Tasting

243–They Think I Wanted Them Arrested

Nora:

“What are you doing?” I wondered what he was confirming from the file. Whatever it was, it seemed to shock him deeply because he suddenly looked so sad.

We all waited, my heart pounding in my chest and my mouth going dry.

After reading it again, he turned to Nash and glared at him. “You told her that I practice hypnosis and I could be a danger to her?”

I shut my eyes and buried my face in my hands. I didn’t want this chaos. to crupt. I didn’t want the brothers to fight because of me.

“I was just looking out for her,” Nash murmured, his voice low as he avoided eye contact with me.

“From me? Did you really think I would use hypnosis to harm her?” Silas faced his brother, standing tall and defiant.

Shit!

“This is not–” I tried to stop them from fighting, but Silas gave me a deadly glare instead.

“Stay out of it,” Nash hissed at me too. After being called out by his brother, of course, he didn’t want to hear me defend him.

“You see all that? All that chaos is because of you. Why do you have to press harder? Why can’t you just take a hint–” Ryker closed his eyes,

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243 They Think I Wanted Them Arrested

slapping his forehead.

“All we ask is for you to leave everything be and not intervene. Don’t mess with the girls. But you can’t even stop yourself from doing that for a few months,” Cian added, his eyes glaring into mine, warning met not to argue with him now.

“But they– started it–” I hushed up when their stares turned deadlier.

“Huh! And my brother thinks I’m some horrible guy who would hypnotize his own stepsister,” Silas shook his head in disbelief at Nash, who I know didn’t want Silas to look bad.

“But I was honestly just–” Nash groaned in frustration as their brother stepped forward to become a wall between them.

“Don’t fight, you two. Let’s focus on the main issue,” Cain said, stepping between them and pushing them apart.

Ryker stood at a distance, pacing back and forth while sighing repeatedly. The environment had become so intense that breathing in it felt like a chore. I desperately wanted to close my eyes and open them to find everything back to normal.

But that wouldn’t happen. It was real. Everything was happening in real–time now.

“Did you speak to Brody about this? Is that why you were asking me about Christina the other day?” Ryker asked, his voice tinged with sadness rather than anger.

The mist in his eyes suggested he was hurt, feeling betrayed by me. As his brothers turned to look at me for an answer, I shook my head.

“He doesn’t know anything about this file, and we haven’t talked about

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201–They Think I Wanted Them Amested

Mia. I asked you about Christina because he brought her up.” I mumbled softly, not daring to raise my voice anymore. I was not lying. I didn’t tell Brody anything about the brothers. I would never do that.

They didn’t seem satisfied—more disturbed than anything. At this point, I had lost my innocence in their eyes. They didn’t trust a single word that came out of my mouth.

“You’ve done something we never thought you were capable of. With everything that has happened recently, and especially this… we are utterly disappointed,” Nash said, his voice faltering as he quickly turned his head away, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“But–” I tried to speak, my voice trembling with desperation, but they cut me off, shaking their heads and turning their backs on me.

“I guess it’s safe to say you’re not ready to be around us,” Cain’s sad sigh sent a shockwave through me, his words cutting deeper than I expected. What did he mean by that?

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice rising in panic, hoping they would listen, but they were already done with me.

“You will find out yourself,” I heard Nash groan but not stop at all. Even his comment didn’t seem to reach my ears, he just said it to himself.

What did he mean by that?

Was he going to kick me out of the mansion? Would Lord Atwood agree with them, or had I exhausted his patience to the point where he would side with them without any questions?

They began to leave, and soon they were out of my sight. They slammed the door shut behind them as they left.