Page 74 of Jealous Stepbrother

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And even before I lift the leather portfolio, my heart is leaping around in my chest like a jumping bean.

Please please please?—

I gasp when I see them.

My birth control pills.

Not lost. Or misplaced.

Hidden.

My hands shake so badly I almost drop the bottle.

The realization shatters something deep inside me because now I know.

He didn’t just want me dependent on him. He wanted me tied. Bound in a way I can never untangle.

And if that thought rips through me like glass, it’s because part of me is horrified…

And part of me is already his.

CHAPTER 20

SHADOW GAMES

Scarlett

For an age, I stare at the pill packet clutched in my hand.

My chest feels split open. The air won’t come.

He did this. He’sbeendoing this.

My fingers are trembling so badly I almost drop the phone. My thumb is hovering over my mother’s contact when another ping interrupts me.

It’s an email sliding into my inbox.

My heart hammers when I see the sender:Casa Bellandi.

Subject line:Final Deadline for Confirmation of Internship – URGENT.

What?

Hands shaking, I tap it open. And my stomach plummets.

Signorina Rockwell, we’re disappointed we haven’t heard from you. This is your last chance to confirm whether you wish a placement at our institution.

But I never?—

I fumble into my deleted folder and there it is. The first email with the offer. A chance of a lifetime. Deleted, unread.

“Asher,” I whisper, bile burning the back of my throat. “Oh my God. You?—”

It all falls into place. My vanished pills. The canceled appointments. And now this. He wants to controlevery corner of my life. My choices. My body. My future.

I stab the call button before I can talk myself out of it. It rings twice before a warm, accented voice answers.

“Signorina Rockwell? We were beginning to worry. You didn’t respond to our offer or our email saying we would keep the position for you if you changed your mind. Is everything all right?”

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