All Chapters of My Step-Brother’s Obsession: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the engagement ceremony of Elena and Magnus Voss.”The host’s voice carried smoothly across the decorated garden, warm and practiced like he was a professional in the field. There were soft string lights that hung between the tall trees like captured stars. White roses and pale orchids lined the aisle in perfect rows. A small gathering of intimate friends, long-time business partners, and carefully chosen associates filled the white chairs. The air smelled of jasmine and expensive perfume.“Tonight we gather to witness the engagement of Magnus Voss and Elena Lennox. Please rise.”Kai stood near the edge of the front row, his shoulders tight. Ahead of him, were armed men in dark tailored suits stood at every entrance and along the garden walls, earpieces in, their eyes constantly moving. Their presence turned the elegant setting into something closer to a high-security event than a celebration of love.He leaned slightly toward his mother. “Why are the

“What are you even suggesting?” Kai’s voice cut through the morning air sounding defensive. “That I had a hand in my mother’s kidnapping? You must be out of your mind, Damien.”Damien didn’t flinch. He stayed seated on the stone wall, eyes steady and cold. “I’m saying you’re acting defensive and very suspicious. You knew exactly where to look the second that message came in. You were typing like your life depended on it. Then suddenly, you blurted out “check the storeroom.”Kai let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Unbelievable. My mother goes missing at her own engagement party and instead of worrying about her, you’re accusing me.”“I’m not accusing. I’m observing.”Kai stood up so fast the movement felt violent. “Observe this.” He turned on his heel and walked away without another word, his shoulders rigid as he walked.He didn’t stop until he reached his room. The door slammed behind him. His phone was already buzzing. He checked to see the caller

Kai’s heart stopped.For one long second he stood there, mask only half secured, the leather harness still loose around his chest. Damien’s silhouette filled the doorway, his broad shoulders blocking the light from the corridor. The air between them crackled with recognition that had not yet fully formed.Then a voice called from farther down the hall.“Mr. Voss? Lena said you were looking for the private suite. I can take you there right now. The performer is already waiting.”A tall, masked dominus stepped into view, voice smooth and professional. He placed a polite hand on Damien’s arm, angling his body so that Damien was forced to turn slightly away from the dressing-room door.It was the only opening Kai needed.He moved.In two silent steps he was past the doorframe, pressing himself against the opposite wall of the narrow corridor while Damien’s attention shifted to the other performer. 

Damien kept typing, but the words on the screen stopped making sense. He couldn’t concentrate any longer.His mind kept drifting back to Kai. The shape of his mouth. The way his lips had looked earlier in the dark hallway, soft and slightly parted, like they were waiting. Damien shifted in his chair. He wasn’t fully hard, but a low tingling ran through him, restless and unfamiliar. He rubbed a hand over his face and tried to focus again. It didn’t work.Down the hall, Kai was having the same problem.He lay on his bed, phone in hand, switching between random soccer clips without really watching any of them. Every few minutes he tossed from one side to the other. Sleep refused to come. The almost-kiss from earlier still burned under his skin and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about it.Damien didn’t know when he left his study, climbing down the stairs until he found himself absent mindedly in front of Kai’s door

“You’re going with him.”Magnus’s voice left no room for argument. He stood in the study with his arms crossed, looking at Kai the way a man looks at a problem that has already been decided.Kai stared back. “I don’t do galas. I don’t smile at strangers with more money and dark intentions. Find someone else.”“There is no one else,” Magnus said evenly. “Damien needs a family member beside him tonight. Elena is unwell. You’re the only option left. You’ll go out of respect for this family, if nothing else.”Kai’s jaw tightened. He wanted to refuse again. The word sat on his tongue, sharp and ready. But Magnus had taken them in when they had nowhere else to go. The debt was gone because of him. Respect was the least Kai could offer, even if it tasted like ash.“Fine,” he said at last.Damien, who had been leaning against the doorway the entire