The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

Annabel had been obedient for two years, and Thomas thought she had really matured, so he relaxed his guard. Christopher had been quiet for the past two years, but Thomas never expected him would dare to have designs on Annabel.

As soon as Annabel returned, Thomas called her into the study and securely locked the door. Thomas was not an impatient person, but he had particularly little patience when it came to Annabel. When he got agitated, resorting to violence was not unusual for him.

Liam felt like he could already foresee the future days, which definitely wouldn’t be peaceful. After all, Christopher was no longer the young singer who could be easily manipulated. Trying to manipulate him now wouldn’t be easy, especially with Annabel in the middle.

The soundproofing in the room was excellent. After entering, there was silence for a long while, with not a single sound coming out.

Bonnie was restless, fearing that Thomas might get violent. She kept knocking on the door, and even Logan seemed nervous, glancing towards the study every now and then.

After half an hour, the door to the study opened silently. Bonnie pulled Annabel out and inspected her from head to toe. “Are you okay?”

Annabel looked exhausted. “Grandma, I’ve received the acceptance letter from the university. I’ve decided to stay here for college.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Bonnie was stunned. “What did you say?”

Bonnie glanced at Thomas behind her. He gripped the edge of the desk, his face ugly. The ashtray had fallen to the floor, indicating the intensity of the argument. Annabel had won.

“I don’t want to go abroad. I want to stay here and attend Magic City Normal University.”

Bonnie panicked. How could these two schools even be compared? More importantly, the Green Family was supposed to groom heirs, not teachers.

“Bella, you can’t be so willful!”

Brenna also looked worried. “Why refuse to go? Your father has put in a lot of effort to get you into that school.”

Suddenly, Thomas roared, “Leave her alone, let her go!”

Everyone fell silent, and only Logan stood up silently and walked upstairs without saying a word.

“I’ve made up my mind.” Annabel turned and went back to her room, locking the door behind her, shutting out the argument downstairs. She slept soundly, but was woken up hungry in the middle of the night. As she prepared to go downstairs to find something to eat, she suddenly froze upon opening the door.

In the dim hallway, Logan sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, one leg bent, the other stretched out, blocking her doorway perfectly.

He glanced sideways, his brows furrowed deeply like the moonlight filtering through the window, and he stubbornly stared at her for a long time.

Annabel frowned. “What are you doing sitting outside my door in the middle of the night?”

“For what reason are you staying? Is it because of him?”

She felt no obligation to explain to Brenna’s son. “That’s my business, Logan.”

He suddenly grabbed her hand and whispered, “Annabel, just tell me this time, are you staying because of him?”

Annabel turned to look at Logan seriously for a moment. In his eyes, devoid of their usual arrogance and aloofness, there was a hint of vulnerability. After years of quarreling with him, she found it difficult to understand him at this moment.

But her curiosity about him disappeared in an instant. She didn’t want to bother understanding him, let alone have any interest in figuring him out.

She turned away with a cruel smile. “Yes, I want to hold onto my love and my home.”

In the utmost silence of the space, Logan let out a low, cold laugh. He suddenly released her hand, stood up without another glance at her, and walked back to his room.

A week later, Logan changed his flight and went to Kenland early, leaving Brenna for the first time, which reduced her to tears.

Annabel watched coldly, but she also admitted that although Brenna wasn’t a good step-mother, she was definitely a good mother.

During the remaining days of summer vacation, Annabel went on a trip with Harry. While Harry painted by the seaside, Annabel sat nearby lost in thought, gradually finding clarity on some puzzling matters.

Christopher continued to contact her regularly, sending occasional messages to remind her to stay safe, not to stay up late, and to eat on time. She never replied even once.

Mason asked her why she was willing to spend time with Brenna every day but couldn’t accept the fact that Christopher was her mother’s lover. Annabel said it was different; she could dislike and hate Brenna without any burden, but Christopher had shown her two years of fatherly love, making it impossible for her to hate him, which made her even angrier.

On the first day of September, Annabel went to Magic City. Her grandmother and Liam personally escorted her. Although Bonnie strongly opposed her attending a normal university, she couldn’t persuade Annabel. The only thing she could be grateful for was that Annabel didn’t choose an education major but instead opted for business administration.

In fact, from successfully arguing with Thomas to her choice of major, Annabel had already planned her future path decisively and wisely. Liam suddenly felt like he had underestimated the girl before.

Before leaving, Bonnie settled Annabel and privately slipped her a bank card. Although Thomas had already given Annabel a credit card with no spending limit, Bonnie still worried that Thomas would be harsh on Annabel.

The second day of school started with military training. After a month of exposure to the scorching sun, everyone had turned into black balls, but Annabel remained unchanged. With her tall figure and delicate face, she stood out among the group of black balls, particularly pleasing to the eye.

Even though it was six or seven in the evening, the sun, though inclined towards the west, hadn’t let up its scorching heat on the ground. After several days of forty-degree heat, people would break into a sweat with just a breath.

On the shaded path, five or six students walked towards the convenience store, chatting and laughing. Among them, a tall girl stood out, her loose military uniform emphasizing her slender and graceful figure. With her charming features and a touch of handsomeness in her gestures, she exuded a unique charm.

“It’s so hot I feel like I’m going to explode.”

As she entered the convenience store, she complained while grabbing a bottle of iced mineral water and poured it over her head.

Her hair was short, just reaching her ears. She grabbed it with her hands and shook her head again, causing water droplets to fall all over the floor. A boy next to her quickly handed her a tissue and smiled, “Cool!”

David and his roommate Perez came out to pick up a package. Perez suddenly stopped in his tracks, and gestured towards the convenience store, his eyes gleaming. “Look how beautiful that freshman is.”

David chuckled and shook his head, following Perez’s gaze, but his heart skipped a beat.

Perez teased him for staring dumbfoundedly. “Got you all tongue-tied, huh?”

The girl across the street noticed them and smiled brightly. Perez nudged David’s arm. “She’s smiling at us.”

The other girls asked Annabel, “Do you know the boy who’s smiling flirtatiously?”

“No, but I know the guy next to him.”

“He looks pretty decent.”

Annabel felt a little proud. She took off her cap, smoothed out her messy hair, and then walked confidently towards David.

She knew she would bump into David sooner or later and was actually waiting for it, so it wasn’t a surprise.

Perez extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Perez…”

Annabel looked at him disdainfully. “I’m not looking for you.”

She stopped a step away from David and asked him with a mischievous smile, “So, surprised or not? Unexpected, right?”

David looked at her quietly for a moment, his expression complicated. “Now, I’m just scared.”

Her friends waved at her from a distance, urging her to hurry up. They still had training to do in the evening.

Annabel shrugged, put her cap back on, nodded, and turned to leave, casually saying with her back to him, “You can continue being scared. I don’t like you anyway.”

David hadn’t expected her to leave after saying just a few words. The probability of meeting her on this vast campus wasn’t high. “Wait!”

Annabel turned around, her face displaying a haughty expression. “Anything else? Hurry up, I don’t have time.”

David approached her, took out his phone, and asked, “What’s your phone number now?”

“Why should I tell you? Who are you to me?”

He paused for a moment. “I’m your teacher, your teacher for life.”

“Why don’t you say you’re my dad?”

David was left speechless by her remark.

Several classmates in the distance shouted again, “Annabel, hurry up, or you’ll be late!”

“I’m coming!”

She snatched his phone, quickly punched in a string of numbers, and handed it back to him. “Keep it safe. Once you miss it, you won’t get it again.”

Watching her walk away, David suddenly felt a bit flustered.