Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 129

It felt like death was licking at my heels.

The sky outside had been brooding all day clouds thick and grey. Fitting perfectly with my mood. Almost like the universe knew it, too, that this wasn't a

celebration. This was like me attending my own funeral.

My room was quiet and tense. The kind of silence you feel in your gut.

Norlan was seated at the edge of the couch, his palms pressed together and his eyes distant. He looked like he'd just walked out of a car crash. And truth? I didn't look or feel any better.

I stood in front of the mirror, fixing my tie with fingers that wouldn't fucking stop shaking. Each tug felt like it was tightening a noose around my own neck.

Fuck

I'd never been this nervous in my life. Not even when I was wrongly diagnosed and taken to the psychiatric ward years ago. Not when I gave my first speech in front of the board. Not even when I kissed Kasmine for the first time.

This was different.

This wasn't nerves. This was my body revolting. My heart knew this wasn't right. Every cell in my blood was screaming her name.

Kasmine.

The anger and sadness radiating off of me could burn downan entire city. But of course, this was also a step closer to being with the woman I love.

1 gritted my teeth and forced my fingers to move. "You aren't the one getting engaged to the wrong woman, Norlan Quit being sadder than me," I muttered.

Norlan was barely keeping himself together. He looked like a man who had lost his purpose in life. And I knew why.

He wishes to be the one in my place at this moment. Dude is head over heels for my 'fiancé."

"What are you talking about, dickhead? Come on. We have just about an hour before the event starts," He stood up, straightened his jacket, and forced a grin that didn't touch his eyes. "You look perfect tonight."

I stared at him through the mirror. Neither of us looked perfect. We just looked like two men pretending they weren't breaking inside.

wany sides.

I turned slowly. My fingers dropped from the tie, hanging up by my “Did you get it?" I asked quietly.

Norlan didn't answer immediately. He glanced toward the door like he was making sure we were still alone. Then le reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sleek, matte-black flash drive.

He held it up between two fingers. "Encrypted. Triple-layered. You'd need a god to crack it... or me."

I walked up to m, took it without a word, but didn't look at it yet. I stared at him instead... The man who used to hack into our school's database just to change his grades and prank professors. I used to think it was all fun back then. But I never knew he'd take it so seriously that he'd take it to be a career.

"You sure it's solid?" I asked in a low voice.

Norlan nodded slowly. "It's everything. Offshore accounts. Tax evasion. Proxy companies tied to human smuggling rings in the Balkans. He thought he could scrub it clean. But that dumb fuck hired some of my old crew two years ago. I know their coding like the back of my hand.

A grin pulled at the corner of his lips. It was cold. Nothing like the forced smile he'd worn a few minutes ago. He was in his full work mode now.

"He didn't even encrypt his backups properly. I found a dead server in Romania that still had partial logs of every financial transaction since 2020. And get this," he leaned closer, "one of the shell companies is laundering money through a fertility charity in Lisbon."

felt my

on the

Harmless-looking. And yet, it could burn his entire empire to the

knows?"

Not even the crew. I pulled it myself. Scrambled the IP routes and bounced them across five countries. Burned

if Jaden even smelled what we were doing,

was thinking because he laughed softly and shook his head. "You don't have to

to the table, poured himself a shot of whiskey, and downed it in one go. "But I gotta admit," he continued in a quieter voice, "it's different

I looked at him.

genius was a man willing to burn down an empire just to help me save the woman I love.. Norlan wasn't just a hacker. He was my weapon. And tonight, while the cameras would flash and the guests would toast and the world would believe I was celebrating. I'd be plotting the destruction of a man too arrogant to see

smirking as I tucked the drive

"Takes one to love

he'd abandoned and took a sip, letting the burn center

"Thank you," I said.

me like I'd just

the glass. "For making,

like he couldn't believe I was just bringing ever

up now. "Man, that might

him that crap about my assets being frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly, I wasn't a rival anymore-I was a dying man clinging to my last venture. He saw Elvis as my last gasp and wanted it

in on the next big thing' before you could

"He thinks he won."

direct-to-client encryption, no public-facing platforms. Even their NDAs are signed using retina scans. Nobody ever sees the real

1 chuckled. "Of course."

even planted a bogus investor profile in a private

oil."

at the joke

team you had Alfred brief? Perfect actors. They even threw in the 'proprietary Al scaffolding" lingo. Got Kex drooling

the glass down slowly, absorbing the magnitude

ever go dark on

go dark, they're fucked You? You're the only one I'd burn the world

hit

of monsters in tailored suits and million-dollar smiles,

in arrogance like they owned the floor beneath their feet. And maybe they did. Titans of industry. Blood-soaked politicians.

honor.

Luna Shannon at

little too far like she was auditioning for the role of "blissfully

like a fucking

champagne fountain with a cluster of high-class ladies- wives of alphas, heiresses, political daughters. Gossiping, I

Where the hell

hard thump against

the ball again, slower this time,

Chapter 129

it. He begged for it. After Alfred fed him that crap about my assets being frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly, I wasn't a rival anymore-I was a dying

"He practically sold his soul to get on the 'next big thing' before you

Classic Kex."

"He thinks he won."