Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: 61-The Wet Prince

Helanie:

After Kaye left, I couldn’t stay awake for food and decided to rest. The moment I lay down in bed, a suffocating sensation overwhelmed me. It felt as if someone were drowning me—I could swear I felt my hair getting wet.

I forced my eyes open, and to my surprise, I was no longer in the bed I had just settled into. Darkness surrounded me, and my body was half-submerged in cold water.

“Where am I?” I muttered, my voice echoing back to me in the empty space.

As I raised my head, I spotted a faint light above. It dawned on me—I was trapped in a well.

The air was cold and damp as I pressed my back against the slimy stone wall.

“Huh! How did… I get here?” I stammered, feeling the frantic rise and fall of my chest. The well was narrow, just wide enough for me to stretch out my arms and feel the rough, wet stones on either side.

“Somebody, please help me,” I whimpered, my voice barely audible. The small circle of light above illuminated only the upper portion of the well, while darkness gaped beneath my feet. The walls seemed to close in tighter with every shallow breath I took. My chest tightened as I noticed a figure standing at the top.

It was a familiar face. He looked disheveled, holding the well’s heavy cover in his hands. Was he the one who put me here?

It had to be him.

He was definitely closing the lid.

“Norman! No!” I screamed so loud that it jolted me awake.

I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. Norman, throwing me into a well? Was it… just a nightmare, or was this a warning to be cautious around him?

I gasped again, desperate for air, but it felt as if I couldn’t get enough. The memory of the dream was too real, too vivid. The sensation of being trapped in that well lingered painfully in my mind.

“Helanie!” I nearly jumped as I saw Kaye standing in the doorway. He must have woken up when I started screaming in my sleep.

I stared at his face in silence as he came closer and sat beside me, his gaze scanning my face intently.

“I was in—” I tried to speak, thinking I’d calmed down, but my breath hitched, and I began to hyperventilate again.

“Shh, it’s okay. It was just a dream.” His voice was low and soothing, though it barely cut through my panic. His eyes shone in the dim light of the bedside lamp.

“He… he threw me in the well. He wanted to trap me there—” My voice faltered, and tears stung my eyes as I recalled his face.

“Who? Who threw you into the well?” Kaye’s gaze locked onto mine, leaning in closer, his eyes intent. The intensity woke me up fully, snapping me back to the present.

I pulled back instinctively, taking deep, steadying breaths. He was kind to me today, but who knows how he’ll act once I’m back on my feet. People like the broken ones; it’s when the miserable raise their heads that they start to disturb others.

“I’m fine. It was just a nightmare,” I said, clearing my throat as I covered my face with my hands, rubbing away the remnants of sleep and panic.

“Was it Lamar? Don’t worry—he won’t come near you again.” Slowly, I uncovered my face, surprised by how confidently Kaye reassured me. Did I believe him?

No.

If there’s anyone I can rely on, it’s me. I have to be the one to protect myself.

“Helanie—I want to know—” He was frowning, studying my face, but just then, his phone rang, interrupting us.

He glanced at the screen, and his expression changed; he shot up from the bed as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Mom? How are you?” he said, answering the call with an uneasy smile.

They’d never talked much about their mother, but I knew they loved her. They hadn’t been able to accept my mother as their father’s new wife, not even after all this time.

“Oh, alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he replied, hanging up. He didn’t turn back to look at me right away, dialing another number quickly.

“Emmet, Mom called. She wants me to come over. Where are you?” His fingers fidgeted as he bit his nails, an anxious look shadowing his face.

I didn’t understand why a call from his mother would make him so nervous.

“Oh, that’s good. I need to leave soon,” he mumbled, sounding somewhat relieved, though he still paced around the room, wiping his mouth nervously.

“Thank you. Bye.” He ended the call with a barely audible murmur, then seemed to remember where he was, glancing at me with a faint, broken smile.

“Um, Emmet will be here in a few minutes. I have to go,” he said, his tone uneasy as he turned to leave. But just as he reached the doorway, he spun around, as though remembering something, and spoke in a voice almost too vulnerable to recognize.

“Please… take care of yourself.”

He was soon out of my sight, but I kept remembering the way he had looked at me. I lay down for a few minutes, but then I heard the front door open. I managed to get out of bed to see who it was.

I knew who it had to be.

It had to be Emmet.

I wasn’t mistaken. I walked out of my room but couldn’t make it all the way through the living room because my body still felt weak.

The entire house was shrouded in darkness, with the thunderstorm illuminating parts of it. I watched a dark figure enter and close the door behind him.

The light flickered on, illuminating Emmet’s face, and my breath hitched. He was drenched from the rain, and the first thing he did upon entering was start unbuttoning his wet shirt.

He flicked on the side table lamp and casually placed his phone down while opening his shirt with one hand.

I wanted to make my presence known, but I was stunned as he took off his shirt, revealing his chiseled physique.

He was incredibly muscular, adorned with tattoos that didn’t cover his entire body. A large tattoo of a sword ran down the center of his chest, and there was something written along his ribs.

“Oh!” The moment he finally noticed me, I gasped and quickly looked away.

This was going to be awkward now.