Page 13 of Jealous Stepbrother

Realization dawns on Dad, and his face changes, going from fury to disbelief to disgust in the space of a few seconds. “Wait a minute. Are you two?—”

The other guy, who’s still sprawled on the ground, blood dripping from his nose, chuckles. “Yep, they’re fucking each other.”

Callum’s mom gracefully falls to the ground, a hand delicately pressed against her chest. Color drains from her face, and save for the subtle shaking of her hands, she doesn’t move.

Dad tries to sidestep Callum to no avail. His anger goes up a notch, fierce and wafting off him in waves. His eyes shimmer with barely contained heat, and he looks like he’s willing to burn everything in his path, including me. His eyebrows knit together, and his throat works like he’s attempting to swallow all the vile things he wants to say. But Dad is never the type to hold back. “I will cut you off. You will not get a cent from me.” His barrel chest rises and falls with each quick, shallow breath. “You’re an embarrassment. I should’ve known you would be. After all, your mother did raise you.”

Whatever hold he has on me breaks. Just like that. For years, I have endured all the verbal lashings. All because he’s helped send me to college and therefore eases Mom’s financial burden. If he wants to insult me, he can do so with abandon. But I draw the line at him insulting my mother, the one who had to juggle two jobs so I could live comfortably. The one who had to work almost eighty hours a week so she could send me to swimming classes or art workshops.

My heart pounds so hard, it feels like they’re about to break out of my ribs. I clench my keys and stare daggers at him. “Callum and I met before you both. We’re not related by blood.” I hold on to Callum’s arm as he gives me a supportive nod. “You know what’s embarrassing? Knocking up a girl barely out of high school and leaving her to fend for your daughter. Then, coming back only because you need to look good to the public by being a doting father.”

His lips curl in disdain. “How dare you? After everything I’ve given you.”

“How dare I? I didn’t ask to be born, and I certainly didn’t ask for the hollow version of a father you chose to be.”

He lifts a hand, and I involuntarily flinch, but Callum catches it. “Not on my watch.”

“Callum,” his mother says, “if you go with her, I’m going to cut you off, too.”

Callum then presses a kiss on my forehead and slides an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “About damn time, Mother. I’ll make sure to tell Dad that, too. I can’t let you enjoy the money that’s supposed to be my allowance.”

Callum and I turn our backs to them, walking to his car, already looking forward to a future together. But I should have known Dad wouldn’t let us have the last word.

With a huff, he yells, “I will tell your mother about this, Caroline.”

I throw him an amused glance over my shoulder. “How sure are you she doesn’t know yet? She’s my only parent, and I tell her everything.”

EPILOGUE

CALLUM

Caroline is so goddamn beautiful I actually ache when I look at her. She’s a photographer’s dream, with her soft cheekbones, pouty lips, andfuck-meeyes. Although she probably reserves the last one only for me. Well, she better.

I adjust the camera lens and frame her perfectly in the soft light streaming through our living room window.

“Chin up slightly,” I tell her in a professional tone, the one I use with all my clients, “and try to look past my camera. Think happy thoughts.”

Her lips curl into a mischievous smile, and she raises one brow at me. “Like what? The way you pumped your tongue in and out of me last night? Eating me like I’m your favorite food?”

I sigh and snap my eyes shut. The tables have turned. Caroline is the one who keeps teasing me, not the other way around. “You are my favorite, babe. Now, please, focus and soften your eyes.”

She doesn’t listen. Instead, she flutters her eyes dramatically. “Like this?”

I give up and laugh. “Jesus, you’re impossible.”

“And you love it.”

“And I love it.”

It’s time. The moment I cannot stop thinking about. The moment that has kept me awake for nights.

I stand and grab a small box from under the seat, pretending to rummage through the items. “Okay, now I’m going to ask you to pose with some random things.”

“Why?”

I don’t look at her because I’m an awful liar, and she’ll quickly catch onto it if she sees my eyes. “I can’t explain it, but you’ll just have to trust my creative vision.”

“Okay, sir.”

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