All Chapters of Rule Number 1: Kissing Your Stepbrother Again Will Ruin You: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

ZephyrI stood outside her bedroom door for a solid ten seconds, staring blankly at the dark wood paneling right where her face had been a fraction of a second ago.SLAM!The sharp echo of the door locking shut bounced through the hallway.I let out a low huff, resting my hand on my hip. A strange, amused twitch tugged at the corner of my mouth—but beneath it, a sharp knot of annoyance tightened right in the center of my chest.Embarrassing?”The word left my mouth with a scoff.Me?Zephyr Knox?Embarrassing?I almost laughed.Girls at Belmont literally broke their necks just to get a single glance from me across the quad. Gay guys bent over backward to sit at my table in the cafeteria. And here was this tiny, infuriating girl acting like being seen in my passenger seat was a social death sentence.She had looked me straight in the face and told me she was embarrassed to be seen with me.I shook my head.“Unbelievable.”But the more I thought about it, the more something strange happe

Elowen I was operating on roughly four hours of sleep, and honestly, someone could kill me right now and I wouldn't even complain. On the bright side, not much people saw Zephyr drop me off at Belmont's gates earlier, so at least my dignity remained intact. My morning classes dragged on forever. I had a music theory lecture followed by a history seminar—both required me to actually pay attention, which was nearly impossible when I could barely keep my eyes open. I'd already chugged three coffees today, but instead of giving me a boost, the caffeine just drained whatever meager energy I had left to begin with. I grabbed a late lunch in one of the campus dining halls, choosing a small corner table in the back and sending out clear "leave me alone" vibes because I was far too tired to make conversation with anyone. The food succeeded in waking me up a little, and I was early when I walked through the huge oak doors of the humanities building. And about this morning, I kept telling

ElowenWhen I arrived at the party, its music buzzed so loud that the ground beneath my heels literally vibrated. And guess what? I recognized that this was a pop song—a catchy, upbeat track with a booming bass line that filled the entire backyard. And guess what also? It was Cedric fucking Dimitri singing. I stood completely frozen near the entrance, my jaw practically dropping straight to the polished floor. I was so shocked to see that he sang pop so well. His voice wasn't just decent; it was smooth, effortless, and carried every single high note with insane precision. He owned the low stage, holding the microphone like he had been doing this his whole life. Before I could even process what I was looking at, Ivy met me, dancing wildly around me in a circle with her arms thrown up in the air. "You're surprised, right?" she shouted over the loud speakers, a massive grin on her face. "Surprised about what?" I yelled back, blinking as colored lights flashed across the crowded liv

Elowen's POV "I guess you're ready," Ivy declared, clasping her hands together with the dramatic authority of a general sending her soldier into battle. I shook my head vigorously, clutching the strap of my bag like a lifeline. "Please go over what you told me again." Ivy let out a long, theatrical sigh for what had to be the hundredth time tonight. "I honestly can't believe how insanely intelligent you are in academics, but you're practically dumb in things like this." I gasped, pressing a hand against my chest in mock offense. "That is a terrible thing to say to me!" A helpless smile broke across my face anyway, and I reached out to grab both of Ivy's hands, squeezing them tight. "Just be a good girl and please," I pleaded, giving her my absolute best puppy-dog eyes. "Walk me through what you just taught me one more time. I need to go over there readier than ever." Ivy let out another sigh, though her lips twitched into a fond grin. "Okay, okay! Fine! Pay attention this time."

Elowen Oh, Universe!!! I screamed internally, trying my best not to pay attention to my top, which was completely soaked, or the fact that my ridiculous Mickey Mouse bra was staring the entire party right in the face. I forced my feet to move forward, taking those final two steps toward Cedric. "Hey," Cedric said, his eyebrows pulling together as his eyes slowly shifted back up to my face. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," I choked out, forcing a weird, high-pitched laugh that sounded completely insane. "Ugh... I'm fine! It... it must be my stupid shoes or something!" I looked down, trying desperately not to let anything sound even weirder than it already was. I was already failing miserably at every single rule Ivy had taught me thirty seconds ago. No stammering. Keep it cool. But honestly, nobody could blame me for stammering right now. Everything suddenly sucked so bad. I inhaled deeply, then exhaled, peeking down at my