Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Mated 320

Chapter 320

KASMINE.

By the time Kester was rounding up his story, I had forgotten how to stop crying. The tears wouldn't stop falling. They slipped down my cheeks silently, like they didn't want to interrupt him. Like they understood that his pain was finally finding a voice.

He looked at me again, and his expression-God, it was worse than tears.

"Kester," I breathed, shaking my head slowly. I didn't even know what to say.

It was like I was staring at the little boy he used to be-the one who needed love more than anything in the world but got none in

return.

Even though I knew he hadn't told me everything and hadn't laid out the full horror of what his childhood looked like, the little pieces he had shared tore through my heart, shattering it to pieces. His parents. His loneliness. That house that never felt like

home.

child should ever go

just boy," he whispered. "And I swore I'd never be that helpless again. I'd never trust anyone to protect what's mine. I'd be the one in control. I'd always be in control. If my father couldn't protect my mother, the woman I loved more than anything, then no one else can protect what's mine

shaking. Not just his hands but his entire body. Like the weight of everything he'd carried

around him and pressed my forehead to his shoulder. His

to carry that alone," I whispered. "You don't have

right away. Just wrapped his arms around me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn't care.

Then, he spoke again.

it, Kasmine. You might not know this, but you are the

him. "You always say

He smiled.

said softly, "But it was my birthday. Not that anyone remembered. I was alone in the house. No cake. No candles. No hugs. Not

gloom of that lonely room. "I

to fall. Wondering

My breath caught.

chuckled, but it was empty... more like he was trying to breathe

a white dress and ribbons in