Page 7 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
Goddess, Ivy was driving me so insane that I was talking to myself now.
“Yes, we match,” I responded and crossed my arms. I made my tone impatient on purpose. “Your mother’s stylist—which is a frivolous expense, by the way—thought that the family should all be dressed using the same theme. My father is wearing a silver tie to match your mother’s dress. Now, shall we get going, step-sis? We don’t want to be late.”
I strode toward her and offered her my arm. I was messing with her, deliberately trying to throw her off this little seduction game that she was playing by reminding her that we were technically related by marriage.
But Ivy wasn’t thrown by my act. She straightened her shoulders and looped her arm through mine. I couldn’t help but begrudgingly admire her at this moment. She was acting differently from all of our other encounters. Ivy had always seemed like a shy girl who couldbarely look me in the eyes. Had the champagne given her liquid courage?
Ivy gave me a determined look and tightened her hold on my arm.
Her touch made me hard again.
“Lead the way, stepbrother,” she said and winked.
Oh my…
How was I going to survive the night?
I’d only been at the gala for an hour and a half, and I already wanted to leave. I'd been to a ton of events like these, and it was always the same. Extravagant decorations, open bar, and the CEO’s of most of the companies in our kingdom networking the whole time.
Usually, I’d enjoy something like this, but all I could focus on was Ivy. Jealousy clawed at my chest as I watched successful man after successful man chat her up. They brought her glasses of sparkling water and tried to charm her, and by the huge grin on her face, she was loving every second of it. I was glad to see that she wasn't drinking any more champagne tonight, though.
Why did I even care? I was certain that Ivy was working with her gold-digging mother. And I knew that their plan didn't stop with Ivy's mom simply marrying my father for his money.
My father told me yesterday that Evelyn—Ivy’s mother—wanted him to change his will and leave everything to her. Evelyn’s reasoning was that if something happened to my dad, she was older and wiser and would split the money evenly between Ivy, herself, and me. My father had told me that Evelyn even wanted him to leave BloodMoon Enterprises—my father’s company—to her. Even though my father had been training me to take over his business since I was a child. I had attended my first boardroom meeting when I was six.
I was certain that Evelyn had enlisted her daughter's help to seduce me. I believed that Ivy was trying to distract me so that her mom could have time to force my father to change his will. Even though we were step-siblings, I wouldn’t put it past that woman to use her daughterin that way.
How could I be attracted to my stepsister, especially when I was almost positive that she was intentionally seducing me for her personal gain? Of course, there was the slight possibility that I was wrong. Maybe Ivy wasn't in on her mother's plans. Sometimes when she looked at me, the lust in her eyes felt so real…
But that was probably just wishful thinking.
During the gala, our eyes kept meeting by chance. I always looked away at once, but Ivy’s gorgeous blue eyes became seared into my mind.
I scrubbed a hand down my face and loosened my tie.
Would I always be at a loss when it came to Ivy’s true intentions?
The only good part of the night was making a speech at the beginning of the gala honoring my father. It was an amazing experience to highlight his accomplishments as an Alpha and a businessman. Now, my dad was across the room with Evelyn. They were speaking with Silas Shepard. I wasn’t surprised to see a tight smile on my father’s face as he spoke to his business rival.
Ever since I could remember, my dad had told me that he had never had a good feeling about Silas and his business practices. Of course, Evelyn was all smiles and charming while speaking to Silas. All that woman cared about was status and appearances. Tonight, it seemed like she had charmed everyone at the gala, perfectly playing her role as my father's doting wife.
I was the only one who could see past the mask that Evelyn put on for the world. She was nothing but a greedy gold digger, and Ivy was her puppet.
I loved my father, but he was blinded by love. It was difficult to watch the strong, capable man who was my role model and best friend be manipulated by Evelyn. But I didn’t blame my father. Evelyn was a good actress. And for all of my life, my dad had grieved my mother, who had died giving birth to me. When he met Evelyn, my dad thought he had found his second chance at love and put everything he had into his relationship with her.
It was my job to protect my father now since he had always looked out for me my entire life. And I would protect him and everything thathe had worked so hard for from the two women who wanted to take it from him.
As my father nodded at Silas and turned away from him, he gripped the wooden cane that he had been using ever since his heart attack.
The sight of my father struggling was horrible to see. I had to fight against the instinct to go and help him, knowing that he wouldn’t accept the help because he was too proud.
A tap on my shoulder was a welcome distraction. My heart began to beat rapidly as I considered the fact that it could be Ivy. Then, I cursed myself for my obsession with my sneaky stepsister.
When I turned around, it was only a server holding a tray that held a single glass of champagne on it. I ignored the crushing disappointment in my chest at the fact that it wasn’t Ivy standing there.
“Sir, someone ordered you a glass of champagne,” the server said and handed me the glass. “Enjoy.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
