Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 251

Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 251

I heard a soft knock on my door. One of the guards, probably sent to let me know it was time.

Claire perked up. "That's our cue, birthday girl! The moon won't wall

She reached for my hand, grinning like this was the beginning of a fairytale.

The hall was a sea of elegance-velvet drapes, floating candles, goldimmed everything. Dignitaries, nobles, visiting Alphas, Betas, and Lunas-all dressed to the teeth-littered the place like it was some royal gala. Music floated from a live quartet in the corner, spicy food, expensive wine, forced laughter...

Mum had done a perfect job setting it all up. I'd give her that. The whole thing looked like it belonged in one of those glossy magazines.

And somehow, in all that perfection, I felt like the ugliest mistake in the room.

She hurried to me, and within seconds, I was being paraded like a prized auction item, introducing me to so many guests I had no idea who they were. All the while, she wore her perfect smile-the kind that said look at us, we're still a power family. Nothing's broken here.

Not even the fact that her supposed soon-to-be son-in-law was currently behind bars, facing accusations serious enough to stain bloodlines.

And with this, I realized something cold:

People move on fast. God forbid you're the one bleeding because no one sticks around long enough to mop up the mess. Just try not to be on the other end of the table because, in a minute, they'll move on and leave you behind.

nudged me toward a young Alpha who looked barely older than me. "I put in a lot of effort to

But only with my lips. My

some shelf. Like I was rotting, and she needed to marry me off before the stench hit the wrong nose. Sometimes, I wondered if she even remembered that I was just twenty-one. Still figuring myself

Appearances? Those are oxygen. The

cake

patience for, half of them

like I was some war heroine. Probably enough to start a gift shop if

go rogue.

My phone beeped.

slowly dragging

heart fluttered with a stupid flicker of hope that

7

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Chapter 251

it be

birthday for anything in the world. But who

flitting around in glittery lilac dress, playing the perfect socialite, making

least they weren't

the phone open, and, God, I almost

was a text from the