Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 72

I kept reading the notes over and over again, even when I willed myself to stop.

Kester's possessiveness needed a degree. His will to become a man he wasfi't...? It was impressive.

His obsession with doing things that he originally wouldn't do was as consuming as a wildfire in winter. And it was becoming dangerous.

Kester was never such a man. And I never envisaged him being such a man, even in his next life.

But this?

"Who are they from?" Jake asked, yanking me back to reality. His brows were pinched while his eyes scanned my face like he could see straight through me.

I inhaled sharply, pressing the note between my fingers like it might disappear if I held it tightly enough.

"Uhm..." I swallowed, forcing my expression to stay neutral. "I... I don't know, Jake. There's no name on it."

The lie slipped past my lips so smoothly that it frightened me..

He didn't say another word. He just leaned into his seat, his expression saying everything his mouth couldn't say

And, gods, I hated it.

I hated that made him feel this way just moments after making him feel appreciated.

The silence made my stomach twist. My fingers tightened around the luxurious arrangement of bouquet, which probably cost more than Jake made in two years from doing assignments for students in school.

I shoved it aside, my chair scraping against the floor as I moved closer to him.

"Jake," I murmured, reaching out and resting my hand on his arm. He didn't pull away, but he didn't lean into the touch either. "It doesn't matter." My voice was soft and careful. "Your rose is the one that made me happy."

He let out a small, breathy chuckle, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Kasmine, you don't have to-"

"I mean it," I interrupted. I slid my fingers down his forearm, squeezing gently. "I don't care about extravagant gifts. I care about thoughtfulness. And you, Jake... you always give me that."

He exhaled, finally meeting my gaze, and the stiffness in his shoulders loosened.

"I don't even know who they are from. Probably someone who doesn't have the guts to approach me in person." I said, "Can't you see why you are way better than them?"

He took in a deep breath, "But..."

"Shh... There are no buts. Trust me," I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

I looked into his sincere eyes and wondered when he planned on properly asking

me to be his girlfriend.

But one question remained unanswered...

If Jake asks me to be his girlfriend, will I accept his proposal? Will I have to

choose between a death wish for both of us and a taste of true love from Jake? Because I know Kester would never let us live if I ever dared to be Jake's girlfriend.

Chapter 72

The tension between us was starting to dissolve when my phone vibrated on the desk.

I almost ignored it.

Almost.

But then I saw the name flashing across the screen.

Kester.

pulse stuttering in my

hesitated, my thumb hovering over the screen. I didn't

Jake because I knew what

if I didn't answer, Kester would keep calling. I knew

hard and forced myself to pick

"Hello?"

"Kasmine."

and filled with that quiet, infuriating arrogance

chair, gripping the phone tighter. "I need to take this," I told Jake, forcing

moment I stepped into the hallway, I exhaled sharply, my voice dipping

hell were you

A beat of silence.

he spoke, "I assume you got my

it," I hissed, my grip tightening around the phone. "You sent it

was quiet and

my eyes shut. "And? Are you serious? Do you not give a damn about the kind of questions this

it

it when I was on the edge and at his mercy, wondering what

1. to.

"Kester-"

me at The

Iblinked. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Kester, I can't-"

"An hour, Kasmine."

Chapter 72

The line went dead.

KESTER.

keeping pace with the storm in my head. The heat in the car threatened to suffocate

thirty minutes late. And, fuck, I

to stay away

I finally made

away from her for a few hours.

was in my blood like a sickness I had no cure for... A hunger that refused to

wheel as a slow, creeping rage curled

gut.

with Jake? Was that why she kept me waiting- because that

saw him slinking out of that run-down flower shop, clutching it like some grand

scraped together. It didn't take me a minute to stop by a real florist- the kind

already knew how it played out. Even if I wasn't there, I could picture it: Jake standing there, shoulders sinking, looking at my flowers and realizing-no, feeling how painfully inadequate

app. It was a good thing she still had her

on the move. She was

Manageable. I'd survive.

had the time to wander to things it shouldn't. The images of 'her' flooded

at me in horror as my fingers burrowed deep, closing around her beating heart. She had

had been

it out slowly. Let her feel every inch of it until she breathed

corner of my lips. It served her right. But why did the image haunt me from that moment

what I had done until this day. Everyone just concluded she had left

Very laughable.

therapist who

Chapter 72

in her little chair, saying what no one else

to.

to tell me that my obsession

to listen, she had chipped it in that she might