My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 237: Back To The Gala

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We didn’t stick around in the hallway longer than we had to. The heaviness of what we had just agreed to...dragging Ethan into this chaos, aiming for Willow Haven, crossing that unspoken border we couldn’t ever go back on, felt like it was crushing my chest, making it impossible to just stand still.

I could tell Adrien felt it too; he was already heading back into Logan’s suite with those swift, precise movements of his, like a soldier snapped back into formation after dodging a bullet.

"Okay," he said quietly, his voice low and intense as he gave the room one last look. "We need to put everything back. Exactly as it was. Not a drawer out of place, not a wrinkle on the pillows."

I nodded, adrenaline racing through me like bad coffee, making my fingers tingle as I crossed the carpet and started to smooth out the bedspread we’d messed up in our frantic search. I fluffed the pillows into perfect, hotel-grade alignment, pressing them down until they looked untouched.

Adrien was meticulous with the drawers, shutting each one carefully, double-checking everything, making sure there was no trace we’d ever been there. Watching him work was oddly calming, his hands moving with precise purpose, as if he could will away the evidence of our foolishness just by focusing enough.

I could feel my hands shaking a bit as I adjusted the bedside lamp, turning the shade until it was at that exact angle it had been when we walked in. The room slowly transformed back into its cold, pristine state, sterile, untouched, meticulously empty and the sight made my stomach twist, not from nerves but from how perfectly Logan had crafted this space to reveal nothing.

All that fear, all that risk, and in the end, the suite looked just as he had designed: spotless, clinical, untouchable. It felt almost taunting.

Adrien checked his watch, his jaw tightening. "We’ve been gone way too long. Your mom probably thinks we’ve either been abducted by fucking aliens or something."

"I know," I whispered, my throat dry. "Let’s move."

He cracked the door open just enough to peek into the hallway, scanning left and right like someone who had done this before. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he signaled for me to follow, and we slipped out quietly, the door clicking shut behind us with a soft finality that felt like releasing a held breath.

We moved quickly but cautiously, blending into the rhythm of the hotel corridors, heads down, pace brisk but not frantic. Every guest we passed felt like a potential witness; every laugh echoing from the gala below sounded too loud, too close, like the building was conspiring to give us away.

My heart hadn’t stopped racing since Ethan showed up, and now it was thudding against my ribs with every step toward the elevators.

When the doors finally opened onto the ballroom level, the noise hit us like a physical force, lush strings, overlapping conversations, the bright clink of champagne flutes, the whole dazzling illusion of normalcy snapping back into place around us so suddenly it almost made me dizzy. Adrien leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear.

"Just act normal," he murmured.

I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Sure, normal. Because I’m totally chill right now."

We stepped out together, merging into the crowd, and for a brief, fragile moment, it almost felt like it worked. We were just two guys in tuxes who had stepped away for a minute, nothing more odd than that.

Then—

"Noah."

The voice cut through the noise like a knife through silk.

My blood ran cold.

I turned slowly, already knowing exactly who it was, and there she stood, my mom, just a few feet away, arms crossed over the elegant silk of her gown, eyes sharp with that unmistakable mix of fury and maternal concern that could make even the bravest feel like a kid again. The polished smile she had on earlier was gone, replaced by something tight and unmistakably angry.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, lowering her voice but losing none of its intensity. "I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Everywhere."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, brain racing for something...anything—that didn’t sound like a blatant lie.

"And you," she added, turning that piercing gaze on Adrien, who straightened up like a soldier caught out of uniform. "Both of you vanished at the exact same time. Care to explain?"

Adrien slipped on his polite mask with impressive speed. "We just stepped out for some fresh air."

"Fresh air?" My mom actually scoffed, the sound sharp enough to cut through glass. "At a gala? Without telling anyone? Do you have any idea how that looks? People were starting to chatter."

"I’m sorry," I said quickly, guilt flooding in so fast it almost hurt. "I didn’t mean to worry you. We just... needed a minute."

Her expression softened, just a little—but the anger didn’t disappear entirely. "You don’t do that," she said firmly, her voice dropping to that quiet, dangerous tone she used when she was really serious. "Dont just wonder off, not tonight, of all nights."

I nodded, my eyes dropping to the polished floor. "I know. I’m sorry."

I was definitely not sorry.

She studied me for a long moment, clearly sensing something was off, that this wasn’t just teenage recklessness or a spontaneous air break. Finally, she sighed, rubbing her temple with two perfectly manicured fingers like she was trying to fend off a headache.

"Stay where I can see you," she said. "Both of you. No more disappearing acts. I mean it."

"Yes, ma’am," Adrien replied quietly, his automatic politeness making him sound almost sheepish.

I barely had time to steady my breathing before she reappeared, this time with Keith beside her, both wearing the unmistakable expressions of people who had collectively decided the night was far from over.

"Come on," my mom said, reaching for my arm with the gentle-but-firm grip of someone who’d guided me through every awkward phase. "There are people you need to meet. Important people. The kind who remember faces and names."