TRADING MY EX FOR HIS STEP BROTHER

ROLAND IS BACK

CHAPTER 19: ROLAND IS BACK

KIMBERLY:

"Roland?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.

He stood tall and confident, and leaned casually against the stair rail like he wasn't bothered about anything in this world.

My stomach twisted in fear. I still had not forgotten that incident at the registry where he almost drove a knife through my chest. How was I sure he won't try to kill me now?

I had assumed I'd be free of him for a while—at least a few months. But here he was, back at the mansion just two days after the incident.

Two days was all it took for the Carter family to flex their muscle and get him out.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to ascend the steps, hoping to breeze past him like he was invisible.

"Kim," he called softly, catching my wrist before I could brush past. "You look... tired. Everything okay?"

"Let go, Roland," I muttered, trying not to sound as frustrated as I felt. I just wanted to be alone since no one wanted me. “Stop acting like you care.”

"Why are you acting like I'm your enemy, Kimberly?" His grip was firm but not painful. "I never was, you know that, right?"

I yanked my hand, but he didn’t release me.

"You ditched me and married Damien," he continued with a strange calmness. "You went ahead and married my brother, and still, here I am, talking to you like nothing happened. Doesn't that count for something?"

I finally looked at his face. He had that same sharp jawline. Same smug smirk that used to make me blush. But now it just irritates me.

"Roland, you are not the victim here. I didn’t ditch you. You threw our relationship out the window the moment I caught you in bed with my sister. Or did that part slip your mind?"

His expression darkened, but only for a second.

"That wasn’t what you thought it was," he said.

"Don’t!" I snapped. "Don't insult my intelligence. I saw you. Both of you. And heard your conversations. You told Tess you were in a relationship with me because you didn't have a choice. There wasn't any misunderstanding."

He sighed. "Fine. You saw what you saw. And heard what you heard. But you moved on real quick, didn't you? Makes me wonder if you were already eyeing Damien even before that night."

"Excuse me?" I blinked, my hands curling into fists.

"Come on, Kim. Be honest with yourself. You were obsessed with Damien. Maybe not consciously at first, but deep down, you were. Otherwise, how do you just switch to my brother without considering my feelings?"

“Marrying Damien wasn't my decision. Your grandmother insisted on it. Don't you ever forget that.” I wasn't going to allow him to make me feel guilty.

“Yeah that's because you kissed him in public and it was going to create a scandal.”

“Well, Roland, you choose my sister over me and kissing Damien was my own little way of getting back at you. It wasn't planned.”

“Right. You dumped me for my brother but Damien isn't exactly the type of man that stays faithful.”

"At least, he would never betray me with my own sister," I said through gritted teeth. "He has shown me more love than you are ever capable of doing.”

"Love?" Roland laughed bitterly. "Kim, you made a mistake. Damien’s not capable of love. That man’s heart is a fortress. He’ll keep cheating on you, and worse, you’ll start thinking it’s your fault."

"Enough!" I snapped, pulling my wrist free with a harsh tug. "You don’t get to stand there and preach about love and loyalty. You know nothing about that."

He didn’t chase after me as I turned away, but his voice followed me.

"I'll be here when you realize I was right. And I will still be willing to take you back."

I stopped briefly at the top of the stairs, too furious to speak. My heart thundered with a lot of rage and disbelief. I stormed down the hallway and slammed the door behind me.

When I got into my room, I collapsed against the door and started to breathe down heavily..

How dare he? The audacity. The nerve.

Hot tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Roland wasn’t worth that.

"Bastard," I whispered to myself. "I chose Damien. And I will make this marriage work."

Even if it killed me.

My head snapped up when the door suddenly creaked open.