Claimed By My Stepbrother novel Chapter 104

Camila POV

1 glared at him. “Shut up.”

He blinked, his head tilting slightly. “I never said anything.”

“Well… you just did now,” I snapped, and the second the words left my mouth, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. I groaned, pressing my forehead against the steering wheel. “God, this is so embarrassing.”

I heard him chuckle softly, low and amused like this was funny to him.

I climbed out of the car to check on the poor guy I almost flattened. He waved me off, still rubbing his hip. “I shouldn’t have been on my phone anyway,” he said with an awkward laugh, limping slightly as he walked away.

Back in the car, I flopped into the driver’s seat and threw my head against the headrest. “Lucky for us, no broken bones. Or lawsuits.”

“No damage to the car either,” Ethan said, glancing at the front bumper.

I groaned again, this time from the pit of my soul. “That’s it. I’m never driving again.”

We finally pulled up to the mansion, the tires crunching against the gravel driveway like bones underfoot. The sky was turning that kind of soft orange that screamed “evening nap,” and everything about the place looked way too grand and way too quiet for my current mood. Honestly, it looked like a painting someone forgot to smudge.

I climbed out of the car, hoodie pulled over my head like armor, and dragged my feet up to the front door. My hand fumbled for the key in my pocket, fingers shaking just slightly from all the adrenaline that hadn’t burned out yet. My head was pounding, and my body felt like a used–up battery–low energy, low will to exist, just… low.

I shoved the key in the lock.

Turned it.

Nothing.

I tried again, this time using my whole body like the damn door was out to get me. Still nothing.

My jaw clenched. “Seriously?” I muttered under my breath.

Behind me, I heard Ethan’s slow, deliberate footsteps approaching. He moved like he was walking on water–quiet, steady, annoyingly calm.

I didn’t look back. “I got it,” I muttered, jiggling the key a little harder like that would magically change reality.

“Clearly,” came his voice–soft, amused, like he found this whole thing adorable.

Ugh.

Before I could say anything else, he reached over me. One hand on the knob, the other brushing against mine for a second to door creaked open like it wasn’t locked at all

I blinked. “Are you serious?‘ I hissed.

He just smiled. That same damn smile.

1 shoved my hands deep into my hoodie pockets and marched inside without saying a word, shoulders stiff like I could shake off the

The

1/3

Chapter 104

weirdness by walking fast enough.

The inside of the house was still and shadowed, all the lights off except for the dim glow bleeding in through the tall windows. It was too quiet, like the walls were holding their breath or something. You’d think a place this big would echo with life, but it just felt hollow, Like museum no one visited anymore.

I didn’t wait for Ethan. Didn’t care if he was behind me or ten feet back smiling at my spine. I just beelined up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time, my body running purely on muscle memory and leftover stress.

By the time I reached my room, I felt like collapsing. My shoulders dropped the second I closed the door behind me, and I leaned against it for a moment, letting the silence soak in.

“Fuck,” I whispered to no one.

I kicked off my shoes, leaving them wherever they landed, and peeled off my hoodie like it weighed a hundred pounds. My fingers trembled a little as I pulled my hair down from the messy ponytail it’d been in all day. My scalp stung from how tight it was, and my whole body was screaming for a break.

Dragging myself into the bathroom, I twisted the shower knob and waited until the water was hot enough to fog the mirrors. The steam hit me like a hug I didn’t ask for but lowkey needed. I stepped under the spray, letting the warmth run down my back, my arms, my legs–every inch of me that felt like it had been wrung out and twisted.

For a few minutes, I just stood there.

Eyes closed.

Breathing.

Pretending this wasn’t my life.

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