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

"Congratulations, Mireya Brenner."

"Personal assistant of the year."

"Kissed your married boss in a conference room."

"Absolutely pathetic."

I unlocked my phone. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Search: Valentina Monroe.

Results exploded across the screen. Thousands of them. Magazine covers. Runway shots. Business profiles.

VALENTINA DE LUCA MONROE NAMED BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR.

THE BILLIONAIRE WHO WORE A TWO-MILLION-DOLLAR BIRKIN TO HER BIRTHDAY DINNER.

MET GALA’S BEST DRESSED.

INSIDE VALENTINA MONROE’S PRIVATE JET TOUR OF MONACO.

THE HEIRESS WHO BUILT A FASHION EMPIRE BEFORE TWENTY.

I kept scrolling, my thumb moving faster and faster.

Birkin bags in colors I didn’t know existed. Paris Fashion Week front rows. Monaco yachts. Cannes. Private jets parked like they were commuter cars. She was a goddess with money and influence.

Then, I found their wedding photos.

She was perfect. Tall, blonde, elegant, the kind of woman who made the world hold its breath when she walked into a room.

I looked down at myself.

Lipstick smeared across my jaw. Hair a tangled mess. My shirt was half-buttoned, the fabric wrinkled from where Laziel’s hands had been—hands that probably touched her.

A laugh escaped me.

Of course.

What exactly had I been thinking? That a man like Laziel Monroe would choose me?

A broke single mother. A former waitress who still had to calculate if she could afford an extra cup of coffee before the end of the month. The daughter of nobody.

Compared to Valentina, I wasn’t just a mistake. I was a stain.

She inherited billions; I inherited debt. She owned fashion empires; I counted grocery prices. She belonged at the Met Gala. I belonged in the background, working until my feet ached, counting the days until payday.

She was a queen.

I belonged nowhere near a Monroe.

Maybe...

Maybe Helix had been right all those years ago.

Maybe women like me really didn’t belong in their world.

Maybe I was just another woman stupid enough to fall for the wrong last name.

I closed the article.

Then opened another.

Something caught my eye.

Every single article said the same thing.

Although married for years, the couple are rarely seen together.

I frowned.

Interesting.

........

The taxi dropped me off down the road. I paid, got out, and walked right through the open gates. The guards didn’t even try to stop me.

My feet hurt, and my head was pounding, but I didn’t care what Laziel would do. I just wanted my daughter.

I cut through the side path, heading toward the back garden.

Then I heard it.

Anastelle’s high, loud laugh echoing from the infinity pool.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. Not again. How many times have I warned that girl not to go near the water? She’s going to drown herself one of these days.

I picked up my pace, ready to scold her, but I stopped dead in my tracks.

Someone was already there.

A blonde woman sat beneath the umbrella beside the pool, one leg crossed over the other, glaring straight down at Anastelle.

She looked like she belonged on the cover of every magazine I’d spent the last hour torturing myself with.

Valentina De Luca Monroe.

My feet stopped.

So did my heart.

Slowly, those icy blue eyes settled on me.

She didn’t look surprised to see me.

She looked like she’d been expecting me.

Valentina looked me up and down—from my wrinkled blouse, to my swollen lips, to the hair I hadn’t even realized was still a mess.

Then they returned to my face.

"...So," she said.

Her voice was calm. "You’re finally here!"

A chill crawled down my spine.

She knew.

She already knew.

Valentina rose gracefully from her chair.

Not once did she take her eyes off me.

"Mireya Brenner."

How...

She tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Former waitress."

My stomach tightened.

"Single mother."

Every word landed like a slap.

"Recently promoted to Laziel’s personal assistant."

She took another slow step.

"And currently living in my husband’s estate."

Silence.

"I have to admit..." she said, studying me openly. "...I expected someone different."

I swallowed.

"I’m sorry to disappoint you."

"Oh."

A tiny smile touched her lips.

"You didn’t disappoint me."

She looked me up and down once more.

"You simply exceeded my expectations."

I frowned.

"I wasn’t expecting someone so..." she paused, choosing the word carefully.

"...ordinary."

That one hurt.

Much more than if she’d called me names.

Before I could answer—

"Mommy!"

A tiny missile launched itself across the garden.

Anastelle crashed straight into my legs.

I almost lost my balance.

"There you are!" she complained, wrapping both arms around my waist. "I’ve been looking everywhere!"

Without thinking, I crouched and hugged her.

"I told you not to run near the pool."

"But I didn’t fall."

"You’ll still get scolded."

She giggled.

"I missed you."

My heart melted.

"I missed you too."

"That grumpy lady wouldn’t even answer me!" Anastelle complained, glaring back at the blonde.

Valentina looked down at Anastelle. The pieces clicked.

"Ah," Valentina whispered, her smile dropping into something much sharper. "So you’re the mother."

"It’s almost touching," Valentina murmured, "Laziel has spent years treating our marriage like a business acquisition, refusing to give me so much as a glance across a dinner table. Yet, he suddenly finds the time to play domestic house with a retail-store reject and her byproduct."

"Watch your mouth," I snapped, the warning slipping out before I could bite it back.

Valentina let out a soft laugh.

" I’m really disappointed.... my husband’s latest distraction wasn’t some brilliant social climber..."

Valentina continued. "Do you know the difference between you and me?"

"Enlighten me."

"When people see me, they stand."

"When people see you, they give you instructions."

Ouch. I wasn’t going to let this woman make me shrink.

"That’s true."

"And somehow..."

"The same man who married you keeps giving his attention to me."

Author’s note💕💕

Ouch. Did Valentina just end Mireya with that line, or did Mireya serve the ultimate comeback? 🤭🔥

We officially have a war on our hands, and poor Anastelle is just wandering around looking for a sandwich in the middle of a billionaire turf war.

If this Chapter made you gasp out loud or cheer for Mireya, please leave a comment telling me whose side you’re on, and drop a review!

📢 Help a sister out: If you’re enjoying the chaos, share this book with your bookish besties, post your favorite screenshots on TikTok or X (Twitter), and add it to your reading lists! Let’s get everyone hooked on the Monroe family madness. See you in the next Chapter! 🥂✨