Chapter 3
Lacy’s POV
I shot her a warning look through the video call. “Nancy, don’t
even start-“But i was not worry about becasue I did editing, so I
could take it out later.
“Oh, come on,” she interrupted with a sly grin. “Lacy here has not
one, but two ridiculously attractive guys under her roof, Kol and
Jim teasing her every chance they get. Sounds like a steamy
romance novel to me.”
“God” I snapped, glaring at her through the screen. “Here’s an
important detail: Kol is mybrother.”
“Stepbrother,” Nancy corrected, her grin widening. “And Jim isn’t
related to you at all. Just saying.”
I groaned, covering my face with my hands. “This is not going
on the podcast.”
Nancy leaned closer to her mic, addressing the imaginary
audience with a playful tone. “Fun fact: Lacy once told me–and
I quote that if given the chance, she’d consider a relationship
with one of them.”
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“That wasconditional!” I protested, mortified.
Nancy wasn’t done. “But now, Lacy,” she continued, grinning like
a Cheshire cat, “which one is it? Kol or Jim?”
My cheeks burned as I scrambled for damage control. “If Ihadto
pick,” I muttered, glaring at her, “it’d be Jim. Because Kol is
mybrother.”
Nancy laughed. “Stepbrother. And don’t act like you don’t think about it. Admit it, Lacy. If the chance came up, you’d totally
sleep with one of them.”
Whatever. I’ll just delete all of this later.
Before I could say anything else, the bathroom door connecting
my room to Kol’s burst open with a bang. Kol and Jim walked in,
laughing like they’d just heard the punchline of the world’s
funniest joke.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Kol said, his voice dripping with amusement. “A little pornographic podcast? Didn’t peg you for that kind of content creator, Lacy.”
I froze, my stomach sinking. “What are you doing in my room?” I
demanded, my voice shrill.
Nancy, still on the call, cursed under her breath. “Do they not
knock?” she hissed.
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Kol ignored her, waving at the screen. “Hi, Nancy,” he said
flippantly, his smirk growing wider. “Enjoying the show?”
Jim, trailing behind him, chuckled. “We sure are. Caught the
whole thing. Dark romance this, stepbrother that. What a juicy
conversation.”
“You were eavesdropping?” I snapped, my embarrassment
giving way to anger.
Kol shrugged, leaning casually against my desk. “Not our fault
you were practically shouting. Thin walls, Lacy.” His eyes
narrowed slightly, a teasing glint sparking in them. “Did I hear
you right, though? You wnat to sleep with your brother and your
brother’s bestfriend?”
“Stepbrother!” Nancy yelled through the screen, but Kol ignored
her completely.
Jim, meanwhile, was busy rummaging through my bookshelves,
pulling out one of my novels. “What’s this?” he asked with mock
curiosity, flipping through the pages. “Another one of your
steamy reads?”
“Put that back!” I moved toward him, but he held the book out of
my reach.
“Whoa there, dirty girl,” Jim teased, smirking. “You’re all worked
Chapter 3
- up. Relax, you’ll ruin your book if you get it all… soaked.” He
winked as Kol burst out laughing.
I flushed, mortified. “You’re disgusting!” I tried to grab the book, but Kol stepped in, intercepting me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Hold on, Lacy,” he said, his grin pure mischief. “Let’s see what you’ve got here.” He plucked the book from Jim’s hand and
began reading aloud in a dramatic voice.
“His fingers trailed down her spine, igniting a fire wherever they touched. She gasped his name, trembling as he whispered promises of pleasure
“Stop it!” I shouted, trying to snatch it back, but Kol effortlessly
dodged me, his laughter growing der.
“Enough!” I screamed, but it was like yelling into a void.
And then, as if their teasing wasn’t enough, Kol and Jim crossed
a line I didn’t think eventheywould.
With a loud rip, Kol tore the page he’d been reading clean out of the book. “Oops,” he said, smirking.
My heart dropped. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice
trembling.
Jim grabbed another book from the shelf and tore it in half, the
Chapter 3
spine cracking like a cruel taunt. “Just cleaning up, Lacy,” he
said mockingly.
“You–you can’t just–stop!” My voice cracked as I tried to grab
the remains, but they were too fast.
Kol tossed the shredded pages onto the floor, dusting his hands
like he’d just done a good deed. “There. Much better.
The two of them turned to leave, their laughter echoing behind
them. “Thanks for the entertainment, Lacy,” Kol called over his
shoulder. “And good luck with your little podcast.”
The door slammed shut, leaving me standing in the middle of
the wreckage.
I stared at the pieces of my books scattered across the floor,
my chest tight with rage and humiliation. A lump formed in my
throat, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my
face. It wasn’t just about the books–It was more about the
atrocity of the action. The way they made me feel so small, so
powerless.
Nancy’s voice broke through the silence. “Lacy… are you okay?”
I wiped my face roughly, sniffing. “No. I’m not.”
“Listen to me,” she said firmly. “What you allow is what you
encourage. You have to fight back.”
Chapter 3
Her words echoed in my head as I stared at the mess around
- me. She was right. This had gone too far. I wasn’t going to let them walk all over me anymore.
I thought about Kol, he loves comics–practically worshiped them. And I remembered something else: his prized comic book
collection.
Quietly, I crept toward the bathroom door connecting our rooms.
Kol always kept his collection in the closet near his desk.
My heart pounded as I slipped inside his dark room, the faint scent of his deo hitting me instantly.
Well, time for revenge.
