The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

She locked her bedroom door. After two days and nights without eating or drinking, when Thomas was almost going crazy with worry, she finally opened the door.

The summer when she was almost seventeen, Annabel ended her bitter one-sided love in her heart. From then on, she seemed like a different person, doing things for herself, truly embarking on her journey as a top student.

David was reassigned to teach the first year, separated from Annabel by two teaching buildings. Whether intentional or not, they never had any interaction, just occasional glances on the playground. Annabel would then casually look away, nothing more.

In the second semester of senior year, the atmosphere in the class became tense and oppressive. The students’ desks were piled with thick review materials, everyone using the remaining time to its fullest.

The most relaxed students in the class were Annabel and Logan. Their life paths were already planned out, waiting only to graduate and study abroad. Annabel had originally planned to apply to a school in New Avalon, not because she liked it, but because her grandmother strongly urged her to. Later, when she heard that Logan was also applying to that school, she changed her mind and applied to a school in Kenland instead. Her principle in choosing a school was to be as far away from home and Logan as possible, where no one could control her.

However, both Logan and Annabel insisted on completing the exam. Logan just wanted to prove his abilities, while Annabel still harbored an illusion or, rather, a possibility in her heart that she was unwilling to let go of.

The final bell rang for the last class, and Logan finished a test paper before leaving the classroom.

The weather in April was somewhat hot and humid, hinting at the arrival of summer. Passing by the playground, he heard cheers from inside. He stopped by the wire fence, and on the left side of the playground, he saw Annabel. She had taken off her thin jacket, revealing a blue and white short-sleeved T-shirt underneath.

She lightly jumped, firmly holding the basketball in her hands, then provocatively lifted her chin towards her teammates before passing the ball.

The sun had not fully set yet, and the lingering rays cast a faint glow on her face, dazzling and radiant. The thought of “little fairy” crossed Logan’s mind.

A boy saw him and waved, signaling for him to come over.

He was a junior in high school and a gifted student in art. He had wanted to date Annabel ever since he entered the school as a freshman, and now, the two of them hadn’t become a couple, but they had become brothers.

Logan shook his head. Suddenly, Annabel turned her head, probably recalling the teasing from earlier in the morning, and her face darkened. She fiercely hurled the basketball at him, knowing she couldn’t hit him through the wire fence, but just wanting to vent her frustration.

The basketball hit the wire fence with force and bounced back towards Annabel with great momentum. Annabel was momentarily stunned, and the ball bounced off the fence, hitting her on the forehead with a loud thud. She grabbed her head in pain, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Logan couldn’t help but laugh and walked away slowly.

At the corner of the playground, under a osmanthus tree, with spring in full swing and branches lush, stood a figure with arms crossed, gazing into the distance. It was David. Logan then saw him suddenly smile and looked in the direction of his gaze. Annabel was sitting on the steps by the court, sulking. She seemed to be moved by something, suddenly looked up in his direction, and David, acting nonchalant, turned his back and slipped his hand into his pocket, striding away.

David used to be on the school’s basketball team, but for two years, he hadn’t set foot on this court. If he had truly let go, why would he act so decisively?

Less than half a month later, a sensational event occurred at school. Nancy was proposed to by a rich second-generation.

During recess, six Lamborghinis formed a heart shape on the playground. Several people got out of the cars, all dressed very elegantly. The man in the middle, who appeared to be in his late twenties, of medium height and slightly muscular, was holding a large bouquet of roses.

Annabel had seen this man at a party before. He was Ethan Masters, the eldest son of the former richest man, Jake Masters. Jake’s family business was now managed by his current wife after he was imprisoned. Although they managed to keep the family business, they fell far behind their competitors of the same period. However, they seemed to have a good relationship with the Wolf Family.

The schoolgirls were divided into two camps. One group looked down on Nancy and sympathized with David, who was handsome and had a good personality but unfortunately had his girlfriend stolen. The other group envied Nancy; marrying into a wealthy family was the dream of many girls, and being handsome wasn’t enough to sustain a living.

The man held out a ring, kneeling in front of Nancy, and opened a red velvet box. Inside, the blue diamond sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight, estimated to be at least five carats. “Nancy, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Nancy hesitated for a moment, then turned her head to look at the bleachers behind her, her gaze falling on David’s face. He looked indifferent and averted his eyes. Nancy laughed self-deprecatingly.

The group of students who loved to make a fuss immediately burst into cheers, “Say yes! Say yes!”

Nancy accepted the flowers, nodded, and the man helped her put on the ring, followed by a romantic French kiss, which elicited a round of screams.

The playground was crowded with onlookers. The male lead was too ostentatious, and the female lead was too annoying. Annabel found it boring and walked away.

On Saturday evening, at a university classmate’s birthday banquet, Paul, David, and the soon-to-be bride of a wealthy family, Nancy, were all present. Paul brought up the proposal incident involving Nancy, which elicited envy from the girls present.

David remained silent. Over the four years of university, everyone knew how good Nancy had been to David. Some couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, “You regret it now, don’t you? We told you to seize the opportunity early on, but you wouldn’t listen.”

David smiled faintly without saying a word.

Tonight, Nancy seemed to be in a good mood, drinking generously. However, as she drank more, everyone else became more reserved. Yet, she insisted on toasting each person individually. Everyone felt that something was amiss, but they couldn’t dissuade her. When it was David’s turn, he didn’t raise his glass but calmly said, “Maybe you shouldn’t drink anymore.”

Nancy’s face darkened, and she retorted sharply, “David, what right do you have to interfere with me!”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Most of those present knew a bit about their situation.

David responded coolly, “I don’t.”

“David, four years in college, two years at Shining High School, how can six years of our relationship lose to a little girl you’ve known for half a year? To be honest, you must really hate me now.”

The others at the table looked at Paul with curiosity. Paul felt awkward and worried that Nancy might say something inappropriate. “Come on, Nancy, let’s have a drink.”

The other female classmates chimed in, “Nancy is the happiest. Look at that huge diamond ring on her finger. They say a man’s generosity is the measure of his love for you.”

Ignoring them, Nancy pounded the table and exclaimed, “What does it matter if you treat her so well? She won’t even look at you now.”

David furrowed his brows, “Nancy, I’ve repaid what I owed you. I really don’t owe you anything anymore. Can’t you be more sober?”

“Yeah, you’ve repaid me, but you still owe her. If she finds out, she’ll probably hate you,” she said, seeing David’s grim expression, then scoffed, “David, you like her, but you’re too afraid to admit it. You’re a coward.”

The others were curious, but it wasn’t appropriate to delve deeper into their personal matters in this setting.

David stood up and grabbed his jacket from the chair. “Sorry, I have to leave early.”

Everyone knew it was an excuse, but they also knew that leaving was the best option.

—

May came in the blink of an eye. One weekend, Christopher said he wanted to see her, but Annabel was busy preparing for the June exams and refused. As a result, Christopher sent someone to intercept her at the school gate and took her directly to the company.

Over the past two years, Christopher had often visited her, showing care for her like an elder. He had also been considerate to her friend, Mason. Annabel was not ungrateful, especially she hadn’t received much paternal love from Thomas. Over time, she had developed some feelings of warmth towards him.

Lara brought her a glass of freshly squeezed juice and a pile of snacks like chocolate chips, saying, “These are prepared for you by Mr. Robins.”

Annabel lightly acknowledged and popped some chocolate into her mouth, then pointed to the glass wall and asked, “How much longer?”

Orla, who was usually quite domineering, stood with her head down in front of Christopher. He occasionally pointed at the computer screen with his fingers, looking angry.

Actually, Annabel had guessed why. Over the past two years, with Christopher’s support, the BO band had gained quite a bit of popularity. The publicity team had paired Orla and Mason together, and the growth rate of fan base is astonishing. However, Orla had let slip in a recent interview that she had feelings for someone else, and her relationship with Mason was just for publicity. Now, fans were in an uproar over this revelation, demanding to unfollow her.

“I’m afraid it will take a while longer. Orla, she really shot herself in the foot. If she gets on the boss’s nerves, what will she do if she gets sidelined? These days, there’s no shortage of singer like her.”

Just as Annabel finished peeling a bag of walnuts, she clapped her hands and walked towards Christopher’s office. She heard Christopher angrily say, “If you don’t want to succeed, speak up now! I have plenty of other options here!”

Annabel pushed open the door, Orla looked up, her face full of despair.

Annabel gave her a reassuring look and lazily raised her chin towards Christopher. “I’m hungry. Are we still having dinner?”

Christopher, who had just been in a volcanic eruption state, suddenly changed to a gentle smile when he saw Annabel. “The little fairy has arrived.”

Orla silently cursed under her breath. His facial expressions changed so quickly.

Using the excuse of needing to speak with Orla, Annabel rescued her from Christopher.

“You always seem fearless, but I never expected you to be so timid in front of Christopher.”

“Nonsense. If I offend him, I won’t be able to make it in the entertainment industry.”

“Does he have that much power?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Orla gave a thumbs-up. “In the entertainment industry, he’s the one! But it’s strange. He has everything, but no girlfriend. There have been rumors outside that he’s gay, but I heard from a senior that when he was a small actor more than a decade ago, he had a girlfriend. They were very much in love at the time, but for some reason, they broke up. He almost committed suicide, but was saved and went abroad.”

Annabel lightly murmured, remembering his words at the cemetery with his mother, feeling increasingly puzzled.

“Have you ever noticed that he’s especially good to you?”

“My mom is his friend, and he has received favors from my mom before. It’s natural for him to be good to me.” Christopher had spoken highly of Essem’s kindness to him many times. It could be said that his success in the entertainment industry today was built on the foundation laid by Essem.

Orla gave her a meaningful glance. “I heard Christopher has a secret daughter.”

Annabel’s face darkened. “Say that again, and I’ll rip your mouth open!”