My Stepbrother Wants Me-Chapter 207: Acting Childish

Catherine’s POV

I couldn’t understand why the heck Julian would be so insensitive and talk to Gabriel like that. What the fuck was going on in that brain of his? He knew better than anyone else in this house that we were walking on a tightrope made of glass. Every word he had spat out at the breakfast table was like a hammer blow to that glass, and for what? Just to see Gabriel flinch? Just to prove that he could? I sat there for a few seconds after the front door slammed, my heart drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs, watching Julian casually finish his juice as if he hadn’t just invited a war into the dining room. He looked so calm, so utterly pleased with himself, and it made my blood boil in a way that had nothing to do with the physical heat of the room.

He was done with his meal and left the table without a single word to Lisa or Lucy, who were both still reeling from the explosion of disrespect he had just ignited. I didn’t wait to hear whatever questions Lucy was undoubtedly about to fire at me. I pushed my chair back and moved. But before he could get into his car, I ran after him. I didn’t care if the security guards saw me or if the maids were watching from the upstairs windows. I caught up to him just as he was reaching for the handle of his black sedan. I grabbed his arm, my fingers digging into the material of his sleeve, and yanked him back toward me.

"What the hell was that, Julian?" I hissed, my voice low but vibrating with the intensity of my anger.

He didn’t look bothered. In fact, he looked down at me with that same smug, self-satisfied expression. He reached out as if to brush a strand of hair from my face, but I jerked my head back.

He chuckled, he actually chuckled like I was a clown in front of him!

"This isn’t funny, Julian," I hissed, my voice shaking with rage. "You humiliated him. Do you have any idea how much more dangerous you just made things for us?"

"You’re cute when you’re fuming, Cat," he said, his tone entirely too calm for the situation. "Your nose flares and you get that little line between your eyebrows. It’s a good look." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Don’t divert and fucking answer me!" I snapped, my hand still tight on his arm. "I want to know what possessed you to be so cruel. You knew exactly what you were doing. You were baiting him."

I wasn’t going to let him laugh this off. I wasn’t going to let him treat my fear and my logic like they were just some side effects of being "cute" when I was mad. I wanted an explanation for why he was being so incredibly stupid.

"I was just messing around, Cat," he said, shrugging his shoulders as if his words hadn’t carried the weight of a death threat to the peace of this house. "Gabriel needs to learn how to take a joke. He’s been walking around here like he’s the only person with a pulse, and I’m tired of seeing his moping face every time I walk into a room. It was just a suggestion. He really does need to get laid."

I tell him that he is wrong for doing that, especially when he knows that Gabriel is still angry at him. I couldn’t believe I had to explain this to a grown man. I couldn’t believe I had to point out that poking a person who just caught us in bed together was the height of idiocy. Gabriel was already a ticking time bomb of resentment and betrayal; Julian didn’t need to go around kicking the casing.

"You think this is funny?" I asked, my voice shaking. "You think it’s a game to see how far you can push him before he goes to Richard and tells him everything? Gabriel is the only reason we aren’t being dragged out of this house or worse right now. He’s hurting, Julian. He’s genuinely hurting because he thinks the people he cared about stabbed him in the back. And your response is to tell him to go find some bitch? How does that help us?"

He closed his eyes like I was an annoying pain in his neck. "Even if you wanted to mess around with him, telling him to go find a bitch and get laid because he was ’hallucinating’ is provocation," I said, my voice rising. "I tell you that you are wrong for doing that, especially when you know that Gabriel is still angry at you. He caught us in your bed last night! He is already on the edge. What does that achieve besides making him want to tell on us?"

Julian’s face changed then. The light, mocking glint in his eyes died out, replaced by a cold, dark intensity. He stepped closer to me, his shadow completely enveloping me. He didn’t look like he was joking anymore.

"I don’t give a fuck. He can do what he wants and stop talking about his anger like I’m not pissed at him too."

Huh? Pissed at him? Where was this coming from?

"What do you mean?"

He breathed. "I made it clear to you that I hate the fact that he had and still had his eyes on me."

My eyes widened in surprise. I felt the air leave my lungs as I stared at him. What possessed him today? How could he even be angry at Gabriel for developing feelings for me? It wasn’t like Gabriel had planned it. It wasn’t like he had set out to fall in love with me just to spite Julian. He had been there for me when things were hard, and probably that was when he started developing the feeling. To be angry at him for the simple act of feeling was beyond irrational—it was possessive in a way that felt dangerous.

"You’re mad at him for that? No, tell me you are joking," I whispered, looking at him as if he were a stranger. "You’re actually sitting here telling me that you’re furious with your brother because he has feelings for me? He hasn’t done anything, Julian! He hasn’t tried to take me from you. He’s just... he’s just there, suffering in silence, and you’re mad at him for it?"

"I don’t care if he’s suffering," Julian growled, his voice dropping into that low, lethal register he used when he was truly done playing. "I don’t care about his ’silence.’ Every time he looks at you, I can see what he’s thinking. I can see that he wants what I have. He thinks he’s better for you because he’s the ’good one.’ He thinks he deserves a chance. And it makes me want to punch those eyes of his. He even chose to forgive you but he is still mad at me, can’t you see what he is playing at? He wants you to think he considers you always."

A scoff escaped my lips, I was beyond amazed. Was this the Julian I knew? "You are crazy for real. You better start thinking straight ’cause this mentality of yours might actually kill you one day."

"Until then," the way he sounded so casual made me furious.

"Bro, you need to get a grip. I am not a thing that you own," I said, my voice hardening. "You don’t decide who is allowed to have feelings for me. I am not a trophy you won or a piece of property you can mark. And you definitely don’t get to use me as a weapon to hurt your brother just because your ego is too big for your own good. Gabriel is your family. He’s the only one who’s never been influenced by Richard, he has always stood for what’s right, and you’re throwing him away because you can’t stand the thought of him looking at me?"

Julian didn’t answer right away. He just stared at me, his jaw set in a hard line, his eyes scanning my face with a hunger that felt more like a cage than a comfort. He didn’t look like he regretted a single thing he had said at that table. He looked like he was ready to do it again just to prove he could.

"I’m serious," I continued, stepping back and putting some space between us. "If you do something like that again, you might not like my action."

A low laugh escaped his mouth but his eyes were a deep contrast, they looked angry. "What action will you take? End things with me?"

That wasn’t what I meant, I never even thought of that option or the ’action’ I was talking about.

"Why are you quiet? Go on, say it."

But since he badly wanted to hear that, I would certainly give him what he wants. I raised my head, so my eyes would see his reaction. "Yes," my voice was tight. "We will be done. I won’t stay here and wait for the house to fall on me because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. Think about what you did and all you said. You’re acting like a child."

Julian finally moved. He reached out and grabbed the door handle of his car, his knuckles white with the force of his grip. He didn’t look at me as he spoke, his voice coming out tight and strained.

"I heard you, Catherine," he said. The tension was heavy, so I turned to leave before I would feel sorry about my words but before I could even take a step forward, I was pulled back— in a gentle but possessive way.