Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 326

Chapter 326: 326-Not Trusting Men!

Helanie:

My fists clenched tightly, tears starting to itch my eyes, but I swore I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t cry for a boy.

“Good. Just make sure she is crazy enough for you that she ruins the ceremony. I want that witch out of your father’s life. And once she is defeated by her own daughter, you will throw Helanie out of the mansion just to impress your father and get back on his good side. Remember, we don’t want to ruin your relationship with your father. So when he gets devastated, you will say—” She was cunningly trying to feed Maximus with plans, and he was happily obeying her.

“I will say, ‘Dad, I thought I would be happy to have Helanie. But after seeing you sad, I have decided I don’t want her here. The one who couldn’t even watch her mother being happy can never make me happy.’ Is that correct?” There was a weird exhaustion in his tone as if his mother had spoken far too many times about this plan to him.

“Yes, correct,” she sounded relieved after her son confirmed he had made a perfect fool out of me.

I stepped away from his door and then sprinted downstairs, so horrified by what I had heard that I didn’t even realize I had bumped into none other than my mother.

“What are you doing running around like that?” Emma appeared from behind her, already yelling at me under her breath. She would definitely take her anger out on me for the last day.

“I am sorry,” I kept my eyes down, so drained of energy and love that I couldn’t fight back. This is why I never wanted to fall in love with anyone. I couldn’t focus on my revenge when I was having a heartbreak.

“Wait a minute,” Emma quickly grasped my arm to stop me. Of course, she saw right through me. She realized I was hurting, and she had to get back at me when I was at my lowest.

“Emma, where is Charlotte? I have to ask her for her size. I am planning on getting her a beautiful gown for the engagement ceremony.” My mother didn’t even notice me standing there, all broken and shattered. But her entire attention was on Charlotte. She wanted to get her a new gown while her own daughter was being played, used as a weapon against her.

“Really?” Emma let go of my arm since she received bigger news than confronting me.

“Of course. I want her to look her best on my special day,” my mother’s voice faded as I walked past them, trying to escape before Emma’s attention fell on me again.

“Okay, keep an eye on him and make sure he is well-fed,” Emmet was entering the mansion, busy on a call, when our eyes met unintentionally.

I didn’t want anyone to spot me like that. So the moment he looked at me and frowned, I knew he had noticed me. I quickly lowered my head, hid my eyes, and stormed into my room. I grabbed the sweater from my bed and threw it back onto the bed because I couldn’t trash this place. It wasn’t even mine. I couldn’t take my anger out on anything.

I sat on the bed, fighting tears, then grabbed the sweater again and slammed it hard on the bed once more. I was losing my mind, thinking of myself as the biggest idiot for even telling Lamar that I had fallen for Maximus.

I had asked my mate to reject me for this man.

I was such an idiot to think I had finally found love and that Maximus had set the bar high. How did he manage to fool me so well, and I never even suspected he was playing me?

I held the sweater again and brushed it hard against the bed once more.

“That sweater must have really pissed you off,” I was taken aback by Emmet’s voice. He was standing at my door, arms folded, leaning against the doorframe.

“I didn’t know I—” I gasped.

“That you didn’t lock the door. You slammed it, trying to shut it, but then—this boot.” He looked down and eyed my shoe, the one I had kicked off in a hurry and frustration when I got inside.

“Oh.” I took a deep breath, forcing a smile, but nothing seemed to work.

“Do you need anything?” I asked, too caught up in my feelings to find the right words to communicate with him.

“No! I should be asking you that question. Do you need anything? Are you okay?” He was so calm when speaking to me that I couldn’t help but take a deep breath and lower my head.

The next thing I knew, I started crying.

Of course, I couldn’t hold back my tears after such a huge betrayal. Who can I trust now? Just imagine if I had been a few minutes late and had told Maximus all about my past and everything.

I was asking to get myself into yet another messy situation.

“Hey.” The worry in his voice grew more intense as I broke down in front of him. I felt him sit on the bed beside me, the mattress shifting under his weight. He was a big guy; of course, his presence couldn’t be ignored.

“Who made you cry, Helanie?” he asked with such confidence that I unfolded my hands and stared at his face.

“Tell me, who hurt you so badly that you came to this academy for revenge?” My heart started to race like crazy.

I kept watching his face, and with every second that passed, my eyes grew wider and wider.

“Tell me his name, and I will make sure—” he leaned in, his eyes locked onto mine, devouring me, “he is never heard from again.”

He whispered the rest, sending chills down my spine and covering my skin in goosebumps.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—I didn’t come for revenge,” I laughed awkwardly, feeling my body go numb. I never thought someone would straight up come to me, ask who hurt me with such confidence, and then, without even asking for any proof, promise to help me take my revenge.

“You were pregnant, and you lost your baby. Who was the father? Who hurt you, Helanie? Who did that to you?”

The moment he mentioned my pregnancy and miscarriage, my head started to spin, and my jaw dropped as a wave of paranoia hit me.