Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother novel Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Jasmine's POV

When I came down for breakfast, I was not surprised that Hardin wasn't there, but it made me even more curious about what happened last night.

What had he and his father argued about to make him look so distressed and upset? And why had he come to my bedroom and stayed like that?

For someone who was very scared of what he was capable of, I was ashamed of how quickly I had slept off while I sat on the ground beside him, watching as he sat still, not even sure if he was awake because his head was on his knees.

But I had fallen asleep as I kept watch and had woken up on my bed, draped in my bed covers.

It was something anyone would expect Hardin to do. Abandon me on the floor? That was what I expected from him. But this was new and unlike him. Just like how he had not been the one responsible for that rumor and had taken it upon himself to clear my name.

He was confusing me and I didn't know what he was up to.

"Take this to school and give to Hardin." My mother said after I was done with breakfast and before I could tell her that it was obviously a bad idea, she shoved the bag into my hands and waved me goodbye as I walked to school.

I was at the entrance to school when Nadia appeared beside me and looped her hands through my arm.

"Wow, you brought a lunchbox today? Is cafeteria food that bad? Or are my taste buds dying?" She brought out her tongue and tried to look down at it and I shook my head with a chuckle.

"No, it's not for me. My mum asked me to give it to Hardin. The maid that cleaned his room returned the dinner that I dropped for him last night. Apparently it was untouched, so my mum is worried about him."

"Awww. That's so sweet. Can your mum adopt me? Pretty please?"

"Absolutely not. You have your own mum."

"Yeah, but do you see any lunch box in my hands?" She whined and I shrugged.

As we entered the hallway, my eyes searched where he usually stood with his clique but he wasn't there. Heading to my locker, I listened absentmindedly to what Nadia was telling me about the latest update on our favorite series and I brought out my phone to try to call him.

That was when I realized that I had never saved his number.

Between all of the things that he had put me through, I was surprised that his number was not blocked.

Saving his number, I opened the chat box and wanted to type a message but I hesitated, locking my phone and putting it inside my back pocket.

As I parted ways with Nadia and headed to my class, I turned right and stopped when Dahlia stopped in front of me.

She looked like she had not slept in so many days and her face was completely bare today, her hair in a messy bun.

I tried to walk away from her but she grabbed my hand and when my eyes widened, she quickly released me, looking scared.

"What do you want, Dahlia?" I asked in the calmest voice that I could muster and she smiled, even though it was the farthest thing from an actual smile.

"Can you please beg Hardin to forgive me? I'll do anything you want, just please beg him to forgive me already. You have forgiven me, haven't you?"

I nodded, confused by why she was telling me this.

"Why are you telling me this?"

She looked at me like I was being intentionally obtuse and released a harsh breath.

"Hardin has never done what he did for you for anyone else before. And maybe it's because you are now his stepsister. But you and I know the kind of person Hardin is."

I wanted to laugh and tell her why she had all of a sudden believed that Hardin was nice to me because of one incident.

"What does forgiving you have to do with anything?"

"He has blacklisted me. I'm an outcast. A pariah. He's the king of the school and because of what I did to you, not only does he not want me anymore, his rejection has made no other person want to associate with me. Please, help me talk to him."

"I'm sorry but I don't think I can be of any help." I told her and before she could answer, I walked quickly to my classroom.

Throughout the entire class, I pondered on what she said. She was right. Hardin was not a saint.

He did things that served him. But what she didn't know was that I had already paid for him clearing my name with my body.

Why then did her words make me feel special?

Because she was right. Hardin was self serving and what he did would surprise anyone.

During lunch, I kept my eye out for him but when I didn't see him at his usual table, I walked up to ask Alex.

"Oh, look who it is." Alex said with a smirk that made me want to stab his eye with a fork.

Ignoring his greeting, I went straight to the point.