Page 95 of Blades of Obsession

“I don’t need his fucking life story. Why would I want to help him, when he never cared to be a part of my life as my brother?”

“He didn’t know about you, or your dad. He just found out about you guys a couple of months ago.”

So he did know I was his brother when I killed him. No wonder he went on that long speech right before I killed him.

I take a deep breath, trying to center myself. Should I tell her? I mean, why should I spare her feelings or give her hope? When she would never do the same for me? So, I don’t. “Jacob’s dead.”

Jackie’s eyes widen, as she gasps, collapsing into one of the dining chairs. Her face goes pale, hands trembling as the news sinks in.

“Dead?” She seems more confused and shocked than upset. “How?”

I shrug. “He got mixed up with the wrong people. Made some mistakes.”

Tears well up in her eyes, and she looks at me, her expression a mix of grief and desperation. “Why didn’t you save him?”

I let out a bitter laugh. Now I want to make her hurt. Now that I see the tears and know she actually cared about him. “Well, I guess he shouldn’t have messed with my wife then.”

“Wife? W-what? What does that mean? And you’re married?”

“That means, I killed him. He messed with my girl, so I gutted him like a pig. He begged for his life, so I cut his tongue out. And you’ll never find his body because I burned it.”

She stares at me, stunned. Her mouth opens and closes, struggling to find words. God, I love seeing her so upset that she can’t even form a sentence.

“He was your brother,” she finally manages, her voice breaking. “How could you?!” She looks like she’s about to be sick, and I hope she is. I hope she lies awake every night, haunted by the imagery of me hacking up her precious son.

Is it wrong to be happy seeing your mother cry? To feel a warm embrace all over telling her the details of how you killed your brother?

“You wanted to know what happened to him. Now you do. Don’t ever come to me for help again.”

I walk out of the penthouse with more questions than answers. First, how was Eli his stepbrother? How do they have a connection? Is it through Eli’s father?

Jacob went out of his way to kidnap Amelia over Eli, even knowing he wouldn’t survive it, so they must’ve been close.

My head is starting to hurt.

And I need to get to the bottom of all this.

Chapter 36

AMELIA

“Mmm, taste this.” I pop a piece of whatever Julie made for breakfast into Blade’s mouth. It’s some kind of crepe-French toast hybrid and it’s delicious.

He chews, nodding. “Mm, that is good.” He steals a piece from my plate, one that I’d already cut up.

“So, how did it go?” I ask, addressing the elephant in the room. Last night, he told me he was making a trip to his dad’s house, and later texted that his mom showed up unexpectedly. He got back too late to talk, only now wandering into the kitchen after oversleeping last night.

He’s mentioned bits and pieces about his parents before, but nothing substantial. He always keeps that part of his life locked away, and tenses whenever it’s brought up.

His expression remains carefully neutral as he looks at me. He’s mastered masking his emotions, but sometimes I can still sense them anyway. “It went okay.”

“What did she want?”

He reaches out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear, clearing his throat. “Just, uh, Jacob is my… brother.”

My mouth drops open. “What? H… how? Wait, Jackie is your mom?”

He visibly stiffens at the name, a fleeting shadow of discomfort crossing his face before he quickly recovers.Snagging another piece of food from my plate, he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I don’t really wanna talk about it right now. Finish enjoying your breakfast, angel.” And with that, he exits the room.

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