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 chest

Perfectly polished on

flash drive. Tiny. Harmless-looking. And yet, it could burn

else knows?"

the IP routes and bounced them across five countries. Burned the trail after every

even smelled what we were doing, he'd come for

and shook his head. "You don't have to look at me like that,

I gotta admit," he continued in a quieter voice, "it's different when you're not doing it for money. When you're doing

I looked at him.

and the world would believe I was celebrating. I'd be plotting the destruction of a man

psychopath," I muttered, smirking as I

one to love

a sip, letting the burn center me. Then I glanced at

"Thank you," I said.

at me like I'd just spoken in

glass. "For making, Elvris look

was just bringing ever built. I'm not surprised he

that might be the

frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly,

practically sold his soul to get in on the next big thing' before

"He thinks he won."

encryption, no public-facing platforms. Even their NDAs are signed using retina scans. Nobody ever sees the real product unless they're on the inside. So all I had

1 chuckled. "Of course."

real. I even planted a

oil."

both laughed at the joke called

actors. They even threw in the 'proprietary Al scaffolding"

set the glass down slowly, absorbing the magnitude of what we

swear, if you ever go dark

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

lights hit

halos over a crowd of monsters in tailored suits and million-dollar smiles, Gold-trimmed railings spiraled along a grand staircase that led to a stage dressed for royalty, not a

their feet. And maybe they did. Titans of industry. Blood-soaked politicians. Old money, new money,

honor.

and chatting with Alpha Mellors and Luna Shannon at the other corner of

back just a little too far like she was auditioning for the role of

like a fucking suit of

of high-class ladies- wives of

the

heart pave a hard thump

the ball again, slower this time, but she was

Chapter 129

Suddenly, I wasn't a rival

his soul to get on the

Classic Kex."

"He thinks he won."