Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Nightmare

As if Justin’s gentle words reached her sleepy mind, Natalie relaxed, her grip loosening. He carefully lifted her in his arms, repositioning her along the bed. As he adjusted the pillow under her head, her defenses fully melted away, her furrowed brows relaxing.

Without realizing it, she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, her hands instinctively reaching out to hold him, seeking comfort in his presence and scent.

Justin’s body tensed, his breath hitching as he looked down at her. Seeing her so comfortably sleeping, he didn’t want to move away and enjoy that unexpected closeness with her, but…

‘She’s unaware of what she’s doing, but I’m wide awake,’ he reminded himself.

Gently, he released her hands from around him and settled her comfortably in the bed. Relieved that her sleep was not disturbed, he moved away and pulled the blanket over her. He moved the other side of the bed to sleep and slid under the same blanket as her, enough to cover them both despite having left a huge space between them.

Justin turned off the lights, leaving only the soft glow of the night lamp illuminating the room. Lying there, he stared up at the ceiling, feeling something strange and new.

It was the first time he had ever shared a bed with someone. He had no such memory with his father or grandmother or even friends. The experience was surprisingly comfortable and there was no sense of loneliness—something he had never realized he felt until now.

He turned to look at Natalie. In the dim light, Natalie’s face appeared serene, even more beautiful in her sleep, urging him to close that gap between them and hold her in his arms, leaving his mind to wonder how good it would feel to fall asleep while holding her soft and delicate body so close.

But as usual those would only remain his thoughts. Looking at her, he whispered softly, “Good Night, Natalie.”

He closed his eyes, unaware that the next morning new trouble was going to knock on his door.

—–

“Aiden! Aiden!”

The voice echoed, a haunting plea through the stormy sea as a small boy struggled against the water’s suffocating grip. The waves swallowed him whole, pulling him deeper. Water rushed through his mouth and nose, filling his lungs, cutting off his air. His vision blurred, the light above the water’s surface dimming into nothingness.

He was drowning.

“Aiden! Aiden!”

The voice grew distant, fading away, only to be replaced by another. “Justin! Are you alright? Justin!”

With a sharp gasp, Justin jolted awake, his eyes flying open. Natalie’s worried face hovered above him, her warm hand resting over his. The contact grounded him, reminding him that he wasn’t drowning, that he wasn’t ten years old and fighting for his life in that stormy sea. He was alive, in bed.

“Are you alright?” Natalie asked again, her voice gentle, like she was coaxing a frightened child back to safety.

The softness in her voice pulled him from the remnants of the nightmare. He sat up, trying to shake off the vulnerability he felt. “I’m alright,” he muttered, though the tension in his voice betrayed him.

Natalie withdrew her hand, still concerned. “Did you have a nightmare?” She asked, her eyes observing his face.

He looked at his hand that now lacked the warmth of her hand and then looked back at her. He felt an unexpected need—maybe for more than just her presence, a comforting hug, something to hold onto. But he looked away and stepped out of the bed without a word and headed to the bathroom, leaving Natalie puzzled and worried as she watched him go.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ she thought, staring at the closed bathroom door.

Inside, Justin stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. His face was pale, his hair damp with sweat as if he had truly been pulled under those stormy waters. His hands gripped the washbasin, his head lowered as he tried to catch his breath and calm the racing in his chest.

‘That same nightmare… it’s been haunting me for as long as I can remember,’ he thought bitterly. It always left him feeling broken, like something inside him had suffered a cruel and terrible fate in his childhood—something he could never fully recall.

But this time, there was a difference. In the nightmare, a voice had been calling him Aiden from beyond the water’s surface, as if someone was desperately trying to save him.

He lifted his head, staring into his reflection in the mirror, confusion clouding his mind. ‘Why would someone call me Aiden? Is this nightmare playing tricks on my mind because I’ve started playing the role of Aiden Handrix? This is the second time…’

His mind flashed back to the first instance—before it had been a woman’s voice calling him Aiden in his dream and now, it was a man’s voice, or more like a boy’s desperate voice.

‘I need to see a psychiatrist before this gets worse and I start believing I’m Aiden instead of Justin.’

—

Justin stepped out of his room, already dressed for the office, and made his way to the kitchen to grab some water. As soon as he entered, the delicious aroma of the breakfast Natalie was preparing filled the space, making him start eating right away.

Natalie, focused on her work, noticed his presence. “It’ll be ready in a bit. Until then, you can chat with Grandpa.”

Justin hummed, only to hear Natalie again. “Are you alright now?”

Justin understood what exactly she was referring to, he but didn’t answer. ‘If I keep staying by her side, I might forget my own identity. But at the same time, I don’t want to be away from her. Why am I getting so attached to her even if all we do is to argue all the time? If she changes like this, so caring and gentle, instead of fighting with me, she will truly make me forget that she is my step-sister and I shall not….”

“Hmm?” Natalie turned to look at him, waiting for his answer.