The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

Due to rumors at school, Annabel hadn’t approached David alone for several days. She could only watch him from afar through the crowd in the classroom, and it was driving her crazy.

In the morning, the grades for the mock exams were announced. Annabel scored over five hundred points. Although it couldn’t compare to Logan’s over seven hundred, it was still a significant improvement for her. She hoped David would say a few words to her privately, at least praise her a bit.

However, after waiting all day, her phone remained silent. She did see David in physics class, but the students who showed improvement were praised, and her name was just mentioned in passing. Annabel felt bitterly disappointed. She wanted to chase after him after class, but she remembered Logan’s words and hesitated, eventually stopping in her tracks. As she turned back, she overheard a few girls whispering behind her back, “She’s clinging to Mr. Curry again. Probably annoyed with her lately, he hasn’t been paying much attention to her.”

Aria remained silent, looking towards Logan’s empty seat, and let out a sarcastic laugh.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Annabel began to believe David might truly see her as they described, and her heart sank halfway. But she didn’t feel like arguing with them and pretended not to hear.

When she returned home in the evening, her homework lay open on the table, but Annabel couldn’t concentrate at all. She kept wondering how David really felt about her, the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She reached for the cigarette pack hidden in the corner of the drawer, taking a deep drag to try and suppress her restless feelings.

At ten o’clock at night, her phone suddenly made a “ding” sound, and her heart leaped with joy as she found her phone lying beside her bed.

Sure enough, it was a message from David. “Did a good job, keep up the good work.”

Annabel was so happy she felt like she could fly on the spot. The oppression of the past few days had become unbearable, and she decided she couldn’t bear it anymore; she had to go find him now.

Thomas and Brenna were still out socializing and hadn’t returned. Annabel quietly turned off the light in her room and tiptoed downstairs.

Logan was about to turn off the lights and go to bed when he saw a shadow darting out of the yard, bending over. Logan gritted his teeth and cursed in his mind, “Why can’t she ever stay out of trouble!”

He quickly changed his clothes and chased after her, reaching the door just in time to see Annabel getting into a taxi.

Half an hour later, Annabel got out of the car at the entrance of Shining High School.

Because he had to oversee the boarding students, David usually lived in the staff dormitory on campus.

The staff dormitory was located in the northernmost building, quite far from the teaching building. Annabel was in a hurry and chose to take a less crowded path through the shady woods. At this hour, there was nobody around, and most of the streetlights were broken, making the narrow path look eerie and spooky.

“David… David…”

Annabel walked for a while when suddenly she heard someone calling David’s name. She wondered if she was hearing things.

“Nancy, you…”

Annabel froze and turned her head towards the voice. In the dim corner on the left, two figures were intertwined. Although she couldn’t see their faces clearly, Annabel recognized David at a glance.

He leaned against a tree, with Nancy pressed against his chest. Through the foliage, she couldn’t see David’s expression, but she felt him glance in her direction before quickly looking away. Nancy tiptoed, her hands pulling down his neck, and he slightly bent his waist. At this height, Nancy could just reach his lips.

Annabel felt something inside her collapse, crashing heavily onto her heart. She clenched her fists tightly, anger and disappointment flooding her brain. She strode up to them, pointing at Nancy. “Tell me, who is she to you?”

Nancy smiled slightly. “I’m his girlfriend.”

Annabel trembled in the wind, glaring fiercely at Nancy, then turned her gaze to David, silently asking if it was true.

David’s tone was indifferent as he avoided her question. “Why are you out so late? Go back home.”

She stood still, pointing at Nancy stubbornly, looking at him. “Is she your girlfriend?”

Suddenly, her shoulder was grabbed, and Logan appeared in front of her, forcing her to turn around. “Go home.”

Logan forcefully hooked her shoulder and pushed her forward.

Annabel pushed Logan away angrily. “Get off me!” She turned around and swiftly walked into the night.

So, David had found a girlfriend and couldn’t be bothered with her anymore, leaving her to Logan.

Logan remained silent, silently following behind her. He thought she would cry for sure. But she remained quiet, which disappointed Logan somewhat.

At this hour, there were very few taxis around, and they waited for quite some time with none in sight. Suddenly, Logan’s sleeve was tugged, and Annabel looked up at him. “Let’s go have a drink.”

Logically, he should have stopped her, but in the end, he nodded. “Fine.”

They went to a nearby street food stall near the school. The weather had cooled down a bit, and they were the only two customers at this hour.

Logan ordered a few dishes and a soup, while Annabel grabbed two bottles of white wine from the counter. She twisted off the cap, poured herself a glass, then glanced at Logan and smirked sarcastically. “I almost forgot, you’re not like me.”

Logan pushed the glass towards her, gesturing for her to pour.

The landlady brought the dishes over, eyeing the two of them with some ambiguity. She thought to herself, these two students are dating, but why are they still out drinking so late? By the time they finish eating, the dormitories will be closed. Are they planning to book a room? She murmured to herself for a while before suddenly meeting Logan’s gaze. The icy chill in his dark pupils sent a shiver down her spine, and she quickly left.

Annabel lifted her glass and finished it in one gulp, then slammed it back on the table heavily, her anger suppressed. “If he have a girlfriend, why bother being nice to me? Why bother at all?”

Logan took a sip of his drink, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table. “It’s only natural for teachers to be kind to their students.”

The implication was probably that she was overthinking things. Annabel paused, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “Did you already know he was with Nancy? Now you’re probably laughing at me for being stupid.”

Logan put down his glass and surprisingly said, “Yeah, it’s definitely a bit stupid.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “So, don’t be stupid in the future.”

There was a hint of disdain in his tone. Normally, Annabel would have retorted, but she didn’t have the mood to argue with him now.

Annabel placed the wine bottle on her side of the table, drinking silently with her head bowed, not touching the food on the table.

Logan stared at her for a while, then reached out towards her, almost touching her head before pulling back, his lips twitching in a self-mocking manner.

The landlady lightly nudged her husband’s arm and whispered, “Do you think that young couple is having a fight?”

The boss was engrossed in his mobile game and didn’t pay her any attention. “Women always love gossip.”

The landlady rolled her eyes at her husband, thinking that the boy was really good-looking. His every move exuded an air of elegance. However, his demeanor was too aloof, clearly not someone easy to approach. She couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times, hesitating whether to go over and remind him that his T-shirt was on inside out.

He didn’t try to encourage more drinking. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, stretching out his long legs, but occasionally glanced at Annabel with a hint of resignation and annoyance on his face.

Annabel staggered, obviously intoxicated. She lifted the wine bottle, shook it, and found it empty. With a careless toss, the glass shattered with a crisp sound, then she grabbed her own cup and threw it to the ground. Logan glanced at her faintly and handed over his own cup. She threw that one as well.

The loud noise startled the landlady, and she stood up to intervene.

Her husband pulled her back. “The T-shirt he’s wearing could probably cover our monthly income. Do you really think he can’t afford to pay for a few dishes?” He had been in the clothing business before and knew some high-end brands. The landlady sat back down, reluctantly refraining from interfering and continuing to rubber-neck.

With nothing left to throw, Annabel stopped, her expression blurry as she gazed into the distance.

Logan finally stood up, turning her body towards him. “You’ve had your drink and your outburst. Whatever you want to do next, I’ll accompany you. But after today, put this behind us, okay?”