All Chapters of My Brother, My Ruin: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Chapter 73: After the StormCassandra’s POVThe silence after Alexander left felt heavier than any fight we’d ever had. I stood in the middle of my small studio, staring at the closed door like it might open again if I waited long enough. Brady had left shortly after, giving me a gentle hug after pulling away from the almost kiss and another offer to talk whenever I needed. I thanked him but didn’t invite him to stay. My head was too full of Alexander, the hurt in his eyes, the way his voice cracked when he tried to explain, the constant pull I felt toward him even when I was furious.I sank onto the couch and pulled my knees up. Sophia’s words kept replaying. The “evidence.” The video. None of it made sense, but the images in my head wouldn’t stop. Alexander with her. Alexander disappearing at the party while I looked for him. I hated how jealous it made me. I hated how much I still wanted him despite it.My phone buzzed. Alexander: “I’m home. Please read this. I don’t remember anyth

Chapter 75: The Real PhotosCassandra’s POVThe link on my phone loaded slowly, each second stretching like torture. Alexander’s hand gripped mine so tightly I could feel his pulse. When the images finally appeared, my stomach dropped so hard I thought I might be sick.They weren’t blurry fakes this time.It was us.Real photos from that afternoon behind the library. My skirt hiked up. Alexander was behind me, his body pressed close. My face was partially visible in one shot, turned toward the wall. His hand was clearly under my skirt in another. The angle was bad enough that it wasn’t crystal clear who we were, but anyone who knew us well, Brady, Sophia, and our parents, would be able to piece it together.“Oh god,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “These are real, Alexander. Not the prank ones. These are from that day.”He stared at the screen, his face pale. “I remember that day. We thought we were careful. How did they get these?”The unknown number sent another message right after:

Chapter 76: The Accusation Cassandra’s POV Sophia’s text glowed on my screen like a warning light: “I know what you two are hiding. We need to talk. Tomorrow. Alone.” My stomach dropped. I showed Alexander immediately. He read it, his body going rigid beside me in bed. The early morning light was just starting to creep through the blinds, but the room felt darker than ever. “She knows,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “How does she know?” Alexander stared at the message for a long moment, his hazel-green eyes narrowing. “This isn’t a coincidence. The timing with the new photos… the party night… it has to be her.” We sat up in bed, the sheets pooling around our waists. Neither of us had slept much after the latest blackmail demand. Now this. Sophia, the girl who had been circling Alexander for weeks, was suddenly claiming she knew our secret. “What do we do?” I asked, pulling the blanket tighter around me. My mind was racing. The real photos from the library and the

Chapter 78: The New EvidenceCassandra’s POVThe next few days blurred into a tense routine of pretending everything was normal while our world felt like it was crumbling. Alexander and I paid the latest blackmail demand together, sitting side by side on my couch with our laptops open, fingers hovering over the send button like we were signing away another piece of our future. $7000. The number still made my stomach turn. Between rent, food, and these endless payments, we were stretching ourselves thin in ways that scared me.“We can’t keep doing this forever,” I said quietly as the confirmation came through. The unknown number, Sophia, replied almost immediately: “Good. Next one in ten days. Keep your secret… for now.”Alexander closed his laptop and pulled me into his arms. “We won’t. We’re going to find proof against her. Something we can use if she tries to expose us. We’re not powerless here.”We spent the rest of that evening making a plan. We listed everything we knew about Sop

Chapter 80: The End of JealousyCassandra’s POVSophia’s threat hung in the air long after she left. “End it with him. Or I send everything.” The words echoed in my head as I sat on the couch, staring at the wall. My phone was full of unread messages, Alexander trying to reach me, Brady checking on me, the blackmailer’s latest demand. Everything felt like it was closing in at once.I couldn’t keep doing this. The payments. The lies. The constant fear. The fight with Alexander. The almost-moment with Brady. It was all too much.I picked up my phone and texted Alexander: “Come over. We need to end this.”He arrived fifteen minutes later, looking exhausted but determined. The second I closed the door behind him, he pulled me into his arms. I let him. For a long moment we just held each other, the fight from earlier still lingering but the love underneath it stronger.“We have to confront her,” I said finally, pulling back. “Together. Today. We can’t keep paying her. We can’t keep living