My Stepbrother Wants Me-Chapter 132: His Words

Julian’s POV

"I love her," Ethan said, his voice gaining a bit of strength, though it was still shaky. "I really love her, Jules. And... I think I want to start a family with her. I look at her and I don’t see a ’problem’ to be solved. I see a life. Our life."

I stared at him for what felt like an eternity. I looked at his messy hair, his wrinkled shirt, and the desperate, naive hope in his eyes. I felt a surge of anger—not at the situation, but at him.

"You are a wicked man, Ethan," I said, the words coming out low and venomous.

Ethan flinched, his eyes widening in genuine shock. "Wicked? What the hell are you talking about? I just told you I love her! How is that wicked?"

"Because you’re trying to ruin her life!" I hissed, leaning over the table until we were inches apart. "Look at yourself. You chose to drop out of school in spirit. You spend your nights in bars and your days hiding from your uncle. You’re a degenerate, Ethan. And now you want to pull Tessa down into the dirt with you?"

"I am not—"

"You are!" I interrupted. "You want her to drop out? You want her to lose her education, her standing, her future, just so you can play house? She is just around eighteen or nineteen! What is that girl going to do with a baby? You don’t even know how to do your own laundry, and you want to trap her with a child because you think ’love’ is a shield against reality?"

Ethan looked like I’d punched him in the gut. His face reddened, and for a second, I thought he might actually swing at me. "I love her, Julian! I don’t want to ruin her life! I want to be there for her!"

I scoffed, a harsh, cynical sound before reaching out and giving his head a sharp smack—not enough to hurt, but enough to jar him.

"Wake up," I growled. "I don’t mean you’re a villain, Ethan. I mean you’re being selfish. Love shouldn’t be an excuse to ruin someone. If you actually loved her—truly loved her—you would want her to have the life she worked for. You’d want her to finish school, to have a career. Don’t trap her with a child before she’s even had a chance to be an adult."

I sat back, my chest heaving slightly. "Let her enjoy her life, Ethan. Let her be young. If you trap her now, she will grow to hate you. And that ’love’ you’re so proud of? It’ll turn into a cage for both of you."

The silence that followed was heavy, filled only with the muffled bass of the music and the clinking of glasses at the bar. Ethan stared at his hands, the fight drained out of him.

"You’re right," he whispered after a long time. He looked up, his eyes glassy. "God, you’re right. I’m an idiot. I was just... I was so scared of losing her that I didn’t think about what I was actually asking her to give up."

He let out a shaky breath and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Thanks, Jules. Seriously. You’re a cold-hearted bastard, but you’re a good friend. You’re the only one who’s always willing to drag me back to the truth, even when it hurts."

He reached across the table, his arms open as if he were going to try and pull me into a hug.

I immediately recoiled, pressing my back against the booth and giving him a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. "Get away from me," I snapped, batting his hands away. "Stop acting so feminine and gay. We’re in a public bar, for God’s sake."

Ethan froze, then let out a startled, wet laugh. He slumped back into his seat, shaking his head. "You are such a prick. You really are."

"You could have just asked for a handshake like a normal person instead of trying to cuddle," I grumbled, smoothing out my blazer. "I have a reputation to maintain, even in a dive like this."

Ethan smirked, spark finally returning to his eyes. "Oh, right. I forgot. When did hugging my best buddy become a federal crime? I guess it’s only okay if I’m Catherine, huh? I bet you wouldn’t be calling her ’feminine’ if she tried to hug you."

I felt the heat rise in my neck, but I couldn’t help the small, reluctant smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth. "That’s different, and you know it."

"Yeah, yeah. ’It’s different,’" Ethan mocked, his voice high-pitched and ridiculous. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

We both stayed silent for a beat, and then, as if the absurdity of our lives finally broke through the tension, we both burst into laughter. It was a loud, genuine sound—the kind of laughter that only happens between people who have seen each other at their worst and decided to stay anyway.

"One week, Ethan," I said, wiping a stray tear from my eye as the laughter subsided. "One week to fix it."

"One week," he agreed, raising his glass.

"To the truth," I echoed, clinking my glass against his.

But as I drained the rest of my bourbon, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out.

It was a text from Catherine.

Catherine [10:14 AM]: The guest is Lucy. She’s here with enough luggage to stay for a year. Julian, she’s moving into the house....

The laughter died in my throat.

"I have to go," I said, standing up so fast my chair nearly toppled.

"Huh? Is there a problem?"

"Richard brought Lucy back to the house as a guest."

Ethan paused, looking like he was searching for something through his brain.

"What?" I asked out of impatience.

He shrugged. "I thought she was staying in your house as a guest already."

"Right. I didn’t mention it to you but when I found out Richard returned. I took her out of the house before he would find out. Apparently, that didn’t solve anything because Richard knows about her now and has let her come back to our house as a guest."

My tone was rough and angry, I didn’t even know why.

Well... that’s a lie. I’m angry because I assured Catherine that I would get her out of the house but seems like Richard will be the reason I don’t get to fulfil my word to her.