Chapter 52 A Quiet Fright

Chapter 52 A Quiet Fright


“Stephen is convinced that you have feelings for him,” Kevin blurted.

For a second, I just stared at him—my brain completely freezing.
“What?” I managed to whisper. It came out small, like the word barely knew how to stand on its own.

Kevin’s jaw clenched, his chest rising and falling like he was holding back something volcanic. “So the bet is practically to decide who you genuinely want to be with.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “It’s stupid, because he doesn’t see that you love and belong to me.”

My breath caught—painfully, sharply—because the certainty in his voice both warmed and stabbed me at the same time.

Stephen scoffed, shaking his head in pure disbelief. “She loves me, goddammit! She just doesn’t know it yet.” Then he pointed an accusing finger at Kevin. “And you—Kevin—are her freaking stepbrother who shouldn’t even be seen with her!”

Kevin moved before I could even blink.

His fist twisted into Stephen’s collar, yanking him so close their foreheads almost touched. “Say that one more time,” Kevin growled, voice low and lethal, “and I’ll blow your freaking head off.”

Stephen’s nostrils flared, his own fury sparking like a lit match. “Try it, Kevin. Just try—”

“Enough!” I snapped, louder than I meant to. My voice wobbled with how drained I felt. “Both of you. What are you? Two?”

The hallway fell silent for a moment—thick, breathing anger filling the space between us. I could feel the tension, the jealousy, the ego, the possessiveness—everything swirling like a storm I was somehow placed in the center of.

I opened my mouth again, trying to gather what little sanity I had left. But then—

Kevin’s phone rang.

The aggressive sound of it cut through the air, sharp and urgent.

Kevin let out a hard breath, releasing Stephen’s shirt with a rough shove. He checked the screen, and whatever he saw made the color drain from his face.

He picked up.
“Yeah?” His tone shifted—tight, contained, serious. “What? Now? …I’m on my way.”

He didn’t even hesitate.

He stepped close to me—too close—loosely sliding his hand around my waist in that familiar way that made my heart squeeze even though I wished it wouldn’t. He pressed a quick, soft peck against my cheek. It was so fast and unexpected that I barely breathed.

Then he shot Stephen a glare so sharp it could’ve sliced bone before he turned on his heel and walked off.

“Kevin—wait, where are you—” I tried to call after him.

But he didn’t hear me.

Or maybe he did and just couldn’t stop.

I stood there frozen, staring at the space he had just walked through, my cheek still warm from where he’d kissed me. Meanwhile Stephen was breathing like a furious bull beside me.

And me?

I just felt… tired.

So, so tired.

Like everything was happening too fast, like everyone wanted a piece of me, like I was being forced to choose between two storms that were both determined to tear everything apart.

And suddenly, I didn’t know what scared me more:

Kevin running off to some emergency…

or the sinking feeling that the chaos between the three of us had barely even begun.

I looked back at Stephen who approached me slowly, and I swear for a second, it felt like the whole hallway shrank around the two of us. His footsteps were quiet but heavy—as if every step carried the weight of everything he hadn’t said.

We just stared at each other.

No yelling. No breathing hard. No punching. Just… silence. A silence that felt too intimate and too uncomfortable at the same time.

“In the end,” he finally murmured, voice softer than I expected, “I’ll be the one who stays ready to give up anything for you.”

My chest tightened, but not in the warm way he probably hoped for. More like a pressure—like guilt mixed with irritation.
I shook my head slowly. “Can you drive me back home? I want to pick up a few things for my dad.”

He blinked, surprised at how quickly I brushed past everything he’d just said, but he nodded. “Yeah… sure.”

We walked out of the hospital without another word. The cool air slapped my face as we stepped outside, and for a second I just breathed it in, trying to calm myself. My nerves were fried—absolutely shredded.

We got into the car, and the silence followed us in, thick and claustrophobic.

Halfway down the road, Stephen finally spoke.

“That night I found out about your relationship with Kevin… in the club’s basement… I was heartbroken.”

I pressed my lips together. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to feel.

“After he told you to go home that day,” Stephen continued, eyes fixed on the road, “the summary of everything is—he kicked me out of the gang. And I was mad. That’s what led to the bet about who you’d choose to genuinely love and be with.”

I wasn't really surprised that Kevin would do that to him.

I rolled my eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t fall out. “And you both forgot this is real life and not a freaking Twilight movie.”

That got to him.

Stephen’s jaw tightened, and suddenly his foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. The car lurched forward, and my stomach twisted with the sudden speed.

“Can you f—ing slow down?” I snapped, gripping the seatbelt with both hands.

He didn’t slow. If anything, his grip on the steering wheel tightened. “The truth is,” he said through clenched teeth, “I know you’d choose him over me. But I guess I want to prove a point—that he’s just a freaking lowlife to you.”

“Stephen, slow down!” I shouted, louder this time.

He finally eased off the pedal a little, though not enough to calm my heart rate. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “But Kevin will never appreciate you the way I do.” His eyes flicked to me, then back to the road. “Never.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’ll be the one who decides that.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. He inhaled deeply. “I shouldn’t say this…” he started, voice dropping, “but you should better give me a chance before I tell your father about you and Kevin.”

I froze.

My heart dropped somewhere past my stomach.

But instead of panicking out loud, I let out a small, almost disbelieving snort. “As frightening and stupid as that sounds, it won’t work on me.”

And I meant it. Even though my pulse was racing and my palms were sweaty with terror, I said it like I wasn’t scared at all.

There was a long, heavy silence.

Then Stephen whispered, barely audible, “I know.”

He didn’t look at me. He didn’t speed up again. He just kept driving, shoulders tense, like he was wrestling with himself, with me, with Kevin—maybe with the whole damn world.

And all I could do was stare out the window and wonder how the hell my life had turned into this mess.