บททั้งหมดของ My One-Night Stand Turned Out to Be My Stepbrother : บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

KINGSTON The knock came again, harder this time.“Yo. You alive in there? Laptop’s dead and I need to send this file before morning.”Nia’s eyes went wide. Water still ran down her shoulders. My come was still inside her. The bathroom was thick with steam and the smell of sex. One wrong move and Cole would know everything.I raised my voice and kept it casual. “Give me two minutes. Almost done.”“Aight. Hurry up.”His footsteps moved away from the door. I looked at Nia. She was already moving—grabbing her T-shirt, wiping water off her legs with a towel, trying to make herself look like she hadn’t just been fucked against the wall four times. I shut the water off, wrapped a towel around my waist, and cracked the door just enough to check the hallway.Clear.I mouthed go. She slipped past me, bare feet silent on the floor, and disappeared toward her room like a shadow. I waited until I heard her door click shut before

NIA Tuesday night felt like the last good breath before the wave hit.We’d spent most of the day doing absolutely nothing useful. Ava had declared the afternoon “officially anti-productivity” and forced everybody into the theater room for a reality show marathon. Cole sat through two episodes like he was serving a sentence. Kingston kept finding reasons to leave and come back. I mostly stayed next to Ava and laughed when she yelled at the screen.By seven she was over it.“I’m starving and I refuse to eat another thing out of that judgmental fridge,” she said, stretching across the couch. “We going out. All of us. No excuses.”Cole didn’t even look up from his phone. “I’m good.”“You are not good. You’ve been sitting there looking like a disappointed uncle all day. Get up.”Kingston glanced at me from the doorway. The corner of his mouth twitched. “There’s a rooftop spot in Midtown that stays open late. Food’s decent. Not too loud.”Ava pointed at him. “See? Leadership. Let’s go.”Tw

Kingston POV“Hello, stepsiblings.”Serena’s voice hit the living room like a blast of sub-zero air, freezing the warm noise in the space instantly.I stood straight up from the back of the couch, my jaw clenching so tight my back teeth ached. Beside me, Nia went completely still. I saw her hand jump on her lap, fingers twisting into the fabric of her jeans. Ava dropped her smile instantly, her eyes cutting sideways to Cole. Cole didn’t even move, but his posture hardened from relaxed to ready in a fraction of a second. They both knew what was hanging in the balance—they were the only two in this house who knew the whole messy truth about me and Nia.Dad set his coffee mug down on the glass side table with a sharp clack. “Serena? What are you doing here? I thought you and Kingston already worked out whatever was going on between you both.”Renee wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin, looking up with that polished motherly patience that was starting to fray around the edges. “What is so

Kingston POVDad’s order was still ringing in the room when his head slowly turned toward the corner. His gaze landed hard on Cole, then swung over to Ava, who was still kneeling by Nia’s side on the carpet.“Did y’all know about this?” Dad asked.The question hit like a physical punch.Cole rubbed the back of his neck, leaning his shoulders heavily against the kitchen counter. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t look at Dad. He just stared down at the dark hardwood floor for a second, then lifted his eyes.“Yeah,” Cole said quietly. “I knew.”A short silence.“I didn’t say anything to you. That’s on me.”Ava looked up, her lips parted, but no words came out. She didn’t try to defend herself either.Renee let out a horrible, strangled sob from the armchair, burying her face deeper into her hands. “Oh, God… everybody knew. Everybody was lying to us.”“Mama, no!” Nia cried out, reaching a hand toward

Nia POVThe confirmation email lit up my phone screen at seven in the morning.Booking Confirmed: Furnished Studio — Unit 4B. Check-in: 11:00 AM.I stared at the black-and-white text until the letters blurred. The price was steep for a month-to-month lease on short notice, but it didn’t matter. I had my own savings from work — enough to keep me afloat without touching a single dollar from Victor or Mama. I wasn’t about to ask for help now. Not after last night.I pulled two dark grey suitcases from the back of the closet and laid them flat on the rug. The zipper teeth caught the morning light coming through the blinds.There was no ceremony in this. No moving trucks, no excited calls, no plans. Just the quiet sound of hangers sliding, fabric folding, the soft thud of shoes dropping into the bottom of a bag. I packed jeans, sweaters, work clothes, the practical pieces. The expensive silk dresses Mama had bought me for family dinners stayed hanging in the closet. L