All Chapters of RIVAL'S TO LOVER'S: My Step Brother Is Now My Roommate : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

HAYDEN’S POV:I find Ariana outside near the benches, exactly where i was hoping she’d be. She looks up as I approach, her expression shifting immediately when she sees my face.“Hey…what’s wrong?”I didn't waste time as I spill. “There’s a rumor going around,” I say, my voice low and tight. “About me and Stephen.”Her brows knit together instantly. “What?”“People are saying we’re… together.”The words feel heavier now than they did this morning.Ariana straightens slightly, her expression serious now. “Okay. First of all…there’s no proof of that.”“I know that,” I snap, then immediately regret it. “Sorry. I just….how does this even happen if no one has seen anything?”“I don’t know,” she says honestly. “Rumors don’t need proof. Sometimes people just guess or notice patterns.”Patterns? My stomach twists again.I hesitate for a second before asking the question that’s been sitting heavy in my chest since Marcus opened his mouth.“You didn’t tell anyone, right?”The moment the words l

STEPHEN’S POV:That feeling didn't go away.It didn’t go away after he said it. After the apology, the silence after he walked out of the house like there was nothing between us just cracked wide open.The Silence stayed and this time it is worse than anger. Because anger burns out It, but this just lingers.I stood in the living room long after the door closes behind Hayden, staring at nothing, hearing everything he said on repeat.I’m not ready.We should be careful.Not be seen together too much.Like I’m something dangerous and something to hide. My jaw tightens and i let out a breath that feels like it scrapes on the way out.I gave things up for him and it was not small things, it was things that didn’t matter.The scholarship,the one thing that was supposed to get me out, that was supposed to make things easier, that was supposed to be mine, i let it go because staying felt more important, Because he felt more important to me.Because i thought it meant something. I laugh un

HAYDEN’S POV:I should go home.That’s the logical thing. The smart thing. The safe thing.Instead, I turn the car in the opposite direction.I don’t even fully register the decision when I made it. It just… happened. My hands move on the wheel before my brain can catch up, tires cutting through the quiet streets like I’m chasing something I don’t want to name.Or maybe I do.The thought sits heavy in my chest, refusing to be ignored. Every turn I take, every second that passes, it gets louder, more insistent.Find him. Fix it. Don’t let this be how it ends.My grip tightens on the steering wheel. “This is stupid,” I mutter under my breath.Because it is.I already know how this is going to go. I saw his face. I heard the way he said good. That wasn’t someone waiting for me to come after him.That was someone daring me to try. And I’m still doing it anyway.I let out a sharp breath, running one hand through my hair as i slow at a red light. My heart’s beating too fast, like I’m about

HAYDEN’S POV:Weeks passed and it was not the kind that drifted quietly by unnoticed. No these are the kind that drag each day stretching too long, each night settling too heavy.And Stephen…Stephen moved on.At least, that’s what it looks like.We live in the same house, but it feels like we exist in completely different worlds now. Like strangers who just happen to share walls and a kitchen and a history that neither of us knows what to do with anymore.I see him passing sometimes.In the mornings, usually.He is always already dressed sharp, put together, like he has somewhere important to be. Books tucked under his arm, keys in hand, that same focused look on his face like nothing can touch him.“Morning,” he says sometimes, casually and politely, like we didn’t break something between us.I nod back. “Yeah. Morning.”And that’s it.Because I don’t know how to fight something that’s pretending it doesn’t exist.By night… it’s different. Stephen comes home late or not at all. And w

HAYDEN’S POV: There’s something deeply unsettling about sitting in a room designed for honesty when you’ve spent most of your life avoiding it.I notice everything except the one thing I’m supposed to focus on.The soft beige walls. The way the clock ticks just a little too loudly. The faint scent of lavender that’s supposed to be calming but only makes me more aware of how tense I am.Dr. Meyers sits across from me, legs crossed, a notebook resting on her lap. She hasn't written anything down yet. She was just watching me and waiting.That’s the worst part.“You don’t have to say anything right away,” she says gently.I nod, even though the silence is already pressing in on me.I hate silence.Silence leaves too much room for thoughts and things I’ve been carefully pushing down to crawl their way back up.I shift slightly in my seat, leaning forward, elbows resting on my knees. “I told him.”Her eyebrows lift slightly, but she doesn’t interrupt.“I told him what we talked about me.”