Watch Me Love Your Stepbrother: Rejected, Pregnant , And Claimed

I finally found the address. The house looked even more tired than the last time I was here, but for the first time, the "FOR SALE" sign was gone.

I knocked.

The door swung open, and Giulia’s aunt beamed at me. "Mireya!"

I forced a smile, though my chest felt like it was caving in. "Aunty. How are you feeling?"

"My child! I’m finally breathing," she said, grabbing my hand. "Come inside!"

"I wish I could, but... is Giulia home?"

The old woman frowned, looking genuinely confused. "Giulia? No, she moved out yesterday."

I blinked. My brain took a full five seconds to catch up. "Moved? Where? She didn’t tell me she was looking."

"Oh, she didn’t know," the aunt said, laughing like it was the best news in the world. "Some very important-looking men came by. They paid everything, Mireya. Every single one of my hospital bills. Can you imagine? This old woman is finally debt-free."

My stomach dropped into my shoes. "Paid... everything?"

"And they got Giulia a beautiful apartment. Far from this neighborhood," she continued, oblivious to the fact that I was currently experiencing a slow-motion heart attack. "They even found her a wonderful new job. She said it pays thousands of dollars!"

My fingers went numb. A job. A new life. A clean slate.

"She didn’t tell you?" the aunt asked, her brow furrowing. "You two are like sisters. I thought she would’ve told you first."

I flashed her a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Oh... you know. I’ve been busy. Must have slipped her mind."

Liar.

"Well," the aunt squeezed my hand, "you girls should visit me together next time."

"We will," I lied again.

I managed to back away, kept the smile plastered on my face until the door clicked shut, and then I finally let the mask drop.

I staggered back.

Some mysterious rich men.

Hospital bills paid.

New apartment.

A "job."

Of course. It was always him.

"Laziel," I whispered, staring at the peeling paint on the door. "You arrogant, psycho bastard. Do you ever get tired of ruining my life?"

I started walking down the street, waving my arms like a lunatic. "First you take my job. Then you trap my daughter. Now you’ve bought my best friend? What’s next, Laziel? Are you going to steal my toothbrush? Maybe my favorite pair of socks? Should I just move into your damn pocket and save you the trouble?"

A woman walking her dog stared at me. I didn’t even care.

I checked my watch. My blood was boiling. For the last few weeks, I’d been playing the game, running, hiding, hoping.

But I was done.

I stepped onto the curb and flagged down the first taxi that slowed down. I didn’t even wait for it to come to a full stop before I yanked the door open.

"Monroe Headquarters," I said.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, checking out my disheveled hair and my murderous expression. "Rough day, miss?"

I leaned forward, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the seat. "I’m about to make someone else’s day a hell of a lot worse."

.....

I stepped off the elevator and didn’t even look at the floor.

One of the department managers spotted me immediately. His face brightened like I was the answer to a prayer. "Miss Brenner! You’re finally back!" He hurried toward me, practically vibrating with relief, holding a stack of files. "Mr. Monroe is in the conference room with the board. He asked that these be—"

I walked straight past him. I didn’t even slow down.

"...Miss Brenner?" he called out, his voice trailing off.

I ignored him. I didn’t care if he had the winning lottery numbers in those folders. A woman poked her head out of a nearby office, her eyes wide.

"Wait, isn’t that Mr. Monroe’s assistant?"

"I think so..."

"Why does she look like she’s about to commit a felony?"

"I don’t know," the manager muttered, looking down at his empty hands as he watched me storm toward the board wing. "But I’m suddenly invested."

I didn’t knock.

I shoved the conference room doors open.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SHIT, LAZIEL MONROE!"

The room went deathly silent.

I froze.

The finance director. The legal team. Three executives. Two foreign investors looking like they’d just been invited to a riot. All of them were seated around the table.

Every single head snapped toward me.

I stopped so abruptly I nearly tripped. Oh. Hell. No.

Meeting. A very important, very boring meeting.

Laziel didn’t even look surprised. He was sitting at the head of the table. He simply raised his eyes from the document in front of him and stared at me.

There was a faint, dangerous twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"You seem upset," he said.

That made it ten times worse.

"You—" I pointed a shaking finger right at his face, ignoring the fact that there were ten people currently watching me like I was a national tragedy. "You paid Giulia. You paid her hospital bills. You moved her. You bought her!"

Nothing. He just watched me.

Every executive in the room looked between the two of us like they were watching a high-stakes, live-television car crash. One old Italian director slowly removed his glasses. Another quietly closed his laptop. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.

Laziel finally closed the file in front of him. He didn’t look away from me.

"Gentlemen," he said, "Five minutes."

The entire board stood up as one. Not one question. Not one complaint. Chairs pushed back, papers were gathered, and within seconds, the room was empty.

I folded my arms. "I hope you’re happy."

Laziel remained seated, watching me with those unreadable, predatory eyes. "I usually am."

He simply pushed his chair back and began to walk toward me.

Step.

Step.

Step.

My poor heart was trying to claw its way out of my throat. Every fiber of my brain screamed at me to bolt, to tear the door open and sprint until my lungs burst, but I stood frozen. I refused to look weak. I refused to let him see me turn tail and run.

I backed up until my shoulder blades hit the door. Nowhere to go.

He didn’t stop until he was looming over me. He was so much taller that I had to crane my neck just to glare at him, and even then, I felt like a toddler facing a hurricane.

Thump.

His hand hit the wall right beside my head. Then the other, effectively caging me in. He leaned down, his warmth radiating off him, his cologne—sandalwood and expensive, dangerous secrets—wrapping around me like a noose. His breath fanned over my skin, making my nerve endings snap and sizzle.

Oh, Father Lord. He was too fucking close.

My body was a traitor. My brain was screaming, push him, run, spit on him, but my heart was doing a traitorous dance in my chest. I felt my knees weaken.

"I hate you," I whispered, the words trembling.

"I know," he purred, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating right against my ear.

A gasp escaped my lips as his knee suddenly pushed forward, sliding firmly between my thighs.

"Mmmghhs.... I... mean it, Laziel," I gasped, fighting for air. "I... I wish I’d never met you."

I braced myself for the fire.

Instead, he did the one thing I wasn’t prepared for.

He smiled.

"I don’t," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips before locking onto my eyes again.

"I’ve spent my entire life getting rid of things that inconvenience me," he said quietly.

"You are the first inconvenience I’ve had no desire to remove."

I forgot how to breathe.

He leaned in just enough for his next words to belong only to me.

"If I decide something is mine...I don’t let anyone take it away."

"You, Mireya Brenner..."

"...are not leaving."