The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 100 - one hundred

Chapter One Hundred

Malachi’s POV

"I’m not jealous," Alicia said through gritted teeth. "Let me go."

I almost smiled. The lie was so obvious. So transparent. I could see the jealousy burning in her eyes, in the way her body was rigid against the wall, in the way she couldn’t quite meet my gaze directly.

"Yes, you are." I kept my voice low. Controlled. Even though something dark and possessive was roaring inside me. "I can see it in your eyes. In the way you wouldn’t look at me during dinner. In the way your hands shook when Cecilia touched me."

I’d watched her all through dinner. Watched every micro-expression. Every tell. The way she’d gripped her fork too tightly. The way she’d stopped eating. The way she’d gone completely still when Cecilia had touched my arm.

My little bird was furious. And trying desperately to hide it.

"You’re delusional," she said.

"Am I?" I leaned closer, letting my body press against hers. Feeling her heat. Her tension. "Then why are you so angry right now?"

"Because you’re trapping me in a dark room!" She pushed against my chest but I didn’t move. "Because you’re my brother-in-law and this is completely inappropriate. Because everything about this is wrong!"

Wrong. The word that kept coming up. The shield she kept trying to hide behind.

"Wrong," I repeated, letting the word hang between us. "Now you care about wrong? About appropriate?"

"Yes! This is taboo. This is—"

"Since when do you care about taboo?" I cut her off, my voice dropping lower. Darker. "You didn’t care about that when I fucked you. When you screamed my name. When you begged me for more."

I watched her face flush. Watched the memory hit her. Good. I wanted her to remember. Wanted her to feel every moment we’d shared.

"Don’t—"

"You didn’t care about taboo when you kissed me in that photo booth. When you held my hand at the park. When you wore my necklace to your anniversary party like a brand." My hand moved to her throat, fingers brushing the pendant still resting there. "But now, suddenly, you care about appropriate?"

Each word was calculated. Designed to break down her defenses. To strip away the lies she was telling herself.

"We should avoid each other now," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "This whole thing has gotten too dangerous. Too complicated."

Dangerous. Complicated. More shields. More excuses.

"Avoid each other?" I laughed. The sound was bitter even to my own ears. "We work together now. We live in the same house. We’re going on a family trip together. How exactly do you propose we avoid each other?"

"We just do. We keep it professional. Distant. We stop..." She gestured between us. "This. Whatever this is."

Professional. Distant. Like we were colleagues. Like I hadn’t had her in every way possible. Like she wasn’t mine.

"Can’t do that," I said simply.

"Why not?"

Time to twist the knife. To see just how deep her jealousy ran. To see if what I suspected was true.

"Because I’m in love with her." The lie tasted like ash in my mouth but I said it anyway. Watched it land. Watched Alicia’s eyes widen. "Cecilia and I, we have history. Real history. And now we’re trying again."

The words were poison. But necessary poison. I needed to see her reaction. Needed to know if she felt even a fraction of what I felt for her.

She looked like I’d physically struck her. Good. Let her feel it. Let her understand what it was like to watch someone you want with someone else.

"Then why are you in here with me?" Her voice was smaller now. Vulnerable. "Why aren’t you out there with her?"

"Because you ran away. And we have business to discuss. Remember? You’re head of family affairs now. I’m COO. We have responsibilities."

Business. The word felt cold. Clinical. Everything we weren’t.

"Fine. What business?" She was trying to put steel back in her voice. Trying to rebuild her walls.

I wasn’t going to let her. Not yet.

"The trip to the Maldives. We need to coordinate. Make sure everything runs smoothly." I paused, watching her face. "Cecilia will be coming with us."

Another blow. I watched it hit. Watched something break behind her eyes.

"Why would she come on a family trip?"

"Because she’s my girlfriend. Soon to be more if things go well." The lie came easier now. Building on itself. Creating a story that would gut her. "Pa Wood already invited her. Said it would be good to include her. Get to know her better."

I could see her fighting to maintain composure. Fighting not to show how much this was destroying her.

"You’re enjoying this," she said quietly. "Watching me hurt. Watching me struggle."

Was I? Maybe. Some dark part of me liked seeing her jealous. Liked knowing she cared enough to hurt. But another part, the part that was becoming harder to ignore, hated every second of this.

"Should I not enjoy being happy? Being with someone who actually wants to be with me publicly?" I let my thumb brush across her jaw. "Someone who isn’t ashamed of me. Who doesn’t want to hide what we have."

"I never said I was ashamed—"

"You wanted to avoid me. To stop this. That sounds like shame to me." I made my voice harder. Colder. Even though inside I was burning. "Maybe Cecilia is exactly what I need. Someone who isn’t afraid. Who isn’t constantly looking over her shoulder worrying about what people think."

I watched the words cut into her. Watched her flinch. This was cruelty. Calculated, deliberate cruelty.

But I needed to see. Needed to know if she’d fight for this. For us. Or if she’d let me go without a word.

"If that’s what you want, then fine," she said, but her voice was breaking. "Be with her. Be happy. I don’t care."

"You’re lying again." I leaned closer. "You care very much. That’s why you’re so angry. That’s why you can barely look at me."

"I can look at you just fine."

"Then do it. Look at me and tell me you don’t care that I’m with her."

She forced herself to meet my eyes. I could see the war happening behind them. Pride fighting against pain. Stubbornness fighting against truth.

"I don’t care," she said.

The lie was beautiful in its transparency. I could see right through it. Could see the jealousy and hurt and possession burning underneath.

"Liar." I let my hand tighten slightly on her throat. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to make a point. "Your pulse is racing. Your breathing is shallow. You’re on the edge of breaking."

"Let me go."

"Not until you admit the truth."

"What truth? That I’m jealous? Fine! Yes! I’m jealous!" The words exploded out of her. Finally. "Is that what you want to hear? That watching you with her made me want to throw something? That hearing you call her your girlfriend made me feel sick? That the thought of you touching her the way you touched me makes me want to scream?"

There it was. The confession I’d been pushing for. The truth beneath all the lies.

My smile was probably cruel. Triumphant. I’d won this round. Gotten exactly what I wanted.

"There it is. The truth."

"Are you happy now? You got your confession. You proved I’m pathetic and jealous and—"

"You’re not pathetic." I softened my voice just slightly. "You’re honest. Finally."

"What does it matter? You made your choice. You have Cecilia. You love her. You said so yourself."

Love. The word I’d used so carelessly. The lie I’d told so easily. If only she knew the truth. If only I could tell her that Cecilia meant nothing. That this was all an arrangement. A debt being paid.

But I couldn’t. Not yet. There were too many unknowns. Too many threats. Keeping her at a distance, making her think I’d moved on, was the safest play.

Even if it was killing me. Even if watching her hurt was worse than anything I’d ever done.

"Maybe I did make my choice," I said, hating every word. "Maybe Cecilia is exactly what I need right now."

Each word was glass. Sharp. Cutting. I could see them land. Could see the damage they caused.

"Then why are you still standing here with me? Why aren’t you with her?"

Good question. One I didn’t have a good answer for.

"Because you need to understand something." I pulled her closer. Letting my body press fully against hers. Letting her feel exactly what she did to me. "Just because I’m with her doesn’t mean you get to move on. Doesn’t mean you get to forget about us."

"That doesn’t make sense. You can’t have it both ways."

"Can’t I?" My hand moved from her throat to her hair. Tangling in those silver strands I’d been obsessing over since the moment I first saw them. "You’re still mine, Alicia. Girlfriend or not. You’ll always be mine."

"That’s not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair. But that’s the reality." I pulled her head back slightly. Making her look at me. "You can be jealous. You can be angry. But you can’t move on. You can’t forget."

"You’re insane."

"Only about you."

"You just told me you’re in love with Cecilia!"

"And? Love and possession aren’t the same thing." The words came from somewhere dark. Somewhere possessive and wrong. "I can love her and still own you."

I watched her process this. Watched the confusion and anger and something else, something darker, flash across her face.

This was wrong. I knew it was wrong. But I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t let her go.

"This is wrong," she whispered. "All of this is wrong."

"So you keep saying. And yet you’re still here. Still pressed against me. Still breathing like you want me to kiss you."

"I don’t—"

I kissed her. Cut off her denial with my mouth. Poured everything I couldn’t say into it. All the truth I was hiding. All the feelings I couldn’t admit.

And she kissed me back. Despite everything. Despite all the reasons she shouldn’t. Despite Cecilia waiting somewhere in the house. Despite the lies I’d just told her.

She kissed me back like she was drowning and I was air.

But then she bit down. Hard. On my lip. Hard enough to draw blood.

I pulled back with a curse. Hand going to my mouth. Tasting copper.

She used the moment to slip away. To run for the door.

"Alicia—"

But she was already gone. The door slamming behind her. Leaving me alone with the taste of blood and the echo of her confession.

I touched my lip. It was bleeding steadily now. A reminder of her. Of what I’d just done.

I’d made her admit she was jealous. Had confirmed what I already knew. That she felt something real for me.

But at what cost? I’d told her I loved someone else. Had twisted the knife in the deepest way possible.

All to protect her. All to create distance that would keep her safe from whoever was watching us.

But watching her run, seeing the pain in her eyes, made me question everything.

Was I protecting her? Or was I just destroying us both?

I cleaned the blood from my lip and pulled out my laptop. Found her room on the CCTV feeds. Watched her cry into her pillow while Travis lay passed out beside her.

I’d done that. Made her cry. Made her hurt.

All in the name of protection. All because I was too much of a coward to tell her the truth about Cecilia.

I switched to other feeds. Checking the house. Trying to distract myself from the guilt.

That’s when I caught movement near the back entrance.

Sasha.

She was sneaking through the hallway. Looking around nervously. Making sure no one saw her.

I watched her slip out the back door. Into the garden. I switched to exterior cameras and found her in the far corner. Hidden by trees. Pulling out her phone.

I texted Maurice. He was already on it. Sent me the audio recording within minutes.

Sasha’s voice came through. Shaky. Desperate.

"I want out. This is too dangerous. Malachi knows. He threatened me and I can’t—"

A pause. Listening to whoever was on the other end.

"No. I don’t care anymore. I just want this to be over. Please. Just let me out."

Another pause. Longer.

"Tomorrow? Fine. Where?"

She was setting up a meeting. With whoever had orchestrated the party disaster. With whoever had used her to get access.

"The old pier. Two PM. But this is the last time. After tomorrow, I’m done. You need to promise me that."

She ended the call and hurried back inside.

I saved the recording and sat back. Tomorrow at two PM. The old pier.

Finally, a lead. A way to find out who was behind this.