Chapter 99 Chapter 99

Chapter 99 Chapter 99
The game had gone on for what felt like eternity. I got tired of watching Ace get beaten by the one person I hated most in the world aside from my mother. So, I slipped out of Ace’s room the moment Michael won another round, the sound of his victory whoop following me into the hallway. My head was pounding, partly from the noise, partly from boredom, and partly from the way Michael kept floating around me like an annoying fly that didn’t understand the concept of personal space. 
“I’ll be in my room,” I said over my shoulder. 
“Sure, okay,” Ace replied absently, already mashing buttons again. 
Good. Perfect. I needed a breather away from both of them. 
I walked quickly, eager to shut my door, lock it, maybe lie on my bed and scroll through my phone for a while until the boys wore themselves out. 
I pushed open the door and stepped inside, already exhaling, but the second I turned to close it, something stopped it. Something solid. 
I blinked in confusion, then my stomach dropped. Michael’s foot was wedged in the space, blocking the door. 
Before I could react, he slipped inside my room with an ease that made my skin prickle, his hand coming up to press the door shut behind him. The soft click of the lock sliding felt louder than any slam. 
My pulse spiked. 
I hadn’t even realized he’d followed me. 
He stood there facing me now, leaning back against the door like he owned it, his expression twisted in that familiar cocky smirk. 
“Wow,” he said with a low laugh. “You walk fast.” 
My breath caught somewhere between my chest and throat. I forced myself to stand straighter, to not let him see the way that single laugh unsettled me. 
“Get out,” I said, keeping my voice firm. 
Michael only tilted his head, amused, like I’d said something cute instead of serious. He pushed off the door and started walking toward me slowly, watching how I reacted to every inch he closed between us. 
“Relax, Sabrina,” he said, still smiling. “I’m not here to cause trouble.” 
He paused. “Unless you want me to.” 
I took a step back. 
He took a step forward. 
My back brushed against the edge of my desk before I realized I had run out of space to retreat. Michael stopped only when there were barely two steps between us. 
He lowered his voice. “Ace is too distracted right now to notice anything,” he said. “And honestly? I’m kind of glad. Means I can actually talk to you without him butting in.” 
My heart hammered harder. 
“Michael,” I said slowly, “whatever you think you’re doing? Don’t.” 
His eyes flicked to my lips, then back up to my face. 
“You keep acting like you hate me,” he murmured, “but you never push me away the way you should.” 
That was a lie. An obvious one. 
But he said it like he believed it or wanted me to. 
I swallowed, trying to stay calm. 
“Move away from the door.” 
He didn’t. 
Instead, he reached up and slowly brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering longer than they needed to. 
A wave of heat shot through my body. Not attraction, but tension. 
“Why’d you leave the room?” he asked softly. “Was I making you nervous?” 
He said it teasingly, but his eyes were searching, hungry for an answer I didn’t want to give him. 
I turned my face away from his hand, breaking contact. 
“I said get out, Michael.” 
He chuckled under his breath. 
“Sabrina… c’mon,” he said, stepping even closer. “Don’t pretend you didn’t feel anything last time I was here... in this house.” 
I stiffened. 
Michael saw the shift in my expression, and his smile grew like he’d found the exact button he wanted to press. 
He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper only inches from my ear. 
“I was thinking,” he murmured, “we never really finished things that day.” 
My breath hitched. 
This was too close. 
He slid one hand to the edge of my desk beside my hip, boxing me in on one side, not touching me yet, but close enough that my skin buzzed with the weight of his presence. 
“Michael,” I said again. “Stop.” 
“Why?” he asked gently, like the word amused him. “We’re just talking.” 
But we both knew that wasn’t what he came here for. 
I steadied myself, pushing my shoulders back. 
“You need to leave my room. Now.” 
He didn’t move. 
Instead, he watched me. He watched the tension in my jaw, the way my hands curled slightly, the sharp rise and fall of my breathing. 
Then he smiled. 
“You can tell me to stop,” he said softly, “or you can tell me what you really want.” 
My pulse jolted. 
He stepped even closer, breaching the last inch of space between us— 
“You want my answer?” I asked quietly, to which he replied with an arched brow. “My answer is yes. Yes, Michael... I want you to stop, and I’m telling you right now. Stop.” 
He scoffed. “Wrong answer.” 
I shoved him hard, sending him a few feet away from me. “You come into my bedroom unannounced,” I yelled while glaring furiously at him. 
“You'd better watch how you yell at me,” he growled. “You’re not going to like how I’m going to react.” 
“Fuck off, you pervert,” I snarled. “Now get out so I can have some peace in my own damn bedroom.” 
“I don’t give a rat's ass about your shitty peace, Sabrina.” 
“Listen, you piece of shit, I’m gonna rest. If you want to stand there and watch me sleep, then you’re not just a pervert... you’re a sick animal that doesn’t have a single redeeming human trait, and you will no longer be able to step foot in this house, ever again.” 
“I’m not leaving,” he chuckled. “And you’re not going to send me out... but I'd like to see you try.” 
My lips parted, and before words came out, he rushed towards me and slammed my back to the wall with his palm covering my mouth. I tried to yank his palm away so I could scream, but he was just too strong. 
“Shit bitch!” he growled. “You piss me the fuck off... a lot. You’re supposed to be Ace’s stepmother, but all you’ve been doing is fuck him, and that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t given him the idea to go for it. I tried to get a turn, and he completely denied me access.” 
I tried hitting him in the crotch with my knees, but he was too close that if I tried, he would block it off immediately. 
“You’re no better than any of the whores outside on the street, and now... I’m gonna do to you what I’ve always wanted to do to you.”