Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother
Chapter 208
KASMINE.
“She doesn’t need to be disturbed. Bring her breakfast here. Clean the room later.” I thought I heard those in my subconscious.
My body ached, every inch of me sore and sluggish as if I had been wrung dry and left to mend on its own. A sharp ache pulsed through my temples, cutting off the remnants of
sleep.
My body felt so foreign.
The door clicked shut, but the sleep still kept me under until I heard another set of words from the same voice.
“Lock him up in the basement.”
With those words, my lashes immédiately fluttered, forcing my vision into focus.
Kester.
He was strolling back into the room, bare–chested, wearing only his trousers, the dim morning light casting shadows across the ridges of his toned frame. He looked every bit the man who had unraveled me last night.
He had his phone in his hands.
“Who are you locking up in what basement?” I whispered, as that was all my voice allowed me to do.
My heart picked up speed at once.
I tried to sit up, only for a sharp, searing pain to lance through my thighs, my core, and my bones. A startled whimper escaped my lips as I collapsed back onto the pillows.
“Didn’t I say you wouldn’t be using your legs for two days, baby?” His voice was deep, edged with satisfaction.
“Who…” I tried to ask again, but he only smiled.
1/4
Chapter 208
“No one you should concern yourself with, trust me.” He dismissed my worry, leaving no
room for any more questions.
“But…”
“Kasmine. I said it’s nothing you should worry about.” He said through gritted teeth, forcing a smile.
I nodded and swallowed, my throat parched. “Kester…” My voice came out hoarse, barely
more than a rasp.
“Yes, baby,” His dark eyes softened as he settled beside me on the bed, fingers threading gently through my hair. “You’re finally awake,” he murmured as if we hadn’t just almost gotten into an argument and paused before speaking again, a bit quieter this time, “Sorry
about last night… I just―” He exhaled, jaw tensing. “I shouldn’t have…”
I forced a weak chuckle, though even that small effort made my body protest. “I asked for it,” I admitted, my lips curling faintly. “Didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to take it.”
His scoff was almost amused, but the expression didn’t quite reach his face. Instead, he
just studied me, his thumb still tracing soothing patterns against my scalp.
“I told them not to disturb you today,” he said. “Breakfast will be here soon.”
I nodded, too drained to say much else.
We were silent for a while before he spoke up again.
“When did you find out about Jaden?”
His voice was even, but I wasn’t fooled. There was a tightly coiled restraint beneath it, a
quiet storm he was holding back with sheer force of will. And something told me Kester
wouldn’t have been this calm if it were someone else who had made him this angry. They
wouldn’t have lived to see the morning.
A prickle of unease crawled up my spine at the topic he decided to choose for the
morning. I knew we’d have to talk about this eventually, but why did it have to be now?
“While we were still in the Maldives,” I replied.
Kester ran a hand through his hair, his expression darkening before he muttered a quiet,
2/4
Chapter 208
“Fuck.”
His eyes closed briefly as if trying to control himself. Then, he turned his gaze back to me, pinning me under its intensity.
“Why did you go on a date with him?” His tone was eerily calm, his fingers still threading through my hair, but the edge beneath his words made my breath hitch. “You didn’t care
to tell me about it. Hm?”
The way he physically controls his anger needs to be studied.
His anger was quiet. Measured. Controlled.
And that was the most dangerous kind.
“I… You’ve been really busy lately, Kes. Your mood that day–when Mum told me about
him–was too sour. I couldn’t bring myself to anger you more…” I explained, searching his
face, but there was not even a crack in his expression. He just stared blankly at me.
“And there was no other opportunity for you to mention it? Not once?” His bloodshot eyes
burned into mine, but his eerie calm–that was what terrified me the most.
“Kester…” I swallowed, trying to steady myself. “You refused to see me for two whole days. I tried calling before the date, but you were unreachable. Mum and Dad made me go, even though I refused.”
But why was he this angry? Hadn’t Mum said he knew?
He was quiet. His hand on my hair was gradually becoming stiff, and it trembled.
“You will never see Jaden again. No matter what. Never speak to him or go anywhere near him ever again… Do you understand me?” He ordered, and I almost scoffed, even though it felt like I was being compelled to obey his every word.
I fought through the compulsion and tried to protest, but the words refused to leave lips.
“Do. You. Understand. Me?” He counted his words carefully, and I nodded quickly.
“I understand.”
my
3/4
Chapter 208
“Good girl.” He smiled.
“But… Mum said you were aware of this. Why didn’t you tell me all these years, Kes?” I asked, careful with my words, even though I was also very upset.
Try matching such a man’s anger at your own risk. It was suicidal, even.
This was the only way I knew how to handle Kester’s nature until I uncovered the truth about his therapy. For all I knew, he never got the help he needed, and he might have even gotten worse over the years.
“Say something, Kester.” I prompted when he didn’t reply to anything I had said. He was just quiet, looking at me with an unsettling stare. And then, slowly, he leaned in, brushing his lips over mine in a kiss so soft it sent a shiver down my spine.
As his lips curved into a knowing smile, he murmured, “Jaden doesn’t stand a chance.”
That was all he said before standing up to leave, but I stopped him.
“Who is Karina?”
He froze.
His body went rigid, and for the first time since this conversation began, I saw something dark and unguarded flicker in his expression.
I had struck a nerve.
Chapter Comments
