Claimed By My Stepbrother novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Camila POV

The nickering screen cast a dull glow over the sitting room, the kind that made everything look slightly worse than it already was. I sat slouched on the couch, one leg tucked under me, absently munching on popcorn from a Bowl I didn’t even remember grabbing. The show playing was god–awful- some cheesy reality dating thing where the contestants acted like middle schoolers who had been let loose on a sugar binge.

“This is terrible,” I muttered to myself as one guy dramatically declared he had found true love‘ after two days. I mean, seriously. I couldn’t look away, though. It was like a train wreck- a slow, cringe–filled disaster that was somehow impossible to ignore.

Just as one of the girls started crying over someone taking her “connection” (yes, she actually called it that), footsteps thudded down the stairs. I didn’t bother looking up until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Ethan.

He strolled into the room, his usual storm–cloud expression plastered across his face like someone had just insulted his entire bloodline. His hair was messier than usual, strands falling over his forehead like he had been running his hands through it all day. He looked… annoyed. Actually, no- he looked like he wanted to strangle someone.

Ethan dropped onto the armchair just a few feet away from me, sprawled out, and glared at the TV. Like really glared at it. As if the show had personally offended him.

“Alright,” I mumbled under my breath, grabbing the remote to turn the volume down. “That’s my cue to leave.”

I started to get up, ready to make my great escape back to my room. Alone time sounded a whole lot better than sharing space with whatever black hole of moodiness Ethan had brought down here. But before I could take two steps, his

voice cut through the room.

“Can you just… stay here for a while?”

I stopped dead, blinking at him like he’d grown a second head. Slowly, I turned back to look at him. Ethan wasn’t even meeting my eyes- he was staring at the TV with his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack.

I couldn’t help it; my heart did this weird stutter in my chest. Okay, that’s not scary at all, I thought.

This was weird- so weird. Ethan don’t just talk to me unless he absolutely had to, and even then, he usually kept it

cold and clipped. Now he was… asking me to stay?

I shifted awkwardly, still holding the remote like it might double as a weapon. “Um. Why?”

He let out a breath, still not looking at me. “I don’t know. Just- just stay. For a minute.”

It wasn’t a demand. If anything, it sounded like he was asking because he didn’t trust himself. His knuckles were whit against the arm of the chair, and his whole body looked like it was wound so tightly he might snap in half if someone so

much as sneezed.

I lowered myself back onto the couch, slowly, carefully, keeping an eye on him like he might cautiously. “Sure. I’ll stay. But are you… good?”

ode. “Okay,” I said

Ethan’s mouth twitched like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. He glanced at me for half a second- just enough to look borderline miserable- and then turned his eyes back to the TV.

1/

Chapter 25

“Is there something you wanted to say to me?” I asked, trying to sound casual despite the tension homming in the room. “Like… is that why you’re acting like this?”

I almost added, ‘Is that why you’ve been stalking me like a complete psycho lately?, but I figured it wasn’t the best

time to poke the bear.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he ran a hand over his face, the movement slow and deliberate, like he was forcing himself to stay calm. “No,” he muttered finally. “Forget it.”

“Forget what?” I pressed, because at this point, I needed answers.

His glare sharpened, though it wasn’t aimed at me. “I said forget it.”

Okay, then. Defensive much? I leaned back against the couch, deciding it was probably best not to push him any further. Let him simmer down or whatever he needed to do.

For a minute, the only sound in the room was the muffled chatter of the reality show, which had somehow gotten even dumber since I had turned the volume down. The crying girl was now sobbing into a pool float while dramatic music

swelled in the background.

“You watch this crap?” Ethan asked suddenly, his voice dry and sharp.

I snorted, thankful for the change in subject. “No. It’s just background noise while I zone out.”

He huffed a breath that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Sure it is.”

“Hey,” I said defensively, grabbing a throw pillow and hugging it against my chest. “You’re the one who sat down here. You could’ve gone anywhere else.”

“I didn’t feel like it.”

That was… weirdly honest for him. I glanced at him again, trying to read his expression, but it was like staring at a brick wall. Whatever had gotten under his skin, he wasn’t sharing.

“Fine,” I said, turning back to the TV. “Suit yourself.”

We sat in silence for a while after that. I expected it to be awkward, but surprisingly, it wasn’t. The tension from earlier slowly started to ebb away, replaced by a weird sort of calm.

At one point, I dared to glance at him again, and I noticed he wasn’t glaring at the TV anymore. His expression had softened, his shoulders slightly less rigid.

“Better now?” I muttered, not sure why I was asking but feeling the need to break the quiet.

Ethan didn’t respond right away. When he finally did, his voice was quieter, less sharp. “Yeah. A little.”

That threw me off. I blinked at him, surprised, but didn’t say anything. I figured whatever was ing on with him was something I wasn’t supposed to understand- at least not yet.

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