FORBIDDEN ECSTASY: Step-Siblings

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Her return was no accident

The rest of the day didn’t slow down, It got worse.

Cassie barely had time to think, let alone process everything she had just learned. Meetings overlapped, schedules shifted, and files kept coming like they had no end.

But no matter how much she tried to focus—

Her mind kept drifting.

Back to her, that woman…..Ronald’s ex.

Cassie flipped through a document, her eyes scanning the page without really seeing it.

Not the place… just him.

Maddie’s words echoed faintly in her head.

Cassie exhaled sharply, closing the file a little harder than necessary.

“Focus,” she muttered under her breath.

This wasn’t her business.

It shouldn’t be, but somehow, everything that involved Ronald seemed to circle back to her.

“Cassie.”

Her head snapped up slightly.

Ronald stood by the door of his office, his expression composed, his tone neutral as always.

“Inside.”

No explanation it was just an order.

Cassie straightened, grabbing her tablet before walking in without hesitation.

The door closed behind her.

And just like that, the air shifted…..Again.

Ronald didn’t sit.

He stood by his desk, flipping through a file before placing it down in front of her.

“The Romano projections,” he said. “You missed something.”

Cassie’s brows pulled together slightly. “I went through it twice.”

“Then go through it again.”

Her jaw tightened just a little. “I didn’t miss anything.”

Ronald’s gaze lifted slowly to meet hers. “Yes,” he said calmly, “you did.”

Silence settled between them, sharp and unyielding.

Cassie stepped closer, opening the file quickly, flipping through the pages with more force this time. “Where?”

Ronald didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he moved around the desk, stopping beside her—close enough to be distracting.

“Look at the logistics breakdown,” he said, his voice lower now. “Not the numbers. The pattern.”

Cassie forced her focus back onto the page, her brows furrowing as she scanned through the section again. Numbers blurred for a second before something clicked.

“…Wait,” she murmured.

Her eyes paused.

“They’re not trying to win the contract,” she said slowly.

Ronald didn’t respond.

Which meant—She was right.

Cassie looked up at him, her gaze sharpening. “They’re trying to force us into overcommitting resources.”

A faint pause.

Then Ronald nodded once. “Exactly.”

Cassie exhaled, a mix of realisation and frustration settling in. “You knew that.”

“I expected you to.”

She shook her head slightly. “You could’ve just said that.”

“And you wouldn’t have learned anything.”

Cassie looked at him, her expression caught between annoyance and reluctant understanding. “You’re exhausting.”

“If you can’t keep up, say so.”

That did it.

Cassie straightened, her eyes locking onto his. “I didn’t say I couldn’t keep up.”

“Then prove it.”

The challenge lingered in the air, familiar now, charged in a way that neither of them acknowledged.

Ronald’s gaze remained on her for a moment longer before he spoke again, his tone shifting back to business.

“We have a meeting by seven,” he said. “Be ready. We’ll need to leave early.”

Cassie blinked slightly, thrown off for just a second. “Seven?”

“Yes.”

She frowned faintly. “That’s outside work hours.”

“It’s important.”

Of course it was.

Cassie exhaled quietly, nodding once. “Fine. I’ll be ready.”

Ronald studied her briefly, like he was measuring something.

Then—

A knock at the door broke the moment.

“Come in.”

The door opened And just like that—The atmosphere changed.

The door closed behind Cassie.

Silence settled in the office again.

But it didn’t stay calm.

Not with her there.

Yurin didn’t move immediately. She stood where she was for a second, her eyes lingering on the door Cassie had just walked through before shifting back to Ronald.

A faint smile touched her lips.

“So,” she said softly, stepping further into the room, “that’s her.”

Ronald didn’t respond. He walked back to his desk, picking up a file as if she wasn’t even there.

Yurin watched him for a moment, her expression unreadable.

“You’ve replaced me quickly,” she added lightly.

That made him pause.

Just slightly.

But when he looked up, there was nothing in his eyes.

“No one replaces you,” he said flatly. “You left.”

Yurin let out a quiet breath, tilting her head.

“I didn’t leave you,” she said. “I left the situation.”

Ronald’s jaw tightened.

“That’s the same thing.”

She stepped closer now, slower, deliberate, her heels barely making a sound against the floor.

“You’re still angry,” she observed.

“I’m not anything,” Ronald replied.

But the tone—

Said otherwise.

Yurin stopped just in front of his desk, her gaze fixed on him like she was trying to peel through whatever wall he had put up.

“I came back because we didn’t end properly,” she said, her voice softer now, almost persuasive. “You know that.”

Ronald’s expression didn’t change.

“It ended the moment you walked away.”

Yurin shook her head slightly.

“No,” she said. “It paused.”

A brief silence followed.

Then she moved around the desk.

Closer to where Ronald was seated

Ronald didn’t step back.

But his eyes hardened.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

“And yet, here I am.”

Her hand lifted slightly, brushing lightly against the edge of the desk as she leaned in just enough to close the space between them.

“You don’t just forget something like what we had,” she murmured.

Ronald’s gaze dropped to her for a second.

Then back to her eyes.

“What we had,” he said slowly, “was a distraction.”

That landed.

But Yurin didn’t flinch.

Instead, she smiled faintly, like she didn’t believe him.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

She stepped even closer, her voice lowering.

“You used to look at me like I was the only person in the room.”

Ronald’s expression darkened slightly.

“That was before I realised you weren’t.”

The air shifted.

Sharper now.

Yurin’s smile faded—just a little.

But she didn’t step back.

Instead, she reached out slightly, her fingers brushing against his sleeve, testing.

“You’re lying to yourself,” she said softly. “You’re just trying to punish me.”

That was it.

Ronald’s patience snapped—quietly, but completely.

He pulled his arm away instantly, his gaze turning cold, distant in a way that shut everything down at once.

“Don’t,” he said.

The word was low.

Yurin stilled.

But only for a second.

“You can’t tell me you feel nothing,” she pressed.

Ronald stepped back now, putting space between them, his expression hard, controlled.

“Whatever we had is over,” he said. “And it’s staying that way.”

Yurin’s eyes searched his face for something but found nothing.

“And if I’m not ready to let it go?” she asked quietly.

Ronald didn’t hesitate.

“That’s your problem.”

For the first time since she walked in Yurin didn’t have an immediate response.

Ronald walked past her, opening the door.

“You’re done here.”

His voice was calm again, Cold and distant

Like she no longer mattered.

Yurin turned slowly, watching him.

“You’ve changed,” she said.

Ronald didn’t look at her.

“No,” he replied. “I just see things clearly now.”

A pause.

Then—

“Leave.”

The word echoed softly in the room.

And this time—

There was no room left to stay.