Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 403

Chapter 403: 403-I Need A Babysitter
Emmet:

“You’ve been acting weird. Is there anything I should be concerned about?” Norman appeared out of nowhere, tapping his hand on my shoulder. I jumped noticeably, which only made my brother even more curious about my well-being.

I wasn’t a very jumpy person. Nothing really scared me except for the well-being of my loved ones.

But lately, I have been very, very jumpy. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had written down what was making me startled. Mostly, whenever I saw someone, I would visibly shudder because my brain took some time to process who the person in front of me was.

“Earth to Emmet,” Norman snapped his fingers in front of my face to pull me back to reality.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I joked, waving my hand to dismiss his concerns. I walked out of my room and into the passage. He followed me, realizing it was time for our usual walk around the corridor.

“You don’t look fine. You keep forgetting to do simple tasks. Tell me, please, what’s going on with you so I can find a way to—” Before he could finish, I did it for him.

“To fix it?” I laughed at how much time he spent worrying about his brothers all day.

“The twins called me a week ago,” I recalled the conversation I had with them.

“What did they say?” he asked.

“They want me to come pick them up.” I hadn’t been very close to them, and there was a reason I kept my distance. But those kids wouldn’t understand.

“And you’re telling me this now, why?” Norman asked, questioning the delay.

“Because I still have a few days before I have to pick them up. They said they’re getting holidays from boarding school and don’t want to stay there for vacation,” I said as I turned to stare at my brother. He had the same confused look on his face as I did.

“Why would they stay in the boarding school after the holidays?” Norman questioned.

“Well, according to them, lady Darcy told them that this time, they’d be staying with the tutors since she’s hosting some parties and has business to handle. She thinks they might ruin things with their usual running around the mansion,” I recalled the exact words of my little sister.

“Mom said that? Mom has so many rooms and babysitters. She can afford a whole hotel for her meetings—why would she—” Norman grunted under his breath.

“As if it isn’t bad enough that Mom introduces them as our step-siblings to everyone,” Norman finally said it. Our mom had forbidden us from ever calling the little ones our siblings until recently.

Suddenly, she was telling everyone they were our siblings. I didn’t understand her much, but I could tell she was always ready to ruin someone’s life, and I didn’t like her for that.

Which is why I didn’t hate Ursula when she stole her mate from her. It’s always Karma who comes in different ways.

“You see why they contacted you and not anyone else?” It was Norman once again, trying to play with the strings of my heart.

“I don’t want to focus on that, Norman,” I told him, but he shook his head at me.

“You should. Maybe that will help you in the long run. Surround yourself with people who will keep you sane,” he advised, patting my shoulder.

“Or maybe they’ll be broken once I go insane,” I reminded him. That’s not how it works. I can’t bring people close just to watch them lose me.

“Anyway, call Lady Darcy and tell her to arrange babysitters for them and let them stay at home.” I was done talking about myself. This issue needed to be solved, and I was hoping Norman would handle it.

“How about no? You know Mom won’t like the fact that they called you. Even if she lets them stay, they’ll get punished and put in timeout. So how about we step up and take care of them this time?” Norman had a cheeky grin on his face, like he had caught me in the perfect trap this time.

“Go ahead, then. You can be their babysitter,” I waved my hand at him while looking for my pocket hip flask in my coat.

“No! This time, it’s you,” he said, pointing his finger at me. “You’ll be taking care of your siblings this time, and I won’t hear any excuses.” With that, Norman started walking away. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t helping me out this time.

“You’ll regret this,” I yelled. He gave me the middle finger without even turning around.

“Ugh, this asshole,” I muttered. I loved him, but sometimes he could be really annoying, and this was one of those times.

However, I had a backup plan ready.

While taking a sip from my wine, I called her.

“Hello?” I said.

“Emmet, hey!” Helanie’s voice was so gentle—it always gave me comfort. I knew I could rely on her just as much as she could rely on me.

“Helanie, I’m in deep shit, and I need your help.” I heard her gasp at my tone and language. I had never used such words in front of her before. The truth was, I was changing, and I was sure others were noticing it too.

“Tell me, how can I help?” Just as I expected, she was already willing to assist me.

“I need a babysitter to take care of my little twin siblings. Can you do that for me? And it won’t be free—you’ll get paid for your services, so we both get something out of it.” I knew she might not like me bringing up money, but it was the right thing to do. After breaking things off with Maximus, she had stopped working for him. Soon, she’d be looking for a job, and my offer might come in handy.

“You know I don’t need money to help you,” she said, sounding upset.

“Please, it’s a job offer,” I corrected myself. “So? Are you able to do it?”

I heard her breathe peacefully before responding.

“Sure, I can do that.”