All Chapters of You Don't Get to Love Me Now, Alpha Stepbrother: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

AVA’S POVI stared at the closed bedroom door, an uneasy feeling settling deep in my chest. I found it so weird that Gia slipped out the exact moment Damien left the room. One second she was standing right beside me, gossiping about the family, and the next, she had vanished like a ghost without making a single sound. It felt off, but I tried to brush the suspicion aside.A quiet buzz interrupted my thoughts. I looked down at the bedside table and saw my phone vibrating against the wood. My breath caught when I saw the name on the screen.It was Ethan.I grabbed the phone quickly and swiped to answer, bringing it up to my ear with a trembling hand."Ava?" Ethan’s voice came through the speaker, warm, soft, and full of genuine concern. "Are you alright? I wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay after what happened at the café today."Hearing his calm voice felt like a lifeline in this suffocating place. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, but I swallowed them down, ta

SELENE’S POVThat morning, I woke up super early, long before the sun had even thought about coming up. Even the clouds outside were still completely dark, casting long, black shadows over the estate grounds.I dressed quickly in a black silk robe and hurried downstairs into the cool morning air. The gate leading toward the residential guest wing was locked, but I pulled a thick stack of cash from my pocket and bribed the guard on duty to open it up and let me in. Once inside the quiet courtyard, I pretended to be casually strolling around the estate, taking slow, graceful steps as if I were simply enjoying the fresh air.As expected, Ava was up and watching through her bedroom window.It did not take long before I heard quiet, hesitant footsteps on the stone path behind me. Ava sneaked up to me, her eyes wide with suspicion. "Selene?" Ava asked, her voice low and tense as she looked around the dark courtyard. "What are you doing out here at this hour?"I turned around slowly, putti

AVA’S POVI clutched my bags against my chest, my feet moving silently down the long corridor. I kept my back pressed against the wall, checking every single doorway and shadow. The estate was eerily quiet, making every small creak of the floorboards sound like a gunshot in my ears."Lucas..." I whispered under my breath, tears of pure terror welling up in my eyes. "Lucas, baby, where are you?"If a single guard walked down this hall right now, or if Damien stepped out of his private study, everything would be over. We would be locked away forever.Then, right at the far end of the corridor near the side exit doors, I spotted him. Lucas was sitting on the floor in his blue pajamas, quietly pushing a small plastic toy car against the wooden molding.I let out a silent breath of relief and sprinted toward him. I dropped to my knees, scooped him into my arms, and buried my face against his warm neck."Shh, baby, stay very quiet for Mommy," I whispered, holding him tight.I grabbed my bag

SELENE’S POVMy head felt like it was about to blow apart into a million tiny pieces. My temples were throbbing with a sharp, heavy pain, and my chest felt so tight that I could barely pull any air into my lungs. I stood frozen in the middle of the large hallway, staring at Maxwell while my mind spun in total shock.How was this even possible? I had planned everything so perfectly. Every single detail of my master plan had been set up without a single flaw. I was the one who had secretly delivered cash to Ava’s room through Gia, deliberately making Ava think it was sent by Ethan so she would have the confidence to run. I was the one who had ordered the kitchen maids to poison the gate guards with bad oysters so the main exit would be left completely wide open and unattended. I had even personally arranged for a commercial taxi to be parked on the outer street close to the estate, making sure Ava wouldn't waste a single minute looking for a ride to the bus park.Everything was supp

AVA’S POVI slid down to the cold floor of the bedroom, resting my back against the hard wooden bed frame. My eyes were sore and red from all the crying I had done today. My hands were still shaking, and my whole body felt weak, tired, and heavy.Sitting there in the quiet room, I realized something very deep in my heart. I knew that this was a losing battle. Running toward the gates like a crazy person and yelling at Damien was not working at all. It was only making him angrier, and it was making him lock the big doors even tighter. If I wanted to get my small boy out of this terrible house alive, I needed to stop acting with pure fear and emotion. I needed to start thinking smart.I took a deep, painful breath and pulled myself up off the floor. I wiped the wet tears off my cheeks with the back of my sleeve and swallowed down all the pain inside my chest. I sucked up the deep hurt from my foiled plans today. I walked over to the soft bed, sat down on the mattress, and reached for m