All Chapters of The Sin Behind His Door: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

  "Jake, leave her alone," Mother intervened quickly, her voice a soft flutter that broke the heavy static between us. I was still locked in a silent, jagged battle for eye contact with him, my pulse thrumming in my ears. "She's just being a girl in love, just started dating..." Mom giggled, reaching out to nudge Jake playfully by the shoulder. She was so blissfully unaware of the predator standing beside her.  So not aware of this man she married as her husband. What irony!  "It feels like the whole world is on your shoulders at that age, doesn't it?" She said with a giggle, trailing hands over Jake's skin.  She turned to me, her face glowing with a wine-induced warmth, and beckoned me closer. "Come on, Aubrey. Sit. Tell me every jui

  "Uhm... I should... Uhm... I..." I couldn’t finish a sentence. His foot moved higher, the arch of his foot pressing firmly against the sensitive skin of my inner thigh, almost hooking into the hem of my shorts. My brain felt like it was short-circuiting. Why was he doing this? Why now, after being so cold, so punishing, after acting like my kiss in the parking lot was a crime he couldn't forgive? I couldn't breathe, let alone think. "I should go to bed," I blurted out, pushing my chair back with a jarring screech. Every pair of eyes at the table snapped to me. "I need to... to call Brendan. I promised I'd do that later." "But you’ve barely touched your plate," Jake said. His v

   "Fuck!" My hand flew to my mouth, the word muffled by my palm. Jake wasn't joking when he brought it up downstairs. He wasn't testing the waters or asking for an opinion. He had already signed the papers. He had stood in this very room, in my private sanctuary, and left these documents like a death warrant while I was still downstairs. Anger seethed through me, hot and jagged. He wanted me out. Out of the house, out of the city, out of the country. Was this my punishment for the parking lot? For the kiss? For existing? Before I realized it, my fingers were crushing the documents, crinkling the expensive paper until the edges were ruined. I threw the rumpled stack across the room; they hit the far wall with a hollow thud and scattered

  "Come on, babe," Mom interjected, her voice a soft buffer against the tension. "We won’t start with that. Our daughter's boyfriend is coming into our house for the first time; we shouldn’t make his visit feel like an interrogation." She turned back to Brendan, her expression radiant. "Now tell me, Brendan, how are you doing? How are your parents?" "Uh..." Brendan took a seat, looking a bit like a deer in headlights. I moved over quickly, sliding into the chair next to him and clasping my hand over his. His palm was slightly damp. "Everyone is fine," he said, offering a polite nod. "Thank you for inviting me in." "No big deal! Is there anything you’d like to eat or drink?" Mom asked, still playing the perfect h

"I’ve warned you about touching my stuff, even if it’s just a snack," Drake growled, his voice a low vibration. He snatched the bag back from my hands with a sharp tug.I didn't say a word. My heart was thudding against my ribs, a heavy, frantic rhythm that made my breath hitch. My cheeks burned with a heat I couldn't suppress. For a split second, looking at Drake felt like looking at a ghost, a younger, more volatile version of Jake. The same predatory focus, the same dark intensity. I shifted in my seat, tucking my legs away, trying to shake the image of Jake’s eyes from my mind.The rest of the drive was a blur of heavy silence, punctuated only by the occasional soft jab between Drake and Brendan. When we finally pulled into the school parking lot, the tension didn't evaporate; it just changed shape.As we stepped out of the car, Drake’s eyes flickered toward me, a fleeting, unreadable look before Brendan stepped into my space. He reached out and caught my hand, entwining our finger