My Stepbrother’s Dirty Secret のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

Corleone’s pov The words hit me like ice water. “Corleone, I can explain.’” My heart hammered so violently it was almost deafening to my own ears. My stomach twisted into knots, part anger, part disbelief, part fear and part betrayal. Mom. She had caught me catching her. My mind raced a thousand miles in one minute. Explain? How could anything justify that? I froze, hands gripping the edge of the hotel bed. My chest felt tight, like there was no air. I wanted to scream, to storm out, to push past her, but some part of me….a smaller, quieter part of me hesitated. It was like a remainder that this was my mom. The woman I had loved, trusted, relied on my whole life. And yet… what I had seen made it impossible for me to feel safe in her presence. “I… I don’t know if I want to hear it,” I said, my voice shaky but firm as I tried to steady my breathing. “I don’t even know if I can hear it.” Mom stepped closer, her expression was a mixture of guilt, shame, and urgency. “Corleone…

Corleone’s pov The music downstairs was still loud. There were laughters, happy chattering, glasses clinking together and voices blending into the celebration that I wasn’t involved in. Up here where I was, everything was quiet, heavy and empty. It wasn’t what I had hoped the wedding would be for me. I stood outside my mom’s suite, staring at the door like it might open on its own and save me from what I was about to do. My heart pounded hard against my chest, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. This was it. I didn’t want to pretend anymore. I didn’t want to avoid things that would still catch up with me in the future, many days from now. Finally, I raised my hand and knocked. I knocked the first time and then the second time. On the second, the door opened almost immediately. Mom stood right in front of me, dressed in a green night wear with extra robe wrapping around it. She had probably been expecting me. Of course, she had. “Corleone…” her voice was soft and gent

Corleone’s pov After Percy told me that coldly, I just walked away. She called me but I refused to answer. If she couldn’t trust me enough to tell me what it was then there was no point. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling. It followed me like a shadow. It was quiet and quite stubborn just like me. It pressed against my chest no matter how much I tried to ignore it. Something wasn’t right. Something was definitely not right and this wasn’t just about my mom. We returned to the hotel and packed our bags, ready to go back to the house. Percy walked beside me as we stepped out of the hotel entrance, sunglasses resting on her face like she was using them as a shield. The tension was high but she was trying to make it minimal. Davin just trailed behind us slowly without saying anything. “Where to?” Percy asked, forcing a light tone. I shrugged. “Anywhere that isn’t here.” “Fair.” She nodded. We entered the car. We were going home of course. The city blurred past us in s

Martil’s pov I knew I was in big trouble. Air was running out of the space I was locked in. The situation didn’t look good at all. I could feel the tightness in my chest, each breath I took feeling shorter than the very last. Time wasn’t my enemy yet but it could be. It was getting very close. I stayed still for a moment longer. My ears were working extra hours as I listened. The footsteps above had faded, the hushed voices were gone and the silence had returned. Very good. It was time now. They left me in the coffin because they were confident. They were confident that I’d stay buried. The thought I would break. I exhaled air slowly through my nose. “They don’t know Grave.” My fingers traced the inside again. This time, it was slow, steady and deliberate. If I wanted to escape this shit hole, I knew I needed to use the dead part of my brain. The insides was cheap rough wood. It wasn’t smoothened. It wasn’t a sealed airtight one either and that explained the small amount of a

Martil’s povI didn’t expect her to run to me.But she did.⸻One second she was standing there, frozen, eyes wide like she wasn’t sure I was real—The next—She crashed into me.⸻Her arms wrapped around me tight. Desperate.Like I might disappear again if she didn’t hold on hard enough.⸻The impact sent a sharp pain through my ribs, but I didn’t react. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away.Instead—I held her.Firm.Grounding.⸻“Hey…” my voice came out lower than usual, rough from everything I’d just clawed my way out of. “Easy.”But she didn’t ease.If anything, she held on tighter.⸻“You’re alive…” she whispered against my chest, her voice breaking. “They said—you were missing—I thought—”“I’m not going anywhere,” I cut in quietly.Not again.Not like that.⸻Her hands tightened in my shirt, fingers gripping like she needed proof.Like I was the only solid thing left in her world.⸻And the way her body trembled against mine?Yeah.Something was wrong.Very wrong.⸻I pulled back sl