Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35: 35-The Inappropriate Stepbrother

Helanie:

Something about this guy claiming to be my stepbrother just didn’t sit right with me. I kept glancing over at my mother and then at my father while I sat in the passenger seat. My new, mysterious stepbrother sat in the backseat.

We were driving back home in our own car, and my mother had insisted that I sit up front with my father.

"Why did you call yourself her stepbrother?" I heard my mother ask the guy named Kaye, which is how he had introduced himself to us.

"I don’t know. Did I?" he responded.

"Kaye! You must have forgotten. You’re her real brother. Your father and I gave you away because we didn’t have the means to take care of a child when you were born. You’ve been living with my sister, but you always visit us," my mother explained. The moment she said that, a memory of him visiting us resurfaced.

However, I still felt a strange, heavy unease with him being in the car. I steadily turned my neck to pass a quick glance and instead stared at my mother as she quickly moved in front of him. Her hair got in the way.

Two beautiful purple roses rocking her hairstyle.

Wait! She had one rose earlier, where did the second one come from? Did she pick it up from the venue? My mom was very particular about the rose in her hair. But now she has two.

"Oh right. I remember now. Wait! How did I forget?" Kaye suddenly straightened up, startling me with how tall he was.

"Or were you just playing a prank on us?" my father asked, and that’s when the three of them started laughing. I thought maybe I should laugh too.

So, I did.

But I had missed the funny part. I was trying hard to recall more memories of him, but nothing concrete came to mind—nothing that I could picture clearly when I closed my eyes.

When we arrived home, my mother made sure to walk me to my bedroom. "Listen, don’t leave your room until morning. It’s bad luck for a bride to talk to anyone before the wedding. Now, go to bed so we can wake up early in the morning," she said, stroking my hair lovingly before closing my bedroom door.

I heard a click from outside and realized she was serious about these customs. I didn’t mind; I felt so happy being cared for like this.

After taking off my dress and slipping into a white nightgown, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.

And just like before, I felt strangely unfamiliar to myself.

Was I just nervous because of the wedding? My dad had mentioned that my mom felt the same way when she was getting married to him.

Shaking off the thoughts, I turned to leave my bedroom but froze when I saw someone sitting on my bed, the window to my room wide open.

I swear, if I hadn’t felt so secure and content in my life, I would’ve screamed at the top of my lungs. But I didn’t.

However, I stormed over to the bed to make sure I wasn’t seeing things incorrectly. My brother Kaye was sitting there, head tilted, holding a book I had been reading.

"The Perfect Life of Helanie? Seriously, who wrote a book about you?" His voice dripped with jealousy.

Yes, that’s exactly what it was—he was envious of my perfect life and how everyone adored me.

"Why are you even here? And don’t touch my stuff with your hands!" I snapped, snatching the book out of his grip and placing it back on the nightstand, glaring at him.

"That’s it?" he asked, and I frowned at him.