Shackled: A Stepbrother Romance Novel

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Book: Read Shackled: A Stepbrother Romance Novel for Free Online
Authors: Arabella Abbing
surprise in his eyes was obvious as he slowly turned to look at me. His jaw clenched and unclenched like he wanted to say something, but he simply nodded and moved to stand up. I followed suit, wincing a little when pain went shooting up my back from lying on the floor for so long.
    “You all right?” he asked as I shifted around uncomfortably.
    “Fine,” I mumbled as I stalked past him. He followed close behind and when I reached the bathroom door, I turned back to glare at him as I asked, “You going to let me pee in peace?”
    He rolled his eyes and shook the chain. “Why do you think I made it so long? Put it under the door. I’ll be right here.”
    “Clever. So are you going to make a career out of holding people against their will or is this more of a hobby for you?”
    He chuckled at my sarcasm as he propped himself against the wall beside the door and crossed his arms over his chest. I arranged the chain to feed beneath the door and closed it, flicking the lock just in case.
    After I finished, I stood in front of the sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror as I washed my hands. I was a complete wreck. The minimal makeup I had thrown on this morning was smudged from both my nap and tears, and my eyes were still red from the latter.
    My hair was in an even worse state and I frantically tried to smooth it down, then abruptly stopped when I remembered that the only person who would being seeing me like this was Jonathan.
    I splashed my face with cold water and tried to shake off the urge to continue making myself look presentable, wishing that I could just stop being attracted to him altogether. But it seemed like no matter how badly he hurt me, a small part of me was still hanging on to the hope of reconnecting.
    Not that that was ever going to happen. Not for lack of effort on his part, but primarily because every time I saw his face, I was taken right back to those painful memories.
    But here, in private? I wished it could be different. I wished I could see past what happened because I actually wanted to. I wanted to move forward. I wanted him.
    “You almost done in there, princess?”
    And just like that, I remembered why it would never happen.

Chapter Eleven

Jonathan
    F iona didn’t speak to me again for hours after the bathroom incident. After I came out from voiding my own bladder, her face was back to the stoic ‘don’t-fuck-with-me’ look that I was slowly becoming used to seeing on her.
    I really missed the ‘you-mean-the-world-to-me’ look that she used to throw my way, even before she admitted to having feelings for me. It was never unwelcome—she certainly had meant the world to me as well—but when she said those three words… I knew those looks would soon be over. Everything was going to change. Everything was going to fall apart.
    I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
    Maybe it was for the best that it happened that way. I certainly didn’t go to prom with the intention of breaking Fiona’s heart or fucking things up right off the bat, but I still somehow managed to do it.
    Even if it hadn’t gone down like that, even if I had said it back to her like I should have… it still would’ve ended the same way.
    Because the truth of it was—Fiona was too good for me. Even as a friend, she was way more than a guy like me deserved. I was selfish, sarcastic to a fault, and far from reliable. I hadn’t started out that way, but at some point, I started blowing her off to hang out with guy friends or go on dates. But Fiona was always there when I came back around. Always there when I needed her.
    I took it for granted. Took her for granted.
    She deserved better. Still does.
    But I wanted her regardless of whether or not I deserved her.
    “I’m hungry.”
    So am I, angel.
    The words nearly slipped out, but I managed to clamp my jaw down just in time to smother them. Instead, I gave her a curt nod and a broad gesture as if to say ‘be my guest.’ When she started heading to

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