Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 89

Chapter 89

KESTER.

I closed the door as carefully as possible so as not to wake Kasmine up. She was still sound asleep, her body curled beneath the covers, lost in the kind of deep rest only I could give her. I wasn't about to disturb that.

We were supposed to go scuba diving today, but after last right, I wasn't sure she'd have the energy for it. Maybe we'd take the day off and stick to something easier-like the bonfire at the villa tonight. She'd love that. For now, I had other things to deal with.

I strode to my room, my mind already shifting into work inde. A shower first- then emails. I knew there'd be a flood of them waiting for me, along with the hundreds of messages from my father that I'd purposely ignored yesterday.

I'd deal with him later.

The moment the hot water hit my skin, tension melted from my muscles. I let it run over me, closing my eyes for just a second longer than necessary, letting my mind drift. had been a long time since I felt this-contentment. Not peace. Not exactly. But something close. Something I only ever felt when Kasmine was with me.

After my bath, I stepped out, letting the cool air hit my skin I toweled off, applied lotion, and pulled on my usual -sweatpants and a black singlet, an easy go-to. As I reached for my laptop, my gaze caught on the tattoo on my arm.

A slow smile stretched across my lips.

Mine.

Every time I looked at it, it reminded me of her-of what she meant to me, of how deeply she was etched into me. Even when she wasn't physically by my side, she was here.

Getting these tattoos was the best decision I'd made in a long time.

For a brief moment, I stood by the window, soaking in the warmth of the morning sun. The air was fresh, the ocean breeze slipping through. The day promised calm.

Then I opened my laptop.

And just like that, the calm was gone.

Thirty-four emails.

My jaw tensed.

I grabbed my phone, unlocking it with a flick of my thumb Twenty-one texts. Forty-eight voicemails.

What the fuck?

Was my pack on fire? Had the world ended overnigh

A muscle feathered in my jaw as I stared

at my screen, irritation curling in my gut.

I decided to look at my emails first. They were all from the office.

I clicked on the first email, and Ryhs's name flashed at the top. My eyes skimmed

through the message, irritation shifting into something else. Worry.

Chapter 69

It came in as URGENT.

-29 BONUS

Ryhs: "I don't know what the fuck is happening, but our suppliers In Scotland have practically shut us out, We were already struggling with Belinzo prioritizing Valor Larte's shipments, but now even our backup suppliers are pulling back

I've spoken with Mellors Holdings-or tried to. They won't return my calls. Neither will Hexley Shipping That's not a coincidence. Someone is leaning on them hard.

Our latest shipment of semiconductors, scheduled for this week, has been rerouted. It was supposed to be ours. Instead, it's been redirected to Valor Lante. Again.

If we don't act fast, our Scotland branch will go under. We're already bleeding money trying to keep things afloat. Another quarter like this, and we'll be forced to cut operations.

We need leverage. We need a way to make Belinzo hurt for this. Tell me how you want to proceed."

I felt my heart pick up speed.

Fuck!

biting more

jaw tightening. They were cutting

shipments. No

email was from

Belinzo-Valor Lante Contract

Kester,

the contract between Belinzo and Valor Lante again, and there's no easy way in. The exclusivity

months-maybe a year-before we could get a ruling. That's time we

I did find something interesting. The clause only applies to direct

shell company, we might be able to work around the

if you want me to

Logan.

briefly. A workaround. A risky one. If Belingo caught wind of

their agreement and block us

didn't act, we were

email was from Maya Lome, Head

Chapter 30

have a

models project that if Wescor pulls out of Zamford and reinvests in Valor Lante, we'll lose nearly zo % of our stock value

That's overnight, Kester.

Wescor holds 28% of our market shares. If they pull out and others

They'll vote you out."

More emails came in:

two new government contracts-both

Journalists are sniffing around

fucking message, was like a hand tightening around my throat... Another shove toward the edge of a cliff I couldn't afford to fall

Wescorpulling out.

Belinzo shutting us out.

Valor Lante taking everything

my temples pulsing as I ground my teeth together. This wasn't just competition. This

Why?

didn't let him

took a sharp enough dip, they'd turn on

to some corporate puppet willing to play

exhaled slowly, pushing away from the bed

thick with

the table by the window, my fingers trailing over

the glass vase perched at

shouldn't be there. Not so close to falling off the edge of the

it. Instead, I watched it,

tip over

on the edge, one wrong move away from crashing. If nothing changed, if nothing was done, I'd fall and shatter.

left it there, letting it

I

call Rhys in order to start tearing through this mess, when the door

Chapter 89

even have time to look before it was shoved closed with the same

bang ricocheting through the room like

actual

June.

nerves, adding gasoline to the flames

learn to be this

arms were crossed tight over her chest, nails digging into her side as she glared at me like I was the lowest

second-a single second-I didn't give a

left me in the goddamn car all night!" She said,

No wonder she

from my phone. "You

snapped. "And when I woke up,

any idea how cold it got? How