Semua Bab Stuck Between Two Hotties: My Stepbrother Stole My Christmas: Bab 31 - Bab 40

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: DAYLIGHT DOESN’T SOFTEN EVERYTHINGCASSIAN Pov;Daylight didn’t make this easier.It didn’t soften the edges or drain the danger out of what we’d chosen.If anything, it sharpened everything, pulled the truth into focus and dared us to keep standing when there was nowhere left to hide.I woke early, the house still and gray, the kind of quiet that only exists after storms. Snow pressed against the windows like a held breath. For a moment, I stayed still, listening to pipes ticking, to the old wood settling, to the faint rhythm of a house learning a new shape.Then I thought of Lena.Not last night’s kiss.Not the way she’d looked up at me like she wasn’t afraid of the cost.I thought of her in the daylight.That was new.I got dressed and went downstairs. The kitchen light was on. Coffee brewed. Someone had already been awake long enough to pretend everything was normal.Lena stood at the counter, hair tied back loosely, sweater slipping off one shoulder, mug warmi

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR;Lena's Pov I watched him navigate it all with a steadiness that amazed me.And then because the world is cruel in timing his past arrived.It came in the form of a woman at the door the next morning.Tall. Composed. Expensive coat. Eyes sharp enough to cut.“I’m looking for Cassian Ward,” she said.I stood there, heart thudding. “He’s inside.”She smiled thinly. “Of course he is.”Cassian appeared behind me, tension snapping into place the second he saw her.“Marlene,” he said.“Cassian,” she replied. Her gaze flicked to me. “You must be Lena.”I didn’t like the way she said my name. Like it was a concept she’d already evaluated.“This is not a good time,” Cassian said evenly.She ignored him. “You didn’t think you could make this choice without it reaching me, did you?”“I didn’t think you had a claim anymore,” he shot back.She smiled. “No. But I have influence.”I stepped forward before Cassian could block me. “Then say what you came to say.”Her eyes sharpene

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: UNDER WATCHFUL EYESLENA Pov;By the time the car pulled up to the venue, my heartbeat had learned a new rhythm.Not panic….Not fear…..Awareness.The building rose ahead of us in pale stone and glass elegant, understated, deliberate. Cassian stepped out first.He didn’t rush.Didn’t hesitate.He offered me his hand, not dramatic, not possessive. Open. Steady.I took it.That single motion felt louder than any announcement.Cameras were already there. Not a swarm, not chaos just enough to remind us that nothing in this room would go unnoticed. Cassian leaned in slightly as we walked, his voice low and calm.“Breathe,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”I believed him.Inside, the air buzzed with polite conversation and restrained curiosity. Crystal glasses clinked. Soft music floated overhead. The scent of perfume and polished wood wrapped around us like another layer of expectation.Eyes turned.Some are curious.Some sharp.Some assessing.No one said anything outrigh

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: THE SPACE BETWEEN HELD BREATHSLena's Pov The night after I told him about the placement, I didn’t sleep.Not because of fearbut because of space.The idea of it stretched between us like a living thing. Six months. A country away. Time zones and new streets and unfamiliar skies. It wasn’t a threat exactly, but it wasn’t harmless either. Space could soften things… or sharpen them into something you couldn’t touch without bleeding.I lay awake listening to the house settle, replaying the way Cassian’s face had changed when I told him. Not anger. Not disappointment. Something quieter. Something heavier.Understanding.And understanding, I was learning, was harder than refusal.Morning came pale and cold. I dressed slowly, pulling on layers like armor. When I stepped into the hallway, Cassian’s door was already open. He stood inside, tying his boots, jacket folded over the chair like he hadn’t slept either.Our eyes met.No words.Just that shared knowing that tod

CHAPTER FORTY: THE SHAPE OF MISSINGLENA Pov;The city didn’t wait for me to arrive gently.It hit fastnoise, movement, and color stacked on top of color. My apartment was small and bright, all sharp angles and borrowed furniture, a place that smelled faintly of paint and someone else’s laundry detergent. From the window, I could see a slice of street where bikes cut between cars and people moved with purpose, like they’d already decided who they were before stepping outside.I set my suitcase down and stood there for a long moment, hands on the straps, breathing.I’m here.The words felt strange in my mouth. Real. Heavy.My phone buzzed on the counter. Cassian’s name lit the screen, and for a second my chest tightened with the instinct to step backward to retreat into the version of myself that stayed because staying felt safer.I didn’t.I answered.“Hey,” I said.His voice came through warm and steady, grounding in a way that made the room feel less borrowed. “You made it.”“Yes.