Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: 75-Melons Out And He Is Embarrassed

Helanie:

I rushed into the hotel, exhilarated as it finally hit me—I had really won admission. Once in my room, I kicked off my shoes and leapt in joy. This has been the happiest I have been after so long.

“I’ll watch TV all day and eat whatever I want. Two whole days without stress!” I couldn’t believe it—I was still tearing up, but these were tears of happiness. I have longed for this day. And despite having so many obstacles, I did it. Thanks to Kaye and Emmet for it.

I stripped off my clothes and sank into the tub, letting my muscles relax completely. For once, I tried to silence the disturbing thoughts and visions that usually haunted me when I was alone. Pushing aside the sorrow, I focused on my future at the academy.

Yet, a small tension lingered in the back of my mind—anxiety about my health. The constant stress had worn me down. Each day felt like a battle, and every place, a battlefield. I’ve been feeling weaker lately, with frequent headaches adding to my worries.

After a long bath, I’d barely wrapped myself in a bathrobe when there was a knock at my door.

“It must be room service,” I thought as I walked over and opened the door. But the person standing outside made me instantly regret not checking first.

I tried to slam the door shut, but he wedged his shoe in, making it impossible to close. Groaning, he forced his arm against the door, shoving it open as I took a step back in fear.

“What are you doing here?” I growled at Norman, who didn’t even respond as he barged inside, scanning the room as if I were hiding something. He checked the balcony, the bathroom, even the corners of the room.

“Take a good look, and don’t forget to look under the bed. I might be hiding one of your precious brothers there,” I scoffed, slamming the door shut and crossing my arms over my chest. He halted his search and shot me a deadly glare.

Did he really think his brothers were here?

“Here, sign this,” he said, puffing out his chest as he extended a stack of papers towards me.

Frowning, I took the papers and began to skim through them. They were the academy admission documents. I didn’t understand.

He had been so adamant about keeping me out of the academy, yet now he’d shown up in a rush, practically shoving the papers at me.

“Sign them,” he repeated, reaching into his pocket to hand me a pen.

I just stared at the pen, then at the papers.

“What’s the delay now? You were desperate enough to do anything to get admitted, and now you’re stalling?” His tone was sharp, clearly intended to sound confident and snarky, yet I could detect a slight hesitation in his voice that didn’t escape me.

“You actually want me to sign these?” I raised a brow, fanning myself with the papers. I could tell he didn’t like it; he probably thought I was being disrespectful to him and his precious academy.

“It doesn’t matter what I want. You played the card and passed the test. So sign.” His refusal to look me in the eyes only confirmed my suspicions—he had an agenda.

“Hmm, well, I’m still deciding, so I’ll sign when I’m ready.” I shrugged, extending the papers back to him.

He finally looked directly at me, his face a mix of surprise and frustration.

“You’re thinking about it? Weren’t you the one who desperately wanted to join the academy?” As he stepped forward, it felt like a giant was approaching me. He was tall and broad-shouldered, as were all his brothers, but his stance was even more imposing.

Every time he moved closer, my body instinctively flinched.

“I told you. I’ll sign when I’m ready.” Truthfully, I was ready, but I couldn’t resist giving him a hard time. Considering how opposed he was to my joining the academy, I was beginning to suspect he had a hidden motive for pushing this now. Annoying him felt like the least I could do.

“Helanie…” He clenched his jaw, pointing a finger at me before balling his hand into a fist and pressing it against his mouth, as though reining himself in. “Don’t play games,” he warned, trying to calm himself.

“I’m not. But why are you here? I didn’t know the trainer was supposed to show up at a candidate’s residence just to get a signature.” I folded my arms across my chest, only realizing afterward that my robe was slipping, barely staying in place.

“That’s because… my brothers want you in the academy,” he said, but I could tell he was lying.

“And they know I passed the test. So, what’s the rush?” I was succeeding in getting under his skin, just as he had gotten under mine all these weeks.

“Fine.” He sighed, shrugging as if in defeat. “I wanted to surprise my brothers with your signature.” Could he really not come up with a better excuse? He tried to act cool so he grabbed his phone and unlocked it but I could tell he wasn’t doing anything on his phone. He then slipped it into his pocket.

“But I suppose that’s fine. I’ll just wait here until you’ve made up your mind and signed the papers.” Instead of leaving, he dropped the pen and papers on the table and casually shrugged off his coat.

“Hey, you can’t—be here!” I stammered, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. His brothers were tolerable, but he—he was something else. A man filled with vengeance and negativity.

“Why not? My brother’s paying for it.” He tossed his coat onto the couch and strode toward the raised area. The living room was partially separated from the bedroom by a glass sliding door.

When he dropped onto the bed to rest, my anxiety spiked.

“I’ll call your father and—” I started, but before I could finish, he lifted his head from the pillow and shot me a dark look.

“And tell him exactly what? What am I doing?” he challenged.

I leaned over the bed in haste, forgetting my robe until his eyes widened, and he hissed at me.

“Fucking cover your titties.”