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Home / Romance / My Ex-Boyfriend is my New Step-Brother / Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Ex-Boyfriend is my New Step-Brother: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

79 Kabanata

The Dressing Room

The emerald velvet was a second skin, and right now, it was suffocating me.I stood in the triple-mirror of the dressing room at the Reed estate. The front was high-necked and regal, but when I turned, the gown vanished. It scooped down to the very base of my spine, exposing every inch of my pale skin to the cool air."Stop fidgeting, Scarlett," Chloe muttered. She was on her knees on the hardwood, her mouth full of silver pins as she adjusted the hem. "This dress is the difference between a 'rising star' and an 'A-lister.' The back is the selling point. It’s supposed to look like you’re wearing nothing but a prayer.""I feel exposed," I whispered."You feel like a fantasy," Chloe corrected. She stood up, checking her reflection in the glass, and grabbed her kit. "Stay right there. Do not move an inch. I need to grab the industrial body tape from the hallway. One slip on the red carpet and the tabloids get a show they didn't pay for."She disappeared, the heavy oak door clicking shut b

Aftermath

The door handle rattled.I barely had time to shove my phone under a pile of discarded pins and shredded lace before Chloe walked in. She looked like she’d been running. Her hair was frizzy from the Malibu humidity, and her eyes were darting toward the hallway before she slammed the door shut."What took you so long? I had to track down Harris to get the override code because the electronic lock—"She stopped dead.The silence in the room was heavy with the smell of us. Cedar, sweat, and the unmistakable, musk of sex. Chloe’s gaze dropped to the floor where the white lace of my underwear lay like a dead bird. Then her eyes traveled up to the mirror, which was still smeared with the fog of my breath and the heat of Roman’s body.Finally, she looked at the dress.The emerald velvet was twisted. A seam had popped at my hip, and the delicate silk lining was stained. My hair, which had been a perfect, sleek wave, was a bird's nest."Scarlett," Chloe whispered, her face going a sickly, tran

The Cleanup

The heavy door to the dressing room finally clicked shut as Marcus’s footsteps faded down the long, marbled hallway. For a heartbeat, the room was so quiet I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. It was the sound of a countdown."Move! Now!" Chloe’s voice wasn't a whisper; it was a whip.She didn't wait for me to find my legs. She grabbed my arm and hauled me out of the dark closet. I stumbled, my feet tangling in the long, expensive silk gowns that hung like ghosts in the shadows. I felt like a ghost, too—or maybe a criminal. My skin was still buzzing from Roman’s touch, a heat that wouldn't go away no matter how much I wanted it to."The dress, Scarlett! Get it off!" Chloe was already moving across the room like a whirlwind. She snatched the ruined emerald velvet gown from the floor. She didn't look at the stains or the popped seams with the eyes of a fashionista anymore; she looked at them like they were evidence at a crime scene.I reached for the zipper at my back, my hands sh

The Silent Ride

The sun was too bright. It hit the white stones of the driveway and made my head hurt. I stood by the big black car, holding my bag so tight my fingers turned white. Chloe had spent an hour putting thick makeup on my neck this morning. She told me not to move my head too much. She told me to be a good girl.Marcus came out of the house. He looked at his watch. He looked at me. Then he looked at the front door."Roman! Now!" Marcus yelled.A second later, Roman walked out. He had his black bag over one shoulder. He didn't look at me. He didn't even look at his dad. He just looked at the car like he hated it."You two are riding together today," Marcus said. It wasn't a question. "I have a meeting with the lawyers on the way to the office. Harris will drive you both to Northcrest.""I can take my own car," Roman said. His voice was deep and flat."Your car is staying here until Harris finishes checking the GPS logs," Marcus snapped. "Get in."Marcus opened the back door of the big SUV.

The Digital Grenade

The red stickers looked like little drops of blood against the gray metal of my locker. I stood there, frozen. I didn't want to touch them. I didn't want to know what they meant."Look at her," a girl whispered behind me. "She’s actually acting surprised.""As if she didn't know someone was filming," a boy laughed.I reached out with one finger and touched the edge of a sticker. It was a big, bright letter 'A'. It was sticky and cheap."Scarlett! Don't touch those!"I turned around. Chloe was running down the hallway. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be at the studio. Her face was very white, and she was holding her phone like it was a bomb."Chloe? What are you doing here?" I asked. My voice sounded like a little kid's."Get your things. Now," Chloe said. She grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away from the locker."Why? What happened? Why are there stickers on my door?"Chloe didn't answer. She just looked at the crowd of kids around us. They all had their phones

Sienna’s Escalation

The library was too quiet. The clock kept going tick, tick, tick, and every sound made me jump. Chloe was still on her phone, whispering to people about "damage control" and "legal statements.""I can’t stay here, Chloe," I said. My voice felt small in the big room. "I’m hungry. And I’m tired of hiding.""Scarlett, stay down," Chloe whispered. "If you go out there, they’ll see you.""They already saw the video," I said. "Hiding makes me look like I’m guilty. I want to go to the cafeteria.""That is a very bad idea," Chloe said."I’m going," I said. I stood up and smoothed out my skirt.I walked out of the library and down the long hallway. It felt like a mile. When I got to the big double doors of the cafeteria, I took a deep breath. I pushed them open.The noise stopped. It was like someone turned off a radio. Hundreds of kids turned their heads to look at me. I walked to the lunch line, my heart thumping against my ribs. I grabbed a tray. It felt heavy."Look who it is," a voice cal

Zane’s "Friendly" Warning

Zane didn't move his arm. He just stood there with that weird smile, looking at me like I was a puzzle he already solved. I wiped my eyes again. My face felt hot from crying in the cafeteria."Where are we going?" I asked. My voice sounded small in the empty hallway."Just around the corner, Scarlett. Someplace where Sienna’s little spies won't hear us," Zane said. He walked toward the old music wing. The floors here were dusty, and nobody used these rooms until the afternoon.He pushed open a door to a small practice room. It smelled like old wood and carpet. I stayed by the door. I didn't want to go all the way in."What do you want to show me, Zane?" I asked. "Are you going to tell me I'm a joke too? Because I already heard that from everyone else."Zane laughed and leaned against a piano. "No. I’m not like them. I don't care about red stickers. I like things that are interesting. And you, Scarlett, are the most interesting thing to happen to Roman in three years.""Roman is my fri

The Studio Ultimatum

The car ride back to the mansion was fast. Harris drove like he was in a race, and Chloe didn't stop talking for one second. She was sweating, and her phone kept making loud ping noises."They are going to kill us," Chloe said. "The studio heads are on a video call. They are freezing everything, Scarlett. The money, the filming, the posters. Everything stops right now.""Because of the stickers?" I asked. My voice felt dry."Because of the video!" Chloe yelled. She looked out the window. "They called it a 'moral disaster.' They said you aren't an angel if you’re doing that with your step-brother."We pulled up to the house. Marcus was standing on the porch. He didn't look angry; he looked like a statue made of ice. Roman’s car was already there."Get inside," Marcus said when I opened the door. "The living room. Now."I walked into the big room with the white couches. Roman was sitting in a chair in the corner. He had his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up. I looked at his wrist. I

The Library Trap

The next day at school felt like walking through a room full of bees. Everyone was buzzing. The TV interview had played all night, but nobody at Northcrest believed it. They just looked at me and whispered.I couldn't find Chloe. I couldn't find Zane. I needed to find Roman. I needed to know why he had my flower on his arm and why he let Marcus turn us into a show.I went to the library. It was huge and had two floors. The top floor had "restricted stacks." That meant only the older kids with special keys could go there. The guards stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at everyone’s badges."I need to go up," I told the guard. I showed him my gold Reed family pass."Go ahead, Miss Wood," he said. He watched me as I walked up the stairs. His eyes felt like they were digging into my back.I walked past the tall rows of books. It was dark and dusty. Then I saw him. Roman was sitting at a big wooden desk in the very back. He was staring at a book, but he wasn't reading."Roman," I sa

The Stalker’s First Call

I stood in the bathroom stall and held the phone to my ear. My hands were shaking. I could still feel the heat from the library on my skin. The phone kept ringing and ringing. I pressed the green button."Hello?" I whispered.There was a weird sound on the other end. It sounded like a robot talking through a vacuum cleaner. It didn't sound like a man or a woman. It just sounded scary."Did you have fun on the desk, Scarlett?" the voice asked.I dropped my bag on the floor. "Who is this? How do you know about that?""I told you, Angel. I see everything. I see the mirrors. I see the library. I see the lies you told on the news," the robot voice said."What do you want?" I asked. I leaned my head against the cold metal wall of the stall. "Is it money? I can get you money."The voice laughed. It was a buzzing, mechanical laugh. "I don't want your movie money. I want something much better. I want to see Marcus Reed fall down.""Marcus?" I felt confused. "Why?""Because he is a bad man, Sca

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