Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 446

Chapter 446: 446-I Am Ready To Tell The World
Helanie:

The darkness of the room reminded me of my empty dreams. The silence was equivalent to my screams from that night. I didn’t realize I would have such an intense collapse. But sadly, even the sight of any man, regardless of his relationship with me, was sending me to hell and back.

I sat on the bed, my arms wrapped around my body, staring at the wall in front of me. There was a picture frame of the brothers together hanging there.

I twisted my neck a little and noticed the big frame behind the bed’s wall. It was Norman’s pictures.

So this has to be Norman’s bedroom.

I sighed, trying to recall happy thoughts. There were none. Everything was tainted with sadness and violence in my mind.

The door opened for the fifth time, and this time Norman walked in alone. In the last 13 hours, I had scrambled at everyone who had tried coming to speak with me. I remember closing my eyes to hide from Emmet while asking him to leave me alone. I did the same with Maximus, Lamar, and even Gavin.

Norman told me that my friends had come to see me, and I threw a fit. I didn’t want to see a man anywhere around me.

“Why are you here?” I hissed, turning my face to the other side to avoid looking at his face.

“We cannot sit silently after the accusations you have made,” Norman said, keeping his voice very low and calm.

“Get out of here,” I hissed at him, warning him to leave and not try to come near me.

“I will. But I need to speak with you,” he requested again, this time walking closer to the bed and sitting down on it. I immediately pulled my legs closer to my body while hiding half of myself under the blanket.

“When I was only a kid—I had been in a situation where I couldn’t find a way out,” he started, making me narrow my eyes at him.

What was he trying to do?

“I was attacked by a monster,” he sighed. “That monster was a vile thing.” He scoffed, laughing at the memory of it.

“What did it do?” I inquired, and it was as if my question brought him some relief.

“It took my heart from my chest.”

My body shuddered, my eyes widening a little more than before.

“It stopped my heartbeat, Helanie.”

I shook my head in confusion.

“Remember that night—you had the Flame of Lust in the guesthouse? You touched my heart—my chest—and you felt it. You asked me a question,” he started to remind me of that night, and I began to have flashbacks of it.

“You’re probably able to remember it now. That’s how it works. If someone reminds you exactly what you did during the Flame of Lust period—you will have the full memory of it,” he added.

“What did you say when I asked you?” I didn’t even know what he had asked me.

“You asked why I have four heartbeats,” he smiled, and it felt like a current ran through my body.

“Ohhh!” I gasped, placing my hand over my mouth.

That was a wild night. How did I forget those interactions with him? We had a deep conversation, almost like heart to heart.

“Why are you telling me this now?” I questioned, unable to focus on one thing at a time when my mind was still stuck on the memory of my own trauma.

“Emmet didn’t tell us much because he wants you to tell us. But he did tell us that Kaidon is involved, and he claims to have been under the Flame of Lust, so he thought it was a dream or a nightmare. We can get his memory back,” he kept his voice low, making it sound more comforting.

“What else did Emmet tell you?” I questioned again.

“Honestly, just Kaidon’s name. He said we should wait for you to talk. Kaidon’s name was brought up because he wanted to find him,” he explained.

“I don’t know what happened—but I want to know. You have my word that justice will be served,” he looked determined, causing my body to relax a little.

“It is okay to feel this way,” he started again.

“But I am back to zero. I learned to fight, defend myself, and even became a good student. Only for all of it to collapse,” I stuttered, and tears started spilling down my eyes again.

“You are not back to zero. This is you! This is proof that it was your final straw. You are finally out of that place where you were too afraid to even think about it. The reason you had a meltdown was because the emotions finally surfaced. Helanie, you forced yourself to move on from the trauma. It doesn’t work like that. You are back and better. This Helanie is the one I want you to be—with a mix of your crazy, sassy side,” he smiled at his own words, making me crack a smile too.

“So tell me, what do you want to do?” he questioned, extending his hand for mine, but he quickly retrieved it. I was staring at his hand too.

“They will leak those videos,” I uttered meekly.

“Over my dead body,” he said, his voice harsher this time.

“Those videos will be gone. The pictures will never be seen again. Have some trust, will you?” He finally extended his hand again, making me stare at my small hand.

“Just take the first stand, we will always be there for you. You are not alone in this fight, you have us, and our priority remains you, no matter what,” he said even more determinedly this time.

I kept watching him and then his hand before I shakily extended mine and placed it in his. His hand was warm and big but firm and strong.

He tightened his fingers around mine and asked me again, “So take a moment and then tell me, what do you want to do?”

“I want to tell the truth to the world now. I want to take a stand and finally punish them,” I hissed with determination while he smiled at my confidence.