Snake (a Stepbrother Romance)(36)

Dev and Monique were shouting from their upstairs bedroom as far as I could tell. Their voices boomed at each other, making it feel like the house was reverberating around me. It was as if they were in a contest to be the loudest humans alive.

Trying not to listen, I rushed down the hall and shut myself in the bathroom. I did what I had to do and finished by splashing ice cold water on my face. I felt exhausted, and the voices filtering through the door were making me bite my bottom lip nervously.

This is all your fault, I told myself and felt the tears begin to appear.

Even though I didn’t like eavesdropping, I pressed my head against the thick wooden door of the bathroom and listened. I had to know if he’d told her. I wanted to see if Dev would mention me, fight for us, or pretend like nothing had ever happened.

“Don’t start with me, Dev,” Monique yelled. A loud crash interrupted the shouting for just a moment. I could only assume something had been thrown across the room, shattering upon impact as it hit a wall… or Dev.

Silence.

But then the arguing picked right back up again. “I’ve had enough of you. I can’t take this anymore!”

“You’re not going to walk away from me this time, Monique. I’ll say what I have to,” my stepbrother snarled at her and my eyes widened in surprise, hearing his enraged tone.

There was the sound of pounding feet rushing down the stairs. Then more, another pair of stomping feet made their way down into the hallway.

“I’ll leave if I want to,” I heard Monique say, barely metres away from my hiding place.

I stepped away from the door, feeling like I’d violated their privacy, and held a hovering hand over the door handle, ready to brace myself in case either of them attempted to use the bathroom as a reprieve. I wanted to turn the lock, but feared that any sudden movements or noises would alert them to my presence.

“Not this time. You’ll listen to me until I’ve finished. Do you understand?!” Devan yelled, continuing where he left off.

This is awful, I thought as they continued ripping pieces out of each other, never once taking a break or a breath.

Deciding it was safe to move, I lowered the toilet seat and sat down, wondering how long until it was safe to leave.

What felt like hours went by as they yelled, cried, and raged at each other. But after a few minutes of holding my hands over my ears I couldn’t take it anymore. Finally, I decided it would be better to get back to my apartment above the garage and forget any of this ever happened.

But I could hear them right outside the door. They were taking their argument on tour, moving from one room to the next, using the hallway as the access route.

So, the window seemed the only safe way out. I clawed at the almost painted-over window frame and managed to wiggle the window open wide enough so I could make my escape.

I tore my dress on the way out, catching it on an unknown ragged edge, but otherwise came out unharmed, landing with an awkward thud into the soft flower bed that bordered the garden around the side. Dusting off my clothes, I ran back to the garage and upstairs to my little apartment.

Guilt was starting to choke me, making a deep pit in the bottom of my belly. I felt like I would pass out any moment, and I sat down on the perfectly made bed to think everything through.

We’d made a huge mistake. I ruined their marriage.

Devan was a married man, and cheating with him made me as bad as Monique. As bad as the woman who’d found it amusing for me to find her and Mark in bed, his dick up to the hilt in her.

As for Devan... he was no longer the knight in the fairy-tale dream; the gleam had come off his armour. He was the villain of the story. He was the snake that tempted me; made me do bad things that I would regret. I should have known that from the start.

I felt the tears stinging my eyes, but I forced them to stay back. I had to stay strong because I knew my body still wanted Dev and would cave as soon as he turned on the charm. I needed to resist that urge, even if it took all the resolve I had in me and made me miserable.

There was no way it could ever work anyway, my shoulder angel reasoned and I nodded in agreement.

Even if he and Monique got divorced and went their separate ways, he was still my stepbrother. He was family.

It would be a forbidden relationship if there ever was one, and I cringed just thinking about our parents’ reactions. They would never understand, and neither would society.

I was about to lie back upon my bed but then sprang up, away from the tainted bedspread that had absorbed our sins, remembering what we’d done. I realised I would never be able to look Monique in the eye again. Yes, she had been cheating on Dev, but I’d done something terrible to her. I’d gone against my own code – sent my moral compass into a spin - and I would never feel comfortable around her again.