Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 328

Chapter 328: 328-Jealousy Suits Him-Punishment Too

Helanie:

“Good morning,” I greeted everyone as I joined them for breakfast. Only Norman and my mother were at the table.

I stayed up late last night reading Emmet’s book with him. He was so talented. I didn’t know he was writing his own book about different research topics and weapons. He even mentioned the findings of Purple Rose.

Norman just scoffed while going through a file, and my mother rolled her eyes. I sat across from her awkwardly.

The silence was so intense that if Norman’s phone hadn’t rung, we would have drowned in it.

He got up, answered his call, and walked away from us. It was as if fate wanted me to suffer.

Now that it was just my mom and me, anxiety started to rise in my body because I could tell she was getting ready to have a word with me.

“What happened to you yesterday?” she asked in a cold tone, her eyes on the door to make sure nobody saw her talking to me.

“You!” I replied with a sarcastic smile.

“If you hate me so much, and if this place is hurting you, why won’t you leave?” She was so smart—wanting me gone so badly that she was now directly pointing out reasons why I should go.

“You think I wouldn’t if I had an option?” I grunted, not breaking eye contact with her.

She fixed her posture and then grunted, “That sick bastard hurt you, didn’t he?”

The sudden change in tone caught me off guard. But I figured it was because now I was her problem after my father kicked me out. Of course, she would hate him for leaving me to burden her now.

“It isn’t anything new,” I replied, looking down to adjust the already perfectly placed silverware.

“Helanie—you should—” She suddenly shut up when Norman returned.

He sat down, and the next people to join us were his father, Emma, and Charlotte. The two gave me a disdainful look before whispering to each other and then glancing at me. It was obvious they wanted me to know they were talking about me.

To think they had been told never to bully me again, yet they were still at it, just proved how full of resentment they were.

And then he arrived, wearing a gray shirt, his hair styled perfectly, and his eyes shining. Maximus tried to give me a smile, but before he could, I had already looked away.

After a few minutes of an awkward breakfast, I had to go outside and wait for Maximus so we could head to his garage.

It was going to be so hard for me to be around him and not tell him that I knew all about his game plan.

I slid into his passenger seat, and he sat in the driver’s seat, all smiles.

Once we hit the road, he started tapping his fingers playfully on the steering wheel.

“You know, I kept remembering what you said to me last night—” he spoke sweetly, but I countered immediately.

“Which part?” I asked skeptically. Of course, he must have prepared this line in his head since morning, probably to fool me some more.

“Please be careful out there,” he reminded me, not realizing I was testing him.

I don’t know why, but now I felt like every time he opened his mouth, he was lying.

“I missed you so much,” he continued, but I had already averted my attention to my phone when it beeped in my lap.

“Aha,” I replied absentmindedly, not paying much attention to him but also trying to hold in my emotions while reading a strange text from Rudy.

Topsenior_Rudy: Okay! But then bring back my shoes.

I frowned and texted him back.

Me: Umm? Shoes?

Topsenior_Rudy: Sorry! That was meant for someone else.

Topsenior_Rudy: Damn, I feel so embarrassed. Trust me, I wasn’t asking you to buy me shoes.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling visibly.

Me: Got it 🙂

Topsenior_Rudy: Well, now that I’m already in your DMs, might as well say hello!

I smiled again at how smooth he was. It made me think back to my time in school when I used to be obsessed with reading romance books about jocks.

I knew they had a certain way about them. Even when I was dating Altan, I never got to experience the flirting and perks of being a jock’s girlfriend. I never felt that excitement.

Our relationship had been a mess—I wasn’t supposed to be around him unless he wanted to pull me closer and show me off.

Now that I was spending more time around other people and receiving compliments, I realized I wasn’t as bad-looking as Altan had made me feel. He always had some criticism ready for me.

“Rudy!”

I snapped back to reality when I heard Maximus say his name.

“What?” I asked, watching him park the car as we arrived at our destination.

“Why is he texting you so much?” I heard the jealousy in his voice.

Wow, he was such a great actor. If I hadn’t overheard him talking to his mom about his plan to play me last night, I would have thought he was genuinely jealous.

“He’s my senior,” I reminded him, and he unbuckled his seatbelt, turning in his seat to face me.

“Don’t tell me what I already know. I asked you why he’s texting you and why you’re giving him time that belongs to me,” he asked more directly this time, making me bite my tongue to stop myself from saying too much.

“I’m not giving him your time. I’m just texting him back while you’re driving,” I responded, and I could tell my tone had turned much harsher.

Without waiting for him, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of his car, slamming the door a bit harder than I intended.

“Are you okay? You sound really angry today.” He got out and asked while taking weapons from the trunk.

“I’m fine,” I replied, purposely checking my phone just to annoy him.

“Okay, leave your phone in the car, Helanie. I won’t tolerate disrespect,” he warned, his patience already wearing thin.

Well, this was just the beginning.