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Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Ex-Boyfriend is my New Step-Brother: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

79 Kabanata

The New Rules

The kitchen was cold. I stood by the fridge, my hand on the handle, when Marcus walked in. He wasn't wearing a jacket anymore. His white shirt was tight across his shoulders, and his sleeves were rolled up. He looked like he could crush a stone with his bare hands."The basement is off-limits, Scarlett," Marcus said. He didn't look at me. He was busy pouring black coffee into a mug. "I saw you looking at the door on the monitor.""I was just looking for the juice," I said. My voice sounded small."The juice is in the fridge. The basement is for men who do work," Marcus said. He turned around. He loomed over me, making the ceiling feel low. "Sit down. We’re going over the new schedule.""I have a schedule," I said. "Chloe gave it to me.""That was the old one," Marcus said. He pulled a chair out and pointed to it. "Sit."I sat. My legs felt like jelly. Marcus sat across from me and slapped a new stack of papers on the table."From now on, you don't leave this house without Harris," Mar

Chloe’s Strategy

The flashbulbs were popping in the driveway. The light felt like hot grease splashing on my face. Chloe grabbed my elbow and shoved me toward the black SUV. Harris stood by the door, his chest making a wall of dark fabric. He looked at me like I was a piece of luggage he had to move."Keep your head up, Scarlett," Chloe hissed. She was holding a clipboard like a shield. "Don't hide your face. Hide your eyes, but show your smile. The internet thinks you're grieving a sick brother. Give them the Angel, not the mess.""I don't feel like smiling," I said. My mouth felt dry. "I feel like I'm wearing a mask made of lead.""Nobody cares how you feel," Chloe said. She pushed me into the leather seat. "They care how you look on a phone screen. Harris, drive. We’re late for the charity lunch."The car moved. I looked at the tinted window. I saw my own reflection. I looked perfect. My hair was smooth. my dress was white. I looked like I had never seen blood in a basement."What is the plan today

The Hidden Message

The iPad felt hot in my hands. I was sitting in the "Angel Nook" of the library, which was just a fancy chair near a camera. Harris was standing ten feet away. He was eating a protein bar and looking at his own phone. He didn't care about me as long as I stayed in the chair."Are you done with the thank-you notes, Scarlett?" Chloe asked. She was standing behind me, looking at my screen."Almost," I said. "I’m just checking the donations on the 'Angel Fund' page. I want to see if the kids got the new books.""Be quick," Chloe whispered. "Marcus is checking the router logs in five minutes. If you’re on a site you shouldn't be, he’ll lock the screen."I clicked on the "Messages" tab of the charity site. It was a place where people could leave nice notes for me. Usually, it was just "I love you, Scarlett" or "You’re so pretty."Then I saw it. A donation for one dollar. The name on the account was R. Sterling. My heart skipped. My thumb hovered over the screen. I looked at Harris. He was l

Sienna’s Move

The Northcrest lounge was full of the sound of silver spoons hitting china. It was a rich sound. It was the sound of people who never had to worry about a locked door. I sat at a small table near the window. Chloe sat across from me, her eyes darting toward the group of girls in the center of the room."Don't look at them, Scarlett," Chloe whispered. She was shredding a napkin under the table. "Just drink your tea and look like you're thinking about your lines.""I can't help it," I said. "They’re staring. I can feel their eyes on the back of my neck."In the middle of the lounge, Sienna was leaning against a velvet sofa. She looked like a shiny new coin. She was wearing a dress that cost more than a car, and she was laughing loudly. Marcus was standing right behind her, his hand resting on the back of the sofa. He looked like a king, and Sienna looked like his new favorite pet."Did you hear?" Sienna asked. Her voice was loud enough to travel across the room. "The gala was such a mes

The Fake Relationship Push

The studio office was freezing. The air conditioner hummed like a low growl in the ceiling. I sat on a hard white chair. Across from me sat a man named Miller. He was the head of the movie studio. He had silver hair and a face that looked like it was made of dry leather. Marcus sat next to him, taking up too much space."The numbers are down, Scarlett," Miller said. He tapped a glass table with a gold pen. Clink. Clink. Clink. "The gala rumors are sticky. People think you’re messy. People think you’re a girl who brings drama to the set.""I didn't bring the drama," I said. My hands were balled into fists in my lap. "The drama was already in the house.""Nobody cares about the truth," Miller said. He looked at Marcus. "We need a distraction. We need a clean, romantic story to bury the 'sick brother' headlines.""I agree," Marcus said. He leaned back, his chest expanding. "She needs a win. A public win.""We’ve picked someone for you," Miller said. He slid a photo across the table. It w

Roman Watches

The gray room in the valley house was silent except for the hum of a small, old television sitting on a plastic crate. Roman sat on the edge of the metal cot. The springs groaned under his weight. His leg was stiff under the white bandage, the skin tight and itchy where the dog had bitten him. He didn't move. He didn't flinch. He just watched the screen.On the news, a picture of me popped up. I was wearing that red silk dress. Jax had his arm wrapped tight around my waist, his fingers digging into my hip bone. We were both smiling, but the smile didn't reach my eyes. The headline at the bottom of the screen was bright and yellow: ANGEL FINDS LOVE: SCARLETT REED AND JAX MILLER SPOTTED AT DINNER."Look at that," a guard said from the doorway. His name was Miller—not the detective, just another man with a thick neck and a heavy leather belt. He was leaning against the frame, picking his teeth with a splinter of wood. "Your sister moved on fast, didn't she? Guess she doesn't need a 'sick

The Second Leak

I was sitting in the makeup chair. The room smelled like hairspray and burnt coffee. Chloe was standing behind me, her fingers digging into my shoulders. Her knuckles were white. She was staring at her phone like it was a ticking bomb."Don't look at the comments, Scarlett," Chloe said. Her voice was thin. "Just keep your eyes on the mirror.""What happened?" I asked. I reached for my phone, but Chloe slapped my hand away."I said don't look!" Chloe shouted.The door to the dressing room slammed open. Marcus walked in. He didn't look like a father. He looked like a giant made of stone. He was holding a tablet, and he threw it onto the vanity. It skidded across the marble and hit my lipstick tube."Explain this," Marcus growled.I looked at the screen. It was a video. It was me in this very room, two days ago. But the video was weird. It was cut to look like I was screaming at a maid. It showed me throwing a shoe and laughing while I said, 'Roman deserves to be in that hole. I’m the on

Detective Miller’s Truth

The dressing room was silent, but the air felt heavy. I sat in front of the mirror, staring at the red lipstick on the counter. The video of the "Fake Scarlett" was still burned into my mind, looping over and over on the tablet Marcus had thrown. It made me look like a monster. Chloe had stepped out to argue with the guards in the hall, leaving me alone with the humming lights and the smell of hairspray.The service door clicked. It was the small door meant for the clothes racks. It opened just a crack, and a man slipped inside. He was wearing a dark hat pulled low. It was Detective Miller. He smelled like old coffee and looked like he hadn't slept in a week."You again," I whispered. I stood up fast, my hand gripping the edge of the marble vanity. "Marcus told Harris to lock this place down. If he finds you in here, he’ll have Harris break your legs.""Harris is busy checking the north gate because I told him I saw a 'prowler' on the monitors," Miller said. He stepped into the light.

The Secret Meeting

The laundry chute smelled like bleach and hot steam. I gripped the edges of the metal slide, my fingers slipping on the smooth surface. Below me, a man named Silas stood in the shadows of the basement. He was the head of maintenance. He didn't look like an Angel; he looked like a man who was tired of being stepped on by Marcus’s boots."Drop now, Scarlett," Silas hissed. His voice echoed up the tin tube. "The security feed loops in ten seconds. If you aren't down here, the monitors will see the hatch open."I let go. I hit the pile of heavy linen with a dull thud. The air knocked out of my chest."Get up," Silas said. He grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. He didn't be gentle. He didn't have time. "Follow the yellow line on the floor. Don't look at the cameras. They’re frozen, but they won't stay that way.""Where is the car?" I asked. I pulled my dark hoodie tight around my face."Behind the boiler room," Silas said. He shoved a keycard into my hand. "It’s a gray service van. It

Almost Caught

The gray service van rattled over the back gravel of the Reed estate. My palms were slick against the steering wheel. Every time a pebble hit the metal underside, I jumped. I checked the dashboard clock. Fifty-four minutes had passed. I had six minutes to get back through the laundry chute before the security loop ended."Come on," I whispered, slamming the gear into park behind the boiler room. "Move your legs, Scarlett."I jumped out. the air was cold and smelled like wet dirt. I ran toward the basement door, my sneakers hitting the concrete with a flat slap."Silas!" I hissed into the dark hallway.A hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed my hood. It yanked me back so hard my teeth clicked together. I almost screamed, but a rough palm covered my mouth."Shut up," Silas growled. He looked like a man who was about to go to jail. "You’re late. The loop ended thirty seconds ago. Harris is in the monitor room right now, looking at the basement hall.""What do I do?" I asked. My v

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