All Chapters of RIVAL'S TO LOVER'S: My Step Brother Is Now My Roommate : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

STEPHEN’S POV:I didn’t expect it to get this bad.At first, it was just a video. A stupid, messy, chaotic clip of Lilian and Ella going at each other in the hallway while a crowd circled like vultures. I’ve seen fights before, the campus thrives on that kind of drama. It should’ve been just another thing people watched, laughed at, and moved on from.But then Hayden’s name got attached to it, then mine and suddenly, it wasn’t just a video anymore.It was everywhere.I scroll through my phone again, even though I already know I shouldn’t as comments blur together, each one worse than the last.“Wait, isn’t that Stephen’s ex?”“Why does he look more upset than Hayden?”“There’s something weird about those brothers…”“Nah fr, look at how he watches Hayden in the background.”My jaw tightens.I lock the screen, toss the phone onto the bed, and drag a hand down my face. My room feels too small, the air too thick, like the walls are closing in on me.I didn’t ask for this.I didn’t ask for

HAYDEN’S POVI shouldn’t have gone back. I knew it the second time i stepped into the dorm building.The air felt wrong again. Conversations dipped as i walked past, eyes followed me a second too long, and even the silence felt louder than usual.By the time i reach our floor, my chest is already tight. I hesitate in front of the door. For a second… I was thinking about turning around and going anywhere else.Ammy’s place, the field. Hell, even just wandering outside until it gets dark.Anywhere but here.But I didn’t. Because i can’t keep avoiding this, not when it is already spiraling.So i push the door open and immediately….My body goes still.Stephen’s voice cuts through the room, low and cold, but there is something underneath it.I close the door slowly behind me, my grip tightening on the handle for just a second before I let go.“I….” I start, but the words get stuck.Stephen is standing near the window, arms crossed, his posture rigid. His eyes are already on me.“You got m

STEPHEN’S POVI don’t think. The moment his lips crash into mine, everything else just… disappears.The anger, the frustration. The sharp, jagged edge I’ve been carrying around since that night.They were all gone. All I can feel is him.For a split second, I freeze, not because I don’t want this, but because I’ve wanted it for too long and I’ve imagined this moment in a hundred different ways, and none of them ever felt like this.Then something inside me snaps into place and I kiss him back, hard.My hand comes up instinctively, gripping the back of his neck as I pull him closer, like I’m afraid he might change his mind if I give him even an inch of space. His fingers clutch at my jacket, holding on just as tightly, and it sends a rush of heat straight through me.He’s here and he chose this.The thought alone is enough to make my chest feel like it’s about to burst.The kiss deepens, messy and uncoordinated at first, too much emotion, too much everything, but we find a rhythm quick

HAYDEN’S POVThe second the door clicks shut behind Stephen, the room feels… wrong.Like something important just got ripped out of it.I stood there for a second, staring at the spot where he was just standing, as if I could focus hard enough, I could rewind everything, take it back, and say or do something different.My chest tightens.I drag a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply, but it doesn’t help. Nothing does. His words are still echoing in my head, every single one of them hitting harder now that he’s gone.You’re running.My jaw clenches.I turn away, pacing once across the room before stopping near the desk, gripping the edge of it.“I’m not,” I mutter under my breath, even though there’s no one here to hear it.But the words don’t land right.Because part of me knows he’s not wrong.My phone lights up again on the desk, buzzing against the table.It was still Lilian.I stare at it for a second, watching her name flash across the screen like a reminder of everything I jus

HAYDEN’S POVI don’t know what pisses me off more—him… or the fact that I care.The living room felt too small and tight, as if the walls were closing in on me. That guy is still sitting on Stephen’s lap, watching us like he accidentally walked into the middle of something he doesn’t understand and he did.Because I don’t even understand it.“Are you serious?” I ask again, my voice lower now, sharper.Stephen tilts his head slightly, studying me like I’m the one being unreasonable. “I asked you the same thing.”My jaw tightens. “You just met him.”“And?” he shoots back.“And you brought him here?” I gesture vaguely, like that explains everything.Stephen’s expression shifts, something colder slipping into place. “It’s my dorm house too, remember?”That hits again, right where it shouldn’t.I exhale sharply, dragging a hand through my hair. “Yeah. Fine. Do whatever you want.”The words taste like crap coming out of my mouth, but I force them out anyway because that’s what I’m supposed