Chapter 26
Skylar burst onto the street just as a black BMW raced toward her.
Recognizing Aiden’s car, she waved frantically.
He screeched to a stop and she dove in without hesitation.
“Go! Now!”
Aiden floored it as Skylar watched the rearview mirror, only relaxing when no one
appeared.
“Who called me?” Aiden finally asked, his voice tight. “Why are you out here?”
Before she could answer, a horn blared behind them.
She whirled around to see Callias’s car gaining on them, his face twisted with fury.
“Can you lose him?” she asked, heart racing.
Aiden accelerated, his jaw clenched. “Your brother?”
She nodded, surprised he’d guessed so quickly.
Understanding passed between them without words.
Aiden pushed the car faster, but Callias matched them recklessly, the gap shrinking to sixty
feet.
Through the back window, Skylar could see the manic gleam in his eyes.
Her heart pounded as the distance dropped to fifty feet, then thirty.
At twenty feet, she realized this wouldn’t end with her escape.
Obsession
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Chapter 26
“Aiden, st-”
The word died in her throat as she saw Victoria grab Callias’s steering wheel, her face
contorted with emotion.
Their car swerved violently, smashing through the guardrail.
Then silence, broken only by the splash far below.
The rescue teams arrived quickly.
Both Callias and Victoria survived, but fell into comas.
No one knew if they’d ever wake up.
Aiden’s dashcam captured everything.
The Harrison and Winters families turned on each other, their arranged marriage dreams
ending in tragedy.
Skylar stayed silent through it all.
Everyone assumed she was traumatized by witnessing the accident.
But really, she kept quiet to protect her mother from learning about her relationship with
Callias.
Selfish, maybe.
But wasn’t protecting her mother worth it?
Besides, the truth wouldn’t change what happened.
“Skylar, congratulations on your graduation.” Aiden handed me a coffee, his eyes gentle and accepting.
Sunlight bathed the ancient stone steps of Florence University, washing over the photography degree in my hands. The events from two years ago seemed distant now, yet
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Chapter 26
certain memories remained crystal clear.
I remember first meeting Hugo at a jewelry exhibition in Milan. I was adjusting my lens, trying to capture the play of light on gemstones. Unexpectedly, a handsome face entered my frame.
“This sapphire looks more alive through your lens than in any display I’ve seen,” he said.
That was my first encounter with Hugo Roberts. As CEO of Trifleming Jewelry, he seemed intrigued by my photographic perspective. What surprised him more were my jewelry design sketches casually drawn beside my camera notes.
“You have a gift for this,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “Why not give Trifleming a try?”
Thus began my life between Italy and America. Days spent attending classes in Florence, holidays flying to New York for internships. Meanwhile, Aiden traveled globally for the Foster family business.
Our relationship became like two parallel lines, gradually growing apart. During our last date, he said nothing, just gently removed the ring I had given him. We both knew some relationships fail not from wrong choices, but wrong timing.
My father remained my anchor throughout. Even after mother remarried into the Harrison family, he never complained. Every time I returned to America, he would have soup waiting for me.
“As long as you’re happy, that’s all I need,” he would always say.
When Hugo entered my life, I thought I’d finally found my destined one. He was gentle, attentive, romantic – we were soon engaged. I naively believed this was my perfect ending.
But life has a way of being ironic. That rainy day, I brought his spare umbrella to his club. As I reached for the door, I overheard his conversation with Bella. All his gentleness had been a facade; they had been secretly stealing my designs.
Most ironically, the day my father fell critically ill, Hugo was supposed to pick him up. Instead, he left my elderly father waiting in the cold for two hours while he accompanied Bella.
My father took a thirty–hour train journey just to see me one last time. And I couldn’t even
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Escape From My Step–Brother’s Dangerous Obsession
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Chapter 26
give him that chance.
Now, looking at the flour–stained wedding dress in my hands, I think about the breakup text I sent Hugo ten hours ago. This wasn’t the first time he’d stood me up for Bella, but it would definitely be the last.
“Are you ready to go back and face everything?” Aiden’s voice pulled me back to reality.
I took a deep breath and nodded. It was time to end this.
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