped onto the pitch. I felt them more than I heard them at first—those sideeyes, the subtle nudges, the way conversations dipped just slightly when Stephen and I walked past. It wasn’t loud, not obvious enough for anyone to call out, but it was there.It followed us like a shadow.I kept my gaze forward, shoulders squared as I walked beside Stephen. If he noticed, and I knew he did, he didn’t show it. His expression stayed neutral, jaw set, focus locked straight ahead as nothing else existed.Like none of it mattered.“Morning,” Coach called out as we approached.“Morning,” we both muttered back almost in sync.For a second, I thought Coach might say something—his eyes lingered on us just a beat too long, but then he clapped his hands sharply and turned his attention back to the team.“Alright, let’s move! Warm-ups, now!”And just like that, practice began.I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as I jogged onto the field. The famil

Chapter 103: His Expression Didn't Change Right Away

HAYDEN’S POV: The air outside the locker room felt different. Voices echoed down the hallway, footsteps, laughter, the usual chaos of campus life. But underneath it, there was something sharper now, like awareness. Eyes lingering just a little too long. Conversations paused just a beat when Stephen and I stepped outside side by side.It wasn’t just in my head anymore.I glanced at him briefly. His expression was set, unreadable, but I could see it in the tightness of his jaw, the way his shoulders were just a fraction too rigid.He felt it too.We walked in silence for a while, our footsteps in sync against the tiled floor. For a second, I thought about saying something, anything, but the words didn’t come. Not yet.And then….“Hayden?”The voice cut through everything.I stopped. Stephen slowed beside me, and I didn’t miss the way his body tensed slightly.I turned.Lilian stood there first, leaning casually against the wall as if she owned it. Her dark hair fell perfectly over one s

Chapter 104: The Footsteps

STEPHEN’S POV:I knew the moment it left his mouth, the hesitation and that tiny pause before he shook his head.It shouldn’t have hit me the way it did but it did.The room felt too small after that, like the air had thinned out and something solid between us had just cracked and neither of us knew how bad the damage was yet.Hayden didn’t move right away. He just stood there, eyes searching mine, like he was waiting for me to say something to fix it or make it easier.I didn’t.Because I didn’t know how.A part of me had already seen this coming. I wasn’t stupid. I knew Hayden, knew the life he had lived before this, the way things had always been easy for him when it came to girls, attention, and expectations.This? This wasn’t easy.But knowing it and hearing him say it out loud were two completely different things.“You’re not ready,” I said finally, my voice quieter than I expected.It wasn’t an accusation. It just… was.His jaw tightened slightly. “I didn’t say I’d never be.”I

Chapter 105: Rubbing His Back

HAYDEN’S POV:The party was loud, too loud.Music thumped through the walls, bass vibrating under my feet as bodies moved, laughed, shouted over each other. The house was packed with people spilling into every corner, drinks in hand, the kind of chaos I used to thrive in.Now, I stood near the edge of the living room, half-leaning against the wall, staring at nothing in particular while everything blurred together.Stephen should’ve been here.The thought came uninvited, sharp and persistent.He would’ve hated this—too many people, too much noise but he would’ve stayed anyway. Probably stood off to the side like I was doing now, arms crossed, watching everything with that quiet intensity of his.And I would’ve been right next to him.Instead, I was here alone.I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through my hair. This wasn’t what I wanted.All I wanted was to be back in bed, in the quiet, where things felt simpler. Where I didn’t have to think so hard about every word, every look, every

Chapter 106: Let's Get Things Figured Out

HAYDEN’S POV:I didn’t mean to drink that much. It just… happened.One cup turned into two, then three, then I stopped counting altogether. The burn in my throat stopped feeling sharp after a while, dulling into something easier, something quieter. The noise around me blurred into a low hum, the laughter and music melting into the background like they didn’t matter anymore.And for a little while, it worked.It numbed everything.The thoughts, the tension. The constant replay of Stephen’s voice in my head.You’re not ready.I leaned heavily against the wall, staring down at the half-empty cup in my hand like it had answers I couldn’t find anywhere else. My fingers felt loose around it, my grip unsteady.Maybe he was right. No… not maybe. He was right.That was the worst part.A laugh burst somewhere across the room, too loud, too sharp. It made me flinch slightly, my head turning toward the sound before I quickly looked away again.Everything felt off and wrong, like I didn’t belong h

Chapter 107: No One Else Will

HAYDEN’S POV:I don’t remember how I got home.Everything comes back in fragments, with blurred edges and half-formed moments, like someone cut the night into pieces and shuffled them out of order. The cold air. The sound of a car door. Ariana’s voice is fading in and out.And then….warmth.That’s the first thing that settles clearly.Warmth and something steady beneath it.I blink slowly, my eyes struggling to focus as the world tilts into place. My head is pounding, a dull, relentless ache pressing behind my eyes, and my throat feels dry, like I swallowed sand.I groan quietly, shifting slightly and that’s when I feel it.A hand that was firm, careful, and resting against my shoulder.“You’re awake.”My breath catches.It was Stephen.His voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it, low and steady, like he doesn’t want to startle me. I turn my head just enough to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand still on me, the other holding a glass of water.For a second, I stare at hi

Chapter 108: Irritation Under My Skin

STEPHEN’S POV: I leave before it gets harder to stay.Hayden is still sitting on the bed when I grab my jacket, his phone loose in his hand, his shoulders slightly hunched like he’s bracing for something that hasn’t even happened yet. He looks smaller like that.It does something to me that I don’t like.“I’ll see you later,” I say, keeping my tone light, normal—like we didn’t just have that conversation, as nothing shifted between us.He nods, but he doesn’t really look at me. “Yeah… later.”I hesitate for half a second. Then I leave.The hallway outside feels colder than it should. Or maybe it’s just me. I shove my hands into my pockets and start walking, my mind replaying everything he said over and over again.You don’t care the way I do.That’s what he thinks.I exhale sharply, jaw tightening.It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I don’t let it control me. There’s a difference. A big one.But try explaining that to someone who’s already decided fear is safer than honesty.By th

Chapter 109: Gaze Sharpens Slightly

HAYDEN’S POV:Stephen didn’t say anything.He just looks at me for a second something unreadable , then he nods once, like he’s made a decision and steps back.“I’ll catch you later,” he says quietly.And then he’s gone. Just like that.The space beside me feels colder without him there, like something solid just disappeared and left me exposed. My chest tightens, but I didn’t let myself look after him. I can’t. Not right now.Because Ariana is standing in front of me.“Come on,” she says gently, nodding toward the path that leads away from the main walkway. “Let’s talk somewhere less… public.”My stomach twist, I nodded.We walk in silence for a bit, side by side but not quite together. The sounds of campus fade slightly as we move farther away, fewer voices, fewer eyes. It should make me feel better.It didn’t If anything, it makes everything feel more real.We stop near a quiet bench under a tree, the shade cool against my skin. Ariana turns to face me fully, crossing her arms loos

Chapter 110: Before It Deepens

HAYDEN’S POV:It had been two weeks of pretending, stolen moments and hidden glances and learning how to exist in a world where the best thing in my life had to stay a secret.And somehow… it’s been the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.I didn’t think it would be like this.I thought it would be stressful, suffocating—constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to notice, waiting for everything to fall apart. And yeah, there are moments like that. Moments where my chest tightens if someone looks at us for too long or if Stephen’s hand lingers a second too close to mine in public.But then there are the other moments.The ones that make everything else feel worth it.Like right now.I’m pressed up against the cool wall of an empty corridor in the arts building, my heart racing for an entirely different reason as stephen leans into me, his lips brushing mine in a kiss that’s soft at first, before it deepens.My fingers curl into the fabric of his hoodie, pulling him close

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