Claimed By My Stepbrother novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Camila POV

The morning ait was crisp, cool, brushing against my skin as I walked down the sidewalk. Leaves crunched under my sneakers, the sky a soft gray, hinting at the possibility of rain later in the day.

And right beside me–Ethan.

If someone had told me a few weeks ago that I would be walking to school with him, I would have told them. to shove it up their ass.

Yet here we were.

I scowled at the universe.

What kind of sick joke was this?

I snuck a glance at him, at the way he walked–composed, confident, effortless.

He had that annoying grace, the kind that made it look like he didn’t have to try at anything, like he just existed beautifully without effort.

His hands were shoved into the pockets of his black hoodie, his jacket unzipped, revealing a plain white shirt underneath. The wind ruffled his hair slightly, but his expression stayed calm and relaxed.

I turned my head away, staring straight ahead. I was not about to sit here and admire his profile like some hopeless idiot.

But-

Goddamn it.

I looked again.

Just for a second.

Just enough to confirm what I already knew.

He was handsome.

Annoyingly, unfairly, stupidly handsome.

The strong jawline, the high cheekbones, the slightly furrowed brows as if he were deep in thought. His lips- ugh–he had the kind of mouth that looked like it was always on the verge of smirking, like he was constantly in on some joke that no one else knew.

Right then, as if sensing my eyes on him, he turned to look at me.

Chapter 80

My breath hitched.

We paused for a second–just standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at each other.

Too close. Too aware.

And then… He smiled.

I panicked and immediately looked away, clearing my throat as if that would erase whatever the hell just happened.

So… you speak Russian.” The words came out blunt, sharper than I intended, but at least it stopped me from spiraling.

Ethan chuckled, shoving his hands deeper into his hoodie pockets.

“Yeah,” he said, voice light. “Didn’t know that was such a surprise.”

I raised a brow, finally daring to look at him again. “I don’t know, Ethan, Maybe because when most people meet a guy named ‘Ethan, they don’t automatically assume he’s fluent in Russian.”

That made him laugh–a real, genuine laugh, the sound deep and warm.

I clenched my fists.

Nope. Not attractive. Not at all.

‘I guess that’s fair,” he admitted. “But yeah, I speak Russian. Grew up with it.”

“So, I drawled, “you grew up speaking Russian, but when did you learn English?”

Ethan tilted his head slightly, as if considering the question. “Not that long ago.”

1 blinked. “What?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, completely unbothered. “I only started learning English recently.”

I stopped walking.

Dead–ass stopped.

He kept walking for two steps before noticing and turned to look at me with mild confusion.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “What do you/mean you recently started learning English?”

He just shrugged, like it wasn’t the most insane thing I’d ever heard.

I squinted at him.

Because there was no damn way.

Chapter 80

“You do realize you sound like someone who’s spoken English their entire life, right?”

That made him laugh.

And–ugh.

That laugh again!

Was this the same guy who almost killed Matt in the most psychotic way possible?

Because now he was just standing here, grinning like an actual golden retriever.

“I’m absolutely not good at all,” he stated, shaking his head.

I raised an eyebrow. “You sure as hell sound good to me.”

He laughed again, then tapped his temple with two fingers. “I just process everything in my head before I say it,” he admitted. “Like, I think in Russian first, translate it, then say it out loud.”

I frowned. That sounded… exhausting.

He must’ve seen it on my face because he chuckled again. “Most of the time, I don’t even bother with the stress. I’d rather not speak at all.”

Huh. That actually made a lot of sense.

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