Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother novel Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Jasmine's POV

Just when I had thought that something productive had happened last night between Hardin and I even though he remained standoffish and quiet the entire ride back to the house, I knew that we were about to take a million steps back immediately we entered the house and Lisa was the first person that we saw.

Remembering that the only reason his aunt was here was thanks to him, I shuffled from one foot to the other after her question, thinking about what she was up to now.

Looking at Hardin, she raised her eyebrows, her smile dripping with mischief as she waited for an answer.

"Well, is there something I should know, Jasmine? Could it be that you were somehow responsible for the fact that he has been staying away from his own home, while you have been here with your mother, eating and drinking and sleeping like it is your own house? I'm waiting for an answer, sweetheart" She said the sweetheart as if she was referring to a snake that she was about to hit on the head and my eyes widened because this time, her question was spot on.

I was certain that Hardin had been avoiding the house because of me which was one of the reasons why I had gone to look for him but putting it that way, like my mother and I had concocted a plan to chase him away from his own home was a new low, even for Lisa and I fought the urge to say something that would make her antagonize my mother even further because she would blame her if I responded in a way that she did not like.

But with the way her eyes were glaring daggers at me, I knew that I could not walk away without replying.

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, Hardin beat me to it.

"She had nothing to do with it, Aunt. That's enough."

That was not even up to a quarter of the reply that I was hoping to give her but it was enough to stun Lisa and I into silence.

Lisa looked at her nephew like she could no longer recognize him and I looked at him in shock because he had stood up for me.

This was the first time he had ever interfered whenever his aunt was acting out like this and it made me wonder why.

Was it because I had begged him yesterday?

Or was this a one off?

"Hardin, I was not talking to you." She said and he shrugged, refusing to look at me.

"But you were asking about my being away and you should be asking me, not her." He answered and I was sure my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets and fall from my face in shock.

Lisa looked even more shocked than I was and when she looked at me, it was with curiosity and rage.

But before she could react, my mother walked out of the kitchen and smiled when she saw us, rushing over to envelope Hardin in a hug first that I saw surprised the hell out of him because his eyes widened when she pulled back and gently touched his hair before moving away.

"It's good to have you back at home, Hardin."

Looking at me, she blew me a kiss and started to pull Hardin toward the dining table.

"Come, food is ready." She said excitedly, gesturing towards me to come with her as well.

Hardin looked like he didn't know how to say no to her and when he looked at me in surprise, I shrugged, equally surprised that he was even looking at me at all.

"Would you like to join the kids at the dinning table, Lisa?" My mother asked and Lisa rolled her eyes before she turned around and headed for the stairs.

"Okay then. I'll have a maid send her food upstairs." My mother whispered under her breath and I smirked as I sat across from Hardin, who looked like he was an actual stranger in the house.

When our eyes collided, I sucked in a breath and looked away, wondering what he saw when he looked at me like that.

Like he could see my soul.

As my mum and one of the maids served us, she gently placed a kiss on my forehead.

"What happened to your phone? I tried calling you throughout yesterday and if not for Hardin, I wouldn't have been able to reach you."

Reaching for my bag, I brought out my phone, remembering that it was about to die when I was at the lacrosse practice and I had not taken my charger to school.

"It was dead." I told her but when j brought it out, I saw that it was not only on, but it was fully charged.

How was that possible?

And then I realized that only one thing could have happened.

Hardin.

Looking up at him, I saw that he was staring at me, his face void of expression and I was even more confused by all of the events that had taken place between us last night.

He had said harsh words to hurt me but they had hardly had any heat or rage behind them and even when he had told me to not follow him and I had asked Lorenzo to drop me off somewhere on the path to the cottage, something that he had done grudgingly considering that he had heard everything Hardin had said, I was half expecting him to send me back.