Tasting Nora-Pleasing Her Stepbrother Mates

Tasting 289

289–Trouble In Paradise

Nora:

This back and forth of where I belonged and who I should or shouldn’t speak to was starting to suffocate me. It felt like I was back in my childhood, constantly monitored and having no life of my own.

We had a great dinner, and I smiled throughout it. I had learned to fake a smile now, at least for a few hours. I didn’t want Brody to think I was only happy because I heard Silas was coming over.

We returned home, and as expected, April had decided to stay awake. She wouldn’t let me sleep peacefully without seeing her face. All content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“You’re up?” Brody asked her as we passed the TV room.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. How was the dinner?” she inquired, and I kept walking toward the staircase.

I didn’t plan to stick around for their conversation.

“It was great. By the way, it’s okay. You and your friends can stay here. while I’m gone,” the moment he said that, I slowed down on the steps.

“Oh, is it because you don’t want Silas to be alone with Nora while you’re not in the pack?” The hurt in her voice didn’t distract me from the meaning behind her words.

“Take it as you will. But stay in the mansion for a few days.” So, he wasn’t comfortable leaving me alone with Silas?

But why?

289–Trouble in Paradise

And why did he think the girls staying back would benefit him?

If anything, they would just create more chaos.

I didn’t argue with Brody and went to bed as soon as I changed into my pajamas. I woke up early for some reason, and after showering and. changing into the prettiest white top and black pants, I sat down to do my makeup.

“You know, I think it would be good to look my best when Silas arrives,‘ I nodded to myself, trying to figure out how to act in front of him.

‘Or do you think looking sick would do the trick? I mean, I don’t intend to play any games, but if he sees how sad and sick I am, he might ask me to come back home. Ugh! Please help me, Akira,‘ I pouted sadly as I took off my ring and placed it on the dressing table.

But the saddest part was that she wasn’t responding to me anymore.

‘Akira! Are you leaving me too?‘ I slumped back in my chair, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror looked so out of place.

Why couldn’t she find a home? Why did she have to be so weak?

I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t born weak, and I didn’t grow up weak. Abused and tortured, sure, but that made me stronger.

If anyone could survive what I did in the past, it would mean I am the strongest. Then why couldn’t I be strong and stop thinking about my

mates?

‘I get it. It’s because of the mate bond. You know, if we had rejected each other, I wouldn’t be feeling so much pain right now,‘ I nodded in

299–Trouble in Paradise

understanding, pouting and waiting for Akira like every day.

But she had gone silent on me. This wasn’t good. After everything I had been through, now she was also missing.

I grabbed my ring and put it back on, knowing that no matter what I said, she wouldn’t respond to me.

I decided to look my best. Maybe I could act like everything was normal, and when Silas left, I could leave with him.

I just needed to make it seem effortless and like a normal thing—me going back and forth between my homes.

That was the plan.

As I left the room and walked downstairs, I saw the girls in the living room. Daphne was wrapped in a big blanket and looked very sick for some reason, while Natalya and April were watching TV and eating breakfast on the couch.

“Please, just tell me where he is these days, okay?” I frowned when I noticed Daphne speaking to someone on the phone while in tears.

The others were acting like she wasn’t crying right next to them.

“I didn’t do anything. He told me to stay away from him and that he needs space. He is going for some training–,” the minute her eyes landed on me, she went silent and cut the call.

What was she talking about? Did something happen between her and Nash?

290–They Want Me Back Now