Chapter 1
Chapter 1 I did not like Thanksgiving, and I never wanted to go home for it. However, my mother called me crying and lied that she had late-stage cancer, insisting that I make a trip home. Over dinner, she criticized me like there was no tomorrow. “I wouldn’t even get to see you if I didn’t tell you I was lying! It’s been years since you came home. Do you still consider us your family?” Ethan Cole looked up lazily from his food. The smirk on his lips made my hair stand on end. “I bet you did something so terrible that you can’t even face us anymore. Am I right?” he said purposely, his voice laced with insinuations. Everyone knew we did not get along. We became stepsiblings after my mother’s remarriage. At her wedding, Ethan had cut up my dress to embarrass me. His father punished him harshly for it, but that did not stop him. In fact, it only made things worse. Whenever the adults’ backs were turned, he would torture me with pranks, mockery, and taunting. He had a tight grip on my weaknesses. I was too weak to fight back. Besides, it was not easy for my mother to marry a man with a good income, so I did not want to disrupt her marriage. I tolerated everything. For years, I lived in this house, walking on eggshells the entire time. It was only after a certain… incident that I dared to defy Ethan. “Shut up,” I said coolly. “Don’t ruin everyone’s appetites.” I did not care about protecting his pride anymore. My stepfather shot Ethan a warning look. “Would it kill you to shut your mouth for once?” Credit where it was due, my mother was unreliable, bad at finances, and sometimes infuriatingly naive… but she was beautiful. Furthermore, she had a good eye for men who loved her deeply. My biological father and my current stepfather were both good men — steady breadwinners, loyal, and gentle. The atmosphere at the dinner table turned tense until Ethan’s girlfriend, Chloe, broke the silence with a sickly sweet smile. “Come on, don’t be like that! Ethan, you’re always thinking of Summer. You even said her name in your sleep that time.” Chloe winked at me. “Aren’t all siblings like that? You fight and tease each other, but after going through so much together, you’re closer than anyone else.” My mother immediately clasped Chloe’s hand with genuine affection. “We’re really happy for you two! I can’t wait to attend your engagement party.” Chloe lowered her head shyly. “Thank you, Mrs. Cole.” However, Ethan rained on their parade. “We can talk about the engagement later. I’m flying to Hudson City to discuss a new project.” My mother did not protest. She never held much authority in the family. After that, she turned the topic back to me. “But Summer, you’re not getting any younger either. You’ve never had a proper relationship, right? When do you plan to settle down?” Chloe’s gaze turned cold. She cut a small piece of cake and put it on my plate with a saccharine smile. “We were from the same college, right? I heard you had a first love you could never forget.” “Summer! You had a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” my mother cried. Chloe leaned in and whispered as though we were best friends. “Come on, don’t be so shy! It’s been forever. Can’t you tell us?” “There’s nothing to say.” I lowered my head and took a bite of the cake, my voice barely audible… because I could not bear to say it. My first love, the boy I had poured all my heart into… Was none other than the man she was desperate to marry. That was right. It was my stepbrother, Ethan. Chapter 2 We never stopped fighting throughout the first two years of living together. One day, however, Ethan suddenly changed. Or rather, he started displaying a strange sense of “possessiveness” toward me. One day, he sauntered into my calculus class as though he owned the place. He turned to the boy sitting next to me and said, “Hey. Swap places with me.” Just like that, we become deskmates. During recess, he stopped me at my locker. “My dad said he’d buy me a car if I could score a GPA of 3.8 this semester,” he said in a low voice, as though tempting me. “If you help me, I’ll stop bothering your mom.” It was a threat, not a request. “Sure.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “But you gotta take it seriously. I won’t do your homework for you.” He revealed his slow, sly smirk. “Deal, Miss Tutor.” After that, we reached a new consensus. We would go to school, study after hours, and return home through the dark suburbs at night. The more time we spent together, the more I had to remind myself: He was my stepbrother. There were times when he would even skip basketball training just to slip out and meet me. If I so much as frowned, he would give me that signature smirk and say in a hoarse, sweet voice, “Come on, Summer, have a heart. I won’t die by skipping training once.” Each time, I would give in. Once during class, my period came unexpectedly, staining my jeans red. I wanted to die from the embarrassment. Ethan took off his baseball jacket, wrapped it around my waist, and left. He came back fifteen minutes later with a box of tampons and a steaming hot cup of chocolate. His ears were redder than a ripe apple. “Zach nearly passed out laughing when he saw me at the cashier,” Ethan muttered as he passed me the things. “You had better drink it all. Don’t make me embarrass myself for nothing.” Zach Whitmore was Ethan’s rival, another rich young heir who was always vaping behind the gym. Later that week, when I stayed back for cheerleading practice, Zach stopped me in the corridor. There was nobody else around. He bent down and hooked my chin with his finger as though it was his natural right to do so. His voice was slick and taunting. “Heh, I didn’t know Little Miss Tutor could dance so enchantingly.” I stumbled back in shock. “I-I gotta go. Ethan’s waiting for me.” He scoffed, his voice low and cruel. “Stop pretending. Everyone knows you’re not real siblings. You’re more like his lover… or his secret toy.” Before I could say anything, a basketball slammed into the wall next to my head. Ethan stood at the end of the corridor, covered in sweat and radiating a cold aura. “Get lost.” Zach sniggered. “What a joke. Didn’t you call her a ho? Why are you suddenly saving the damsel like a knight in shining armor?” “Get lost, Whitmore.” Ethan walked toward us until he was standing between Zach and me. He put his hand firmly on my waist. “She’s mine. Whether I protect or bully her is up to me.” After Zach left, I stayed frozen on the spot. Ethan looked down at me with a smirk. “What’s the matter? Scared stiff?” The next second, his grin faded. His gaze on me became deep and dark. “Has anyone told you…” he said softly, his voice filled with suppressed desire, “…that your eyes are tempting as a vixen’s?” Chapter 3 No one knew. The dangerous secret that Ethan and I hid was our relationship that only existed behind tightly locked doors. At school, we were stepsiblings, just two kids who lived under the same roof. There was nothing odd about us at all. However, once the lights went off and the room turned silent… We became something completely different. The passionate kisses and burning hot embraces were so dangerous that I nearly lost myself. He studied seriously, and I helped him with his exam prep, checking every essay he wrote. His GPA soared, and it actually reached 3.8 when he graduated. His father fulfilled his promise. When the results came out, a brand new silver Camaro appeared in our garage. Ethan won, and I had completely fallen for him. However, others were also starting to catch on. “Aren’t the two of you… a bit too close?” someone mentioned over lunch. “Ethan, are you making a move on your stepsister, too?” He scoffed and tossed a grape into his mouth. “Are you crazy? She’s family. Besides, who could someone like Summer seduce?” Everyone burst out laughing, as did I. That night, when he pinned me against the corridor wall, though, he did not look anything like a brother. “God, Summer,” he murmured, his lips burning like fire on my collarbones. “You have no idea what you do to me.” And I melt in his arms every time. Every single time. After that, we graduated. That night, the school rented a hall in the city center for our prom. There were chandeliers, and my rented dress sparkled like a sky full of stars. Ethan did not even show up with Chloe, even though she was supposedly his partner. He only showed up after the slow dancing ended and the DJ started up the EDM. Looking at me across the dance floor, he gestured at me with his chin, summoning me to his side. I got into his car, and he drove us to a swimming pool. No one ever patrolled there. “I brought you something,” he said, taking a small black box out of the glove compartment. My heart skipped a beat. The box contained a sexy white bikini, soft, elegant, and undeniably seductive. “You’re crazy,” I muttered, my face burning, “I had this custom-made for you,” he said softly, his gaze intent. “I’m sure you’d be gorgeous in it.” “This is insane.” I could barely breathe. “Just once.” His throat was dry, and his voice was hoarse. “For me.” I nodded. Perhaps it was love. Perhaps I was just lying to myself. Either way, he got out of the car and waited for me to emerge in the bikini. When I got out, his collar was undone and his sleeves rolled up. His gaze swept across my body. “You’re so beautiful.” His voice was raspy. “Come here.” My body was trembling. He reached out and pulled me into his embrace. “You’re being too bold. What if someone sees us?” I asked against his chest. His fingertips traced my spine as he kissed my shoulder, slowly and deliberately. “In that case, why don’t we hide in the water?” He held me and jumped into the pool with a laugh. We frolicked in the water. After that, he looked at me and said, “Call me ‘Brother’.” He kissed me as though he could not breathe without me. “I can’t,” I whispered. He did not stop. He just came in closer… He was strong. It hurt. But I did not stop him. In that moment, under the cover of darkness and starlight, the only sound was the lapping water in the pool and my soft panting. Chapter 4 The morning sunlight was cruel. It spilled in through the dark car window of the Camaro. My naked body was wrapped in his shirt, reminding me of everything that happened last night. My whole body was in pain, and my heart hurt the most. Ethan was gone and had left me all alone. His phone pinged with a prompt tone, and a message appeared on the screen. I did not mean to peek at it. Zach: [I can’t believe you had your way with that vixen in the swimming pool. You’re incredible!] My heart felt like it was frozen, and I could not resist picking up his phone. It was not password-locked, and my eyes were glued to the screen from the moment I clicked on the message. It was his chat with Zach Whitmore. Zach: [Interesting. You almost fought with me back then over her. I thought you were really in love with her.] Ethan: [Are you kidding me? The sight of her and her mother makes me sick!] Zach: [You almost fought with the football team in March. Was that also for her?] Ethan: [That’s part of the plan too. Girls with daddy issues like her are the easiest to handle. Treat them well, and they’ll cling to you like stray dogs.] Zach: [Remember to let me have a go when you’re tired of her. I want to see if she’s as soft as you said.] Ethan: [Deal.] My hands began to tremble as I continued to scroll up. Ethan: [Her mom clings to my dad like a leech. She’s just a gold-digging loser.] Zach: [Summer’s the same. She looks innocent, but she was willing to sleep with you after some coaxing. How pitiful.] My heart felt like it was being torn apart as I froze. Ethan returned to the car with a smile, holding the breakfast he had just bought. He gently stroked my hair with his hand and said with a smile, “Lazy bug, are you finally awake? I bought you your favorite sandwich.” I could not move. It was even getting difficult to breathe. I handed the phone to him, almost unable to speak. My throat felt like a knife was lodged in it. “Why…?” My voice was hoarse and almost inaudible. He put down the breakfast in his hand and took the phone as if nothing had happened. “You saw everything.” He raised his hand and gently pushed a strand of hair on my face behind my ear. I felt sick. He smiled icily as he muttered, “You were always just a game, Summer. If you hadn’t peeked at my phone, we could’ve played for a while longer. But you broke the rules…” He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, “Game over.”