Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 158

Chapter 158: 158-So Kesha Is Why He Left Me?

Helanie:

Gavin had excused himself and left for a walk while we all made our way back into the guesthouse, now that the whole mess was over. We gave it twenty minutes, just in case, before returning.

“Guys, we’re not supposed to clean anything. I just got a text from Professor Maximus. He doesn’t want us to clean up; we’re supposed to head straight to our rooms,” I said, standing in the living room and wrinkling my nose at the disgusting smell of booze and drugs.

Penn was helping Lamar, who was in much better condition now.

“Everyone, just go back to your rooms,” I announced. They all nodded in agreement. Penn took Lamar upstairs, while a small group of other students walked up to me.

“Thank you so much for saving us. We’ll remember this and try not to mess things up because of that stupid girl again. We’ll follow your lead,” one of the girls said, and the others nodded behind her in appreciation.

“It’s alright. We all make mistakes. But next time, make sure to ask for a permit—don’t just trust someone’s word,” I warned them. They seemed to understand and left quietly.

Now, the only ones left on the ground floor were Lucy and me.

“What’s bothering you?” I asked, noticing how quiet she was.

“Why did you ask Jenny to go after him? Why didn’t you think he would come with me?” she asked softly, her voice low and hesitant.

“Because you said yourself that he wouldn’t come out. As for Jenny, she’s just his friend—a friend he’s not mad at for cheating on him,” I answered honestly, trying to address the issue directly. Lucy had been pretending like nothing was wrong, but I couldn’t ignore it.

“Huh? That was over and already dealt with. Why are you bringing it up again?” she sniffled, trying to hold back tears. I instantly felt guilty.

“You think it’s all over? Lucy, don’t you see the change in him? I don’t think he’s forgotten anything,” I argued gently, not wanting to upset her further. But she still didn’t seem to understand.

“Would you forget so easily if your mate cheated on you? No! He’s giving me a chance to fix things between us,” she said, caught up in her own delusions.

For now, I gave up. She turned and left the guesthouse, clearly heading after Gavin.

I followed her quickly, but stopped in my tracks when Maximus suddenly appeared. Lucy also stopped and turned to listen to him.

“Are you two heading somewhere?” he asked. It was around 6 p.m., and the whole day had been such a disaster that we hadn’t even touched our assignment. We only had until morning to submit it.

“Yeah, we’re meeting Gavin—” I mumbled the rest of the lie under my breath. The truth was, we didn’t know where he was.

“Okay,” Maximus replied, glancing at Lucy before straightening up and focusing on me again.

“The others will be staying in the servant quarters until the trip is over. They’ve received their punishment, and their parents have been informed. For the next few days, they will serve as everyone’s servants, especially their fellow students. Tomorrow morning, they’ll come back to clean the entire guesthouse. Tonight, they’ll be cleaning the mansion. Their punishment will continue until we decide to call it off,” he announced. He sounded a bit exhausted—not his usual cheerful self from earlier.

“Okay,” I nodded, my hands gripping the edge of my sweater in tight fists.

“A word, Helanie?” Maximus finally asked, not waiting for Lucy to leave, though he noticed she intended to stay.

“Okay,” I said, turning to Lucy. “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere without me.” I reassured her before stepping away with Maximus.

We stopped in the garden, just far enough so that Lucy wouldn’t overhear us.

“Thank you for giving me a chance to let the others escape,” I said to him before he could start speaking.

“It’s fine. It was proven that you were innocent anyway,” he replied, scratching his neck nervously. He seemed to hesitate before continuing, “This is all the information about the next task. I believe you’ll deliver it well to your group in the morning. Make sure they understand it properly. Helanie, this task could lead to serious injuries, so be prepared.” His gaze shifted away awkwardly as he added a note of caution.

I was taken aback—not by his words, but by the fact that Kaye hadn’t shown up to deliver the list himself. I’d heard so much about how well Kaye managed these trips, yet this time, he seemed absent. It was as though his mother’s demands were taking up all his attention. He didn’t seem to realize that he still had a duty to us, the students he’d brought here.

But I digress. It wasn’t as if he’d entirely changed just because his mother finally decided to show him affection.

“Okay, I’ll deliver the information and make sure they understand the rules and details of the task,” I said, taking the file from Maximus.

“Go see what your friend wants to do,” he replied abruptly, acting strangely detached. Without waiting for me to say another word, he walked away.

I returned to Lucy, who now looked visibly agitated.

“He’s not picking up my calls. Why is he so upset? What happened?” she demanded, as if I had all the answers.

“I think we should go back inside and wait for him,” I suggested. It wasn’t a full moon, so I was confident he was fine—especially since he had responded to one of her calls by cutting it off. But Lucy didn’t want to acknowledge that, so I didn’t bring it up again.

“What if it’s a test? What if he wants to see if I’ll go after him?” she asked, shocking me with how delusional she was acting.

There was no way Gavin would be waiting for her like that.

“Lucy—” I began, stepping closer to her when I saw a car drive past the main entrance toward the back of the main mansion.

It wasn’t the car itself that surprised me—it was who was inside it that shocked me.

It was Kaye and Kesha.