Chelleyy

"You either walk away now," Aiden said, his voice sharp and cutting, "or you stay and deal with the consequences." Tristan's chest tightened as he met Aiden's gaze, the challenge blazing in his dark eyes. Every instinct told him to run, to leave before things spiraled out of control, but his feet wouldn’t move. “What’s it gonna be, Tristan?” Aiden’s voice was low, almost taunting. “Because if you stay, there’s no turning back. You won’t just be here. You'll be mine. Every inch of you, every breath, every thought... mine!" ...... Even before they became stepbrothers, Aiden and Tristan had never been on good terms, not since high school. Tristan couldn’t have imagined that the arrogant guy he despised—the same one he hated with passion—would one day become his stepbrother, a fact he refused to acknowledge. But after a drunken night led to an accidental kiss, something shifted in Aiden. He began to see Tristan differently, from an angle far removed from brotherhood. It enraged him. He fought to keep hating him, to remind himself how wrong it was. Yet, the harder he tried, the more he missed him. The more he wanted him.

“No… we shouldn’t,” I whispered as my back hit the wall. The cold stone didn’t cool the heat in my body. “I’m your brother’s fiancée” He didn’t trap me. His hand rested near my hip, close enough that I could feel his warmth without him touching me. That made it worse. “And yet,” he said softly, his hand tracing a path down my thigh. “you didn’t push me back when I came near.” I bit my bottom lip hard, trying desperately to hold back a sound. From the other room, I could hear forks clinking and people laughing. Our family was right there, close enough to hear us. My heart was pounding. He leaned closer, “You’re shaking, Maisie,” he murmured. “And you’re not scared.” I swallowed, breath uneven. “Someone could see.” A dangerous smile curved his mouth. “ Then be as quiet as you can.” ***** Maisie’s world changed the moment she walked into that bar. She should never have let the alcohol numb her anger, her fear, her desperation to escape the life her parents had arranged for her— a life that felt like a trap. The perfect marriage. The perfect future. The perfect cage. She thought one reckless night would ruin everything… for them. She thought if she became someone they despised, they’d finally let her go. She didn’t know that one mistake would brand her instead. Now he wants her. Not gently. Not quietly. The more she runs, the closer he gets… until she can’t tell if she’s running from him… or being drawn to something far more dangerous. He is everything she wants. Everything she shouldn’t want. And when she turns to run for her life a second time…. She runs straight into him.

She had only intended to steal a kiss from him that night when he was drunk, but that act had ruined their entire friendship. Growing up together, Marianne Corelle had loved Alexander Skarsgard all her life. Even though she knew he saw her as nothing more than his best friend, she still secretly hoped for a chance with him—a chance she got, but at the cost of their friendship. Just before she left, she vowed, “I’ll stay away as you want, and I promise to keep myself hidden from you as much as possible.” Alexander thought he could live without her, but her departure broke him. When he saw her again five years later, she was accompanied by a child who looked exactly like him. With a mix of hope and desperation, Alexander asked, “Is he... is he mine?” Marianne's eyes narrowed with resentment as she replied coldly, “No, he's not. And neither am I. Don’t forget, I was never truly your wife.”