Alle Kapitel von I AM MY STEPBROTHER'S OBSESSION : Kapitel 101 – Kapitel 110

“Her stepbrother. The detail the courts don't care about, but the rest of the world definitely will. The kind of detail that turns family dinners into something people stop inviting you to. You think I’m telling you this out of spite? I’m telling you because you’re about to spend the next year defending a version of your daughter that isn't real, and the truth is going to come out whether you face it now or later.” “She would have told me.” “She told you about me because she couldn't cover up her face,” I said, taking a breath. The afternoon air smelled like cut grass and laundry vent steam...so completely normal it felt surreal. “This other thing? She can hide it behind lawyers, protective orders, and your anger at me. I’m the monster now, Diane. Which means nobody is looking at him.” She stared at me for a long time, searching my face for any sign that I was bluffing—the exact same way I used to search Nyra’s face for lie indicators. I didn't look away. I didn't need to put on an

She let out a harsh, broken laugh that sounded more like a sob. “People like you never have a plan! You just make a massive, selfish mess and leave everyone else to wade through it! George is still sitting at home trying to recover! I am literally trying to keep his blood pressure down so he doesn't end up back in a hospital bed, and now I have to figure out how to tell him that his son and his stepdaughter...” She cut herself off, slamming her hand over her mouth, completely unable to force the words out.“We’re not related by blood,” I whispered, hating how weak and pathetic the argument sounded the second it left my lips.“Stop it!” She threw her hand up, shutting me down instantly. “Stop talking! I don't want to hear your technicalities! I know what people see, Nyra! I know what I see when I look at the two of you in this room! I helped raise that boy when he was growing up under my roof! You sat at my kitchen table with a school backpack on! Do not stand there and ask me to rebra

He finally turned his head to look at me, his dark eyes showing a bone-deep exhaustion he never permitted anyone at the office to see. “Part of me wants to drive straight to her house right now and talk until I run out of breath. Part of me wants to call my father before she gets to him, just to try and control the damage. And part of me wants to track down Richard and...” He cut himself off, swallowing hard as his jaw flexed. “None of those instincts actually help you. So I sit right here. I lock the door. I wait. That is my only job tonight.” The quiet, unvarnished honesty of his words loosened a tight knot in my chest that had been winding tighter ever since the first knock sounded at the door. “I’m sorry she had to find out from him,” I said softly. “I’m sorry she had to see it in my living room while your face is still covered in bruises.” He shook his head slowly. “There was never going to be a graceful way for her to receive that news. He just deliberately chose the most des

“And before you accuse me of tearing into her, no...I didn't scream at her,” I said, my throat aching with unreleased tears. “Her face is covered in dark bruises and tape. I left before I said things that could never be taken back. I have been sitting alone in my car, choking on this since yesterday afternoon. You are the only person I have said this to out loud.”“You should have come straight to me before you drove over to that apartment,” he growled.“You were fast asleep! You are recovering from a major cardiac event!” I yelled back, tears finally spilling over my lashes. “I wasn't going to pour Richard’s toxic poison straight into your ear at midnight and watch your heart monitor spike from my living room!”“So instead, you went over there alone, confirmed the absolute worst interpretation of events, and then brought it back here to start a war over whose child is more at fault!”“That is not what I’m doing!”“That is exactly what you’re doing!” He thrust a trembling finger direc

LUCA'S POV Instead of hiding behind a letter and a silent agreement that let her walk into a marriage without the full map in her hands!”I had no defense for that. No clever legal framing, no logical excuse that didn't sound pathetic in the quiet of his living room. So I sat there and let the silence take over.After a long moment, Dad spoke again, his tone shifting. “What about Richard?”“He isn't getting anywhere near her,” I said firmly. “If he tries to reach out, if he violates the order by a millimeter, we report it. I’m not going to play the heroic vigilante on his front porch. I almost lost my mind and did that once already, and Clara stopped me. She was right.”“Good,” Dad said, a faint, dark edge in his voice. “If I were ten years younger and my heart wasn't failing, I’d handle the bastard myself.”“You’re not handling anyone,” I cut in. “You are going to take your medicine, follow the doctor's orders, and stay alive. That is the only job I need from you right now.”The cor