Forbidden Love with My Stepbrother

Chapter 9

Adrian lay in his room, listening as the footsteps of his mother and Lucian gradually faded away. A mix of anger and stifling frustration welled up inside him, hard to put into words.

He gritted his teeth, silently cursing Lucian as scheming and deceitful. In front of their mother, he always put on that well-behaved, understanding act, completely hiding his true, almost devilish nature.

So now, no matter what Adrian did, in their mother’s eyes it would only come across as troublemaking, just him being immature and unreasonable.

At the thought, Adrian grew even more irritated.

Remembering what had just happened in the studio, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the blanket, his mind a tangled mess.

Why did Lucian kiss him?

Didn’t he like Luna? Just because Adrian flirted with her, he rushed over to warn him. And after that warning, he went and kissed his supposed rival.

What kind of intimidation was that? It was too strange! Adrian had never even heard of anything like it at his age.

No, that’s not right. Someone who likes girls, who would go around kissing a guy? That means Lucian doesn’t like Luna at all. He’s gay!

Five years abroad, and he came back gay!

Wait, that’s not the point. The point is, he kissed him! So… the person Lucian likes is him?

Adrian hated Lucian. Just imagining him getting married, thriving in his career while having a beautiful wife and a happy family, made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

He knew he was petty. If he wasn’t happy, then Lucian shouldn’t get to be either. So he stirred up trouble on purpose, intending to steal the person Lucian liked and make him suffer.

But now the person Lucian liked was Adrian, so what was he supposed to do? It’s not like he could steal himself!

Adrian was a tangle of emotions: irritation, conflict, confusion. Yet what he didn’t realize was that, when it came to that sudden kiss, he didn’t feel any real disgust at all.

Just like that, Adrian holed up in his room, clutching those tangled thoughts to himself. He didn’t even come down for dinner, despite his stomach growling with hunger.

He was afraid of running into that insufferable guy again, so even if it meant going hungry, he was determined not to step out of his room.

A little after eight, there was another knock on the door. Lucian’s familiar voice followed,

“Ari, I brought dinner up for you. Open the door.”

Without hesitation, Adrian snapped,

“Get lost!”

“Can you stop being mad? About what happened this afternoon, I’m sorry. I can explain…”

“Get lost!”

The shout was followed by the sound of something heavy slamming against the door, making it clear that the person inside had run out of patience.

Lucian lingered outside the door for a while longer. In the end, he realized there was probably no way to have a proper conversation with Adrian today.

Lowering his voice, he chose his words carefully, a note of compromise in them,

“Alright, I’ll go. I’ll leave dinner by the door, come get it later and make sure you eat. Don’t stay hungry.”

There wasn’t a single response from inside the room.

Lucian added,

“Ari, can we talk things through properly tomorrow? I’ve been back for three months, and you still haven’t had a proper conversation with me.”

The door in front of him remained still, without the slightest response.

Lucian let out a sigh, knowing that as long as he stayed, Adrian would never come out. In the end, he had no choice but to take a step back.

“I’m leaving. Make sure you eat, don’t skip dinner.”

With that, he set the meal down by the door, then turned and left.

Adrian strained his ears, listening to the sounds outside. Only after confirming that Lucian’s footsteps had completely faded from the hallway did he open the door and bring the tray of food into his room.

The food was still steaming, clearly just reheated.

He scooped up a big forkful of mac and cheese and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing ravenously. He was starving!

As he ate, Adrian muttered under his breath, cursing Lucian,

“You scheming bastard, don’t think a tray of food is enough to win me over! I’m famously petty. If you want my forgiveness, wait for your next life!”

The next morning, Lucian came down for breakfast with the family as usual.

Only, Adrian was nowhere to be seen at the table.

“Where’s Ari, Mom?” he asked casually.

“He’s already gone to school,” Emily replied. “Said he had an early class today and something to hand in, so he left very early.”

“Mm.”

Lucian gave a brief reply and said nothing more. His gaze lowered as he fell into quiet thought.

In truth, he knew Adrian’s schedule very well. Today, his first class wasn’t until nine, there was no need for him to leave that early at all.

Clearly, he was deliberately avoiding him.

At the thought, Lucian’s gaze darkened slightly. But this time, he wouldn’t let things continue like this. At the very least, he needed a clear answer, no matter whether it was what he wanted or not.

Across the table, Damuen watched him, his brows knitting slightly. There seemed to be a hint of dissatisfaction in his heart, but with his wife still seated beside him, he chose to remain silent and said nothing out of the ordinary.