Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“MASQUERADE” BY EUPHORIA, BOLSHIEE
LUNA
After reading late into the night, the sound of the party dies down, and I finally get back to sleep around four in the morning, so end up waking up late. I get ready for the day, using the exquisite shower—that’s better than sex—and head downstairs, shoulders back and head up.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and the guys were having an off day yesterday.
I do get lucky, though not in the fun kind of way, when Jerry informs me that they’re all out for the day, spending time with friends. A pang runs through me, a part of me having hoped that maybe I’d be brought into their fold. That I’d finally have some company other than my own.
Instead, I guess the silver lining is I get the day to relax without having to wonder when they might pop up.
As it’s cloudy outside, I decide to have a movie day in the den, indulging in rewatching the My Fault/Your Fault films, plus if there’s time before our family dinner—yay—My Fault: London.
It has absolutely nothing to do with the stepbrother trope.
Nope. They are good romance films, hot, and the stepbrother thing is a minor factor.
I’m partway through Your Fault when the door to the den is thrown open, causing me to jump with a squeak, and I turn to find all three brothers striding into the room looking hotter than any stepbrother has the right to.
Chase comes right over to the couch, and I have to crane my neck to look up at him.
“You’re in my seat,” he says, towering over me.
“I don’t see your name on it, “ I sass back, though my heart feels like it might beat out of my chest. I won’t let them treat me like shit though, because this is my house too, regardless of what they think.
His smile doesn’t reach his eyes and sends a shiver up my spine. “Everything in this house has my name on it. Including the bed you sleep in.”
“Get the fuck out,” Blade snarls before I can come up with a retort, and I freeze, eyes wide as I stare at him. These are the first words he’s spoken to me, and they’re full of a venom that I’ve no idea how I’ve earned. “Did I fucking stutter? This room is off-limits.”
Shakily, I get to my feet as Chase moves to the side, as if the thought of accidentally touching me is abhorrent. The lump in my throat is making swallowing hard as I gather up my things, the film still playing in the background.
“What’s this, pretty stepsis? A stepbrother romance?
” Thorn’s teasing voice has me stalling, my cheeks flushing as I’m caught out.
“Is that what you want?” His words are said in a caress as he saunters up to me, once again invading my personal space like it’s nonexistent.
I look up into those jewel green eyes, which seem to be smoldering, and my embarrassment morphs into heat of another kind, even though I know that these three are cruel bastards.
“You want all of us to fuck you? Make you scream with pleasure? Cry out our names?”
My breathing hitches, his words creating an image that I didn’t dare think about, didn’t want until he said those very words. There’s no denying that my stepbrothers are beautiful, so hot it’s unfair, and that I don’t have maybe a teeny tiny crush on them, even if they are assholes.
“Shame we don’t fuck gold diggers,” Chase states casually, striding up to us and breaking the spell Thorn’s gaze held me under. “Especially skinny ones like you.”
I flinch like he just struck me, and in many ways, he did. I hate my figure, hate that I’ve hardly any curves, that I’m all angles at the best of times, but to have it thrown at me when it’s really not my fault is a pain that I’m not used to.
Deciding that I won’t grace them with my voice, and that if I open my mouth the sob that’s trapped inside me might fall free, I tear my gaze away from his, stepping out from between them both and leaving the room, only my phone clutched in my hand.
They can clean up the rest of my mess because fuck them.
I keep my gaze straight ahead until I’ve reached my door, opened it, and locked it behind me. Then I allow myself to crumble, sliding down to the floor and curling into a small ball, letting the sobs fall free.
I should be used to the cutting remarks, the isolation, having suffered it all through high school because I’d missed so much.
I guess I’d just hoped that this year would be different, which was blown all to hell when my diagnosis came through.
Then again when I heard about the triplets.
I thought that maybe, finally, I’d have someone to hang around with. To be friends with even.
But it seems like that was a pipe dream too. I’m clearly destined to be alone, at least until this is over, or I’m dead, whichever comes first.
Is it terrible that I don’t know what outcome I want the most?
After spending the rest of the afternoon hiding in my room, I get ready for dinner, opting for a loose shirt over my tank—no bra, because let’s be honest, I don’t need one with how little I’ve got going on there.
I pair it with some high-waisted ripped jeans from my new walk-in closet that is full of designer clothes, all in my style.
When I asked Jerry about it, he said Mom bought all the clothes for me, and a twinge went through me.
It would have been nice to go shopping with her and make a day of it before the mayhem of my treatment starts.
I grab my new Birkenstock sandals, in shiny gold, check that my necklaces and bracelets are all sitting as I like them, then head out. I don’t think the guys are upstairs still. I’m sure I heard them go down a while back.
Laughter erupts from the dining room as I approach, but abruptly stops when I walk in, noticing the empty small plates on the table in front of the five people sitting down at the table.
“Oh, Luna love,” my mom gushes, rising from her seat and rushing towards me. “The boys said you were resting, so we should start without you.”
“Oh, um, that was kind of them,” I stutter, not wanting to rock the boat and tell her that I said no such thing. “But maybe I’m in time for the main course?”
“Of course, honey,” she says, wrapping an arm around my waist and leading me to the table. Richard is at the head, Blade and Chase on one side of him, my mom’s empty seat on the other, with Thorn next to her. “Jerry, could you set Luna’s place next to Thorn please?”
“Of course, ma’am,” Jerry replies, giving me a soft smile as I wait for him to set my place. “What would you like to drink, Miss Luna? Wine like the others?”
“Water please, Jerry,” I reply, Mom helping me into my seat, fussing over putting the napkin in my lap. “I’ve got this, Mom. Thanks.”
“I’ve missed you, Luna love,” she whispers before placing a kiss on my cheek, and my nose tingles as I hold in the sudden tears. Maybe she wouldn’t miss me if she spent just a little time with me.
“You too, Mom. Thank you for the new clothes,” I say, Thorn scoffing beside me, making my back straighten as my mom goes back to her seat.
She doesn’t notice, but I do, and I can’t help the feeling that it’s tied into their low opinion of us, that we’re here just for the money.
I mean, you kind of are…
The thought has my annoyance draining from me because I’m pretty sure we are here for the money.
I’m not sure it makes it better the fact that it’s to pay for my cancer treatment.
That no doubt it paid off the medical debts Mom had because of my last lot of treatment. Does the end justify the means?
“Oh, it was my pleasure, Luna love,” she replies, giving me a wide smile, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil. “It was fun. Maybe we can go shopping together at some point?”
“I’d like that.” I go to say something else, but Richard gains her attention and it’s like I’m no longer in the room.
“I bet you would,” Thorn whispers harshly next to me, and I stiffen again. “Spending more of the money you have no right to.”
I let out a shuddering breath, clutching my hands together in my lap as I refuse to look at him, at any of them.
The staff bring out the main course, a delicious smelling roast meat, potatoes, and all the veggies, and although I place a small amount on my plate, I know I won’t be able to eat as much as I’d like. My stomach is just not big enough.
I manage a little before my stomach starts to protest, and I set my cutlery down on my plate.
“No wonder you’re so skinny, if that’s all you eat,” Thorn murmurs in my ear, and this time I can’t stop the tears filling my eyes.
I abruptly stand up, my plate clattering on the table, and all conversation comes to a halt.
“Luna love?” Mom asks, and I swing my gaze to her, swallowing past the lump in my throat.
“I— Um, I’m not feeling so good, so I’m going to head to bed,” I say in a rush, not giving anyone a chance to say anything before I’m rushing from the room and up the stairs.
Hurrying into my room, I slam the door shut, turning the lock and leaning against the door as I lose my battle with tears for the second time today.
My chest heaves, my heart sore as I look around the space that has become my sanctuary.
My gaze lands on the bottles of medication that sit on my dresser, the ones that I have to start tomorrow and that I know will wipe me out, leave me nauseous and make me feel like shit before I feel even worse with the chemo.
A knock on the door has me jumping, hurriedly wiping my eyes even though no one can see me.
“Y–yes?”
“Miss Luna, I brought up your dessert. It’s a melt-in-the-middle chocolate pudding, so I thought you’d enjoy it,” Jerry’s voice filters through the wood. “I’ll leave it just outside for you.”
“Thank you, Jerry.” The words are spoken so softly that I’m not sure he hears them, but his kindness is what is helping me to get through this.
“You’re most welcome, Miss,” he replies before I hear his footsteps echo down the hall.
Opening the door, I give an excited squeal at the chocolatey goodness that is waiting for me, bending down to snatch it up and bring it into my room before one of my new brothers steals it.
Locking the door once again, I pad over to my comfy chair, sinking into it and picking up the spoon, scooping a piece of the dessert up and popping it into my mouth. I moan as the rich flavor bursts across my tongue.
“This is probably as close to heaven as you’re gonna get, Luna,” I tell myself, grabbing another bite and groaning when it tastes just as good as the first, letting the chocolatey goodness chase away my sadness. “Might as well make the most of it.”
“ISSUES” BY DANIEL DI ANGELO
BLADE
My eyes were on my brother as our little stepsister, whom I’ve dubbed Goldilocks, flees the dining room after he whispered something in her ear.
I don’t know what it was, but it was enough to have her eyes filling with tears.
Thorn noticed them too, his brows gathering in as a pained expression crossed his face.
“What did he say to make her cry?” Chase hisses from next to me, and I can’t help but detect the annoyance in his tone.
Is it because we don’t want our war against little Luna May to be noticed by her mom and our dad?
They certainly wouldn’t be happy, although Dad barely cast her a glance, so maybe he wouldn’t give a fuck, or is there something more to Chase’s question? Something deeper?
I shrug, not needing words to say that I don’t fucking know. How could I sitting over here next to Chase?
Instead, I think about my own reaction last night to Bradley’s teasing.
Partly, I don’t want our friends to acknowledge her, to make her feel even more alone than she so clearly is, but I can’t deny that I saw red at the thought of him checking her out, checking her ass out.
I’m not even sure when he could have done that, she was in her room the whole time, though maybe he looked her up on social media or some shit.
She doesn’t have much of a profile, just a few pictures that indeed show just how fucking stunning she is.
If she were anyone else, I know my brothers and I would be more than up for playing with her, regardless of what Chase said earlier in the den or the fact she’s our sister by marriage.
He was lying through his teeth. She’s gorgeous, delicate, and not fake like most of the girls who throw themselves at us.
There’s an ethereal quality about Luna, just like her name, and I can only imagine if we’d allow ourselves, we’d be drawn in like moths to a flame.
But given who she is to us, plus the fact that she’s clearly a money grabbing whore like her mother, any possible attraction has been soured.
Which begs the question why my brothers both look after her long after she’d fled the room. Hell, I keep glancing at the doorway to see if she’ll return. It’s how I spot Jerry heading up the stairs with what looks like dessert.
And my chest warms at the kindness of the old man, even if it’s misplaced.
He’s been a father to us, even before Mom died six years ago. Cancer took her away from us, ironic in a way because that’s what Banks Industries specializes in: innovative cancer treatments. Yet nothing could cure her, and we watched her waste away before our fucking eyes.
My hand clenches around my spoon at the thought that I should have done more, even though my rational brain knows, at fourteen, there was no way I could have done anything.
“Lorelei and I will be going away for the weekend,” my father declares, loudly enough to break me from my spiraling thoughts. “We should be back early next week.”
I give him a nod as the others murmur affirmatives.
“Would you boys be able to keep an eye on Luna? Maybe invite her out with your friends? She’s so shy,” Lorelei asks, batting her fake lashes at us, and I clench my jaw.
She’s a pretty woman, it’s clear to see where Luna gets her looks from, but there is a fakeness about her, which isn’t helped by the botox and false lashes she now has.
“Sure,” Chase replies with a charming smile that is also fake as fuck.
“Thank you, Chase. I’m sure if anyone can draw her out, it’s you boys.” She’s completely oblivious to Chase’s false smile and Thorn’s fake laughter. I guess my silence isn’t unusual since I rarely say anything unless I need to. Don’t see the point in wasting words.
“In fact, our good friend is having a party in two days time, so we can take her along,” Thorn adds, and Lorelei beams at him.
“See? I knew you’d be able to help.” She reaches over and squeezes his hand, missing his grimace as she turns back to my father.
Thorn catches my eye and I raise a brow.
He just gives me a grin, one that tells me he has a plan of sorts that he’ll let me know about later once we’re alone.
It won’t be anything too drastic, we’re not complete bastards, but Luna needs to learn her place, and we will be the ones to show it to her.