Julian's POV
I sat on the edge of my bed, elbows on my knees, staring at nothing while Catherine's face remained in my mind; her stunned expression when I said sorry. She probably hadn't even processed it yet.
She'd looked so damn confused. Exactly, the reaction I had expected. Soon, I would be sweeping her off her feet.
I took a drag from the cigarette, before grabbing my phone off the nightstand and scrolling through my messages until I found Ethan's name.
Julian: You were right, it worked.
Ethan: That was fast, man. What happened?
Julian: Step one's done. I let go of the pride, and she bought it. You should see the smile on her face.
Ethan: I knew it. Trust me, girls like her fall harder when they think they've "changed" you.
A short laugh escaped me. Ethan wasn't wrong.
I leaned back against the wall, watching the smoke twist in front of me. "Change me," huh? My stepsister would love that fantasy, the bad guy turned good, all because of her kindness. She'd eat that shit up.
Ethan: Just remember why we're doing this. When the timing's right, we release everything. You'll take down both of them; her and your father.
I stubbed the cigarette in the ashtray and typed back, Don't worry. I have it all figured out. He is going to pay for what he did to my mother and she will regret ever crossing paths with me.
I was done chatting with Ethan. Now bored, I decided to step out for a while before I noticed something glinting on the floor near my door. At first, I ignored it, thinking it was just a random button or pin, but when I bent to pick it up, I instantly recognized it was an earring. Catherine's.
Of course.
I twirled it between my fingers, debating. Should I drop it off somewhere and call it a day? Or go full good-boy mode and hand it back to her personally?
I sighed. Yeah. I needed to keep the act up.
I walked down the hall and stopped in front of her door. I knocked on her door but there was no response, I knocked again, louder this time but still nothing.
"Where could she be?" I muttered under my breath, concluding she wasn't in her room,
After hesitating for a second, I twisted the doorknob, which wasn't locked. The door creaked open, and I froze mid-step when my eyes landed on her lying on her stomach across her bed, with one of her legs slightly bent, completely unaware of my presence.
Her earphones were plugged in hence the reason she didn't hear me knocking.
But fuck that, currently, my mind was blanked in total shit down at the sight in front of me. Catherine was putting on just a black bra and panties.
"No no," I breathed, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
Every instinct in me said to walk out right now. Just turn around, shut the door, pretend this never happened but I didn't move. My eyes betrayed me, tracing the faint curve of her waist, the pale skin, the soft rise and fall of her back as she hummed along to whatever she was listening to.
And then she turned. Her eyes locked on mine until she opened her mouth and screamed out loud.
"Shh!" I lunged forward on instinct and without thinking, grabbed her before she could alert the entire damn house, my hand clamping over her mouth. "Hey, calm down, it's Julian, okay? It's just me!"
Her eyes went wide, until they turned to fury. She quickly shoved my hand away, scrambling upright and yanking her blanket over herself like it was a damn shield.
"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" she demanded with her voice shaking between rage and embarrassment.
"I knocked but you didn't respond."
"No, you didn't!"
"I did," I said flatly, fighting the urge to take off my good guy facade. My usual sarcasm nearly slipped out, but I bit it back.
Stay nice, Julian. You can't ruin this now.
I put myself back in control, reached into my pocket and pulled out the earring. "You dropped this outside my room."
"The heck?" She blinked, something like confusion cutting through her anger. "You are saying you barged into my room just to give me that?"
"Yes. Besides, I didn't barge in. I knocked but you just didn't hear it 'cause your earphones were in."
Her expression shifted as she realized I wasn't lying. Still, she wasn't about to let it go that easily. "You could've waited."
"Yeah," I admitted, taking a slow step back toward the door. "I could have, my bad."
She frowned, roughly grabbing her blanket while trying to stand. "Turn around!"
That made me chuckle before I caught myself. "Right." I turned immediately, staring at the door like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Didn't mean to—uh, intrude."
"What are you still doing here then?"
"Get out."
"Working on it," I swallowed hard, forcing my tone to stay neutral. I couldn't react to her insolent behavior, for now….
I set the earring gently on her dresser. "Here."
When I turned the doorknob, I could feel her glare stabbing through my back. I stepped out, closed the door behind me, and leaned against the wall, exhaling hard.
My heart was racing like I'd just done something illegal.
I shook my head hard, pushing off the wall. "Focus, Julian, what the hell is wrong with you?!" I whispered to myself. "She's eighteen, mannerless, and probably the least attractive of the women you've been with. Get a grip on yourself."
Finally, I walked off down the hall, trying but failing to erase the image of her from my mind… yeah, maybe that was gonna stick with me for a while.
I'd barely made it a few steps from Catherine's door when I heard another one open down the hall. It was Gabriel's. Wow, great timing.
He was now leaning against the wall near his room, with his arms crossed, and his expression caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief. His eyes darted from me to Catherine's door and back to me again.
"Were you just in her room?" he asked with a calm tone while his eyes stayed sharp.
I stopped walking and met his stare. For a second, I considered lying, but then again, what was the point? Let him wonder. Let him stew. The world would soon find out anyway.
"Yes," I simply replied.
His brows pulled together. "Hmm. Why?"
I tilted my head, pretending to think. "Why?" I repeated. "Is there something wrong with going into my stepsister's room?"
The muscle in his jaw twitched. "Oh now you've accepted she's our stepsister. What am I missing, Julian?"
I gave him a small, almost amused smile. "Relax, Gab. I wasn't doing anything scandalous, if that's what you're thinking."
He didn't reply, he just kept that silent, disapproving look on his face. The kind of look that said you're lying, and I know it.
I shrugged. "She dropped something and I went to return it. End of story."
"Julian," he started, but I cut him off.
"Little brother, I don't have time for interrogations, so deal with whatever thoughts you have in your head," I said, brushing past him.
As I walked away, I could feel his eyes burning holes in my back. I almost laughed.