Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother novel Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Jasmine

"Seeing your mother laying on that bed reminded me of mine. She used to be the strongest woman I know and one day, she fell sick and she never recovered. I wonder if I could have been able to save her. That thought keeps me up at night, that if I was older then or more sensible. That maybe, just maybe I would have been able to save her. And that maybe she would still be here with me. And everytime I go to her grave, I ask her if she forgives me for being too young to rescue her."

I had no idea why Hardin's words stuck to me long after we had returned from visiting his mother's grave, a request that I had made that still surprised me because I was not expecting him to say yes or even take me there.

"Thank you." I whispered when I got to the door of my bedroom after we arrived back at the house and when he paused and looked at me, it felt like he wanted to say more. But he thought against it and nodded, walking down the hallway and entering his room.

I could not deny that seeing that part of Hardin, him being vulnerable, tugged at some heartstrings inside of me and made me want to hug him all night till the next morning.

Nadia would probably think I was crazy if she heard that I was having these kinds of conflicting feelings about Hardin. I didn't need her to tell me that I was crazy. I knew that I was. The entire situation was.

But as I closed my eyes to sleep, I was glad that he trusted me enough to take me to his mother's grave and I had felt the dynamic of our relationship change. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was being delusional too.

However, the one thing I wished I was wrong about the most when I got to school was the promise that I had made to Lorenzo in exchange for him stepping down from the competing position for Hardin's title, and also, bringing the antidote for my mom.

I had not believed that he had really been serious about wanting to have sex with me. Perhaps it was because a part of me wanted to continue to see him as the nice guy that I truly thought and believed he was and not this stranger that behaved like there was something wrong with him.

Opening the message from him on my phone when I didn't mean to, made me sigh and I realized that he was going to be in one of my classes today.

“It's so hard to reach you these days. When are we going to meet up? I miss you.”

No he didn't. He just wanted to claim the debt that he was owed and I was foolish to have rushed into agreeing to that kind of agreement.

"You don't look so well. What is it?" Nadia asked me and I merely shrugged, confirming that the class I had with Lorenzo was for the first period.

"I feel a little sick, so I'll be skipping the first period. If Lorenzo asks where I am, don't tell him anything okay? Say you don't know." I whispered to her very quietly and when she nodded even though her brows were raised in worry. I smiled and kissed her cheek before running towards the library to hide.

Minutes later, my phone vibrated and I saw that it was a text from my best friend.

“I know that something is up with you and that you're not ready to talk about it. But I'm here whenever you are, okay?”

Sending a reply thanking her, I was just about to enter the library when someone cleared his throat and when I turned, it was Hardin and he was looking at me with his brows raised in question.

"Skipping the very first class, good girl? That's quite unlike you." He said, folding his arms like he was a private investigator.

Shrugging, I made a show of putting my hand on my head. "I'm having a headache. I doubt I'll be able to hear anything anyways."

Closing the distance between us, he sniffed and when his eyes glowed, he quickly stepped back with a low growl.

"Sorry about that. Full moon tonight." He answered and I nodded before holding the door knob that led into the library.

"You're hiding something. I don't know what it is yet but I intend to find out." He said and by the time I turned around, he was gone.