In Love With My Evil Stepbrother

Chapter 84: A Patient Predator Eason’s POV | wake up in her bed the next morning.

The first thing I look for is her. Luckily, she is still sleeping soundly besides me, her face bathed in the golden morning sunlight.

She's like an angel.

| let out a long sign, feeling relieved. | don’t remember how many nights that | dreamed about her sleeping in my arms and woke up to find that everything was only in my head.

It almost crushed me.

| went through the darkest period tin my life three years ago when she left me. | couldn't cope with the fact that the love of my life was gone, and everything was my fault. So | fled back to New York from Miami and locked myself up in the apartment. | wanted to rot in that dark room, so that I didn’t need to face the reality.

| drank myself to sleep but just kept being woken up by nightmares. So | drank more, forcing myself to sleep. It's like a vicious circle. My life had fallen into a dark, endless pit.

| remember one t| drank an entire bottle of vodka and passed out on the bathroom floor. If my bodyguard didn’t findin time, I'd be dead already. | was taken into the emergency room because of alcohol poisoning and couldn't get out of the hospital bed for a whole week.

My dad flew from Boston to New York to check on me. He sat beside my bed staring at me, but | didn’t want to face him. | had no interest in talking to anyone, except Natalia.

“So are you acting like this because of her?” asked him sternly. “Do you think she would be happy seeing you like this?” | stare at the ceiling, ignoring him. Truth to be told, | blamed him too. If he had given us a little bit of support, maybe she wouldn't have left.

“You are like a spoiled baby right now, which was exactly why she left! Because you couldn't take the responsibility as a man and you disappointed her!” He enraged me. What the fuck does he know! Who does he think he is coming down here givinga fucking lecture? He didn’t want us to be together in the first place! Isn't this exactly what he wants?! “Get...out!!” | clench my teeth and hiss. The excessive alcohol had burned my throat. So my voice was rough and hoarse.

“I know Natalia left you. But you have a long life ahead of you son, and you are still in your twentieth. Lots of things can happen in the future. What if she cback one day and see you like this? Do you think she will still love an alcoholic?” His words shed a light on me. Right, what if she comes back one day? What if we meet again in the future and she findsas this filthy and scruffy man covered in wine and vomit? She already has so many pursuers, if | keep letting alcohol destroy my body like this, I'll be out of shape soon and lose my only vantage.

Not to mention that she has another hot stepbrother now...that Liam. God, do | hate him, his muscular figure, his great hair, his flashy teeth and his charming personality.

Fuck.

“You are a smart kid. You will figure this out,” my dad said that and left my room.

Three days later, when | was out of the hospital, | threw away all my wines and bottles. | went back to school and studied my ass off. My efforts paidback. A year later, | got into a good university majoring in business. My parents were thrilled. But | knew it wasn’t enough. If | want to win her back one day, | still need to accomplish more.

So | sold all my fancy cars and got enough money to start my own company. | knew everyone thought ofas the Ramirez's heir, but | had made up my mind not to take over the family business. This way, | took orders from no one. | would be fully in charge of my own life, including my marriage.

At the meantime, | got the news that she was admitted into a university in New York, which meant that she was only four hours away from me. It was killing me. All | wanted to do was to rush back to her side and drag her into my arms, forcing her not to leave again. But | told myself again and again that it’s still not time. | was not ready.

| hired a private detective, asking him to stalk Natalia and take pictures of her, which would surely piss her off if she ever finds out. Her photo was the only thing that keptgoing for the past two years. | knew that each day | have waited and each step | have taken would bringback to her a little closer.

Finally, after two fucking long years, | made sprogress. My company was on the right track, and I had gotten rid of my drinking habit.

| was ready to meet her.

...But how? Showing up on her doorstep would only scare her off. So | had to make sure that our reunion seemed like a perfect coincidence. Luckily, the private detective toldthat she was working at a restaurant, a great place for bumping into someone. And to better sell it, | even brought a date. A fake date, of course. | lost interest on all other women after her.

| was so freaking nervous that day. When she approached our table, my hands were literally shaking under the table. She looked wonderful, more sophisticated and mature. | had seen her face thousands of times in the photo, but nothing compared to her standing in front ofalive.

She seemed surprised seeing me. But fortunately, she didn’t pushaway. Apparently, she believed that we had both moved on. So | kept my patience, playing the role as her big brother and gradually eased her guard down.

Sometimes when | looked at her, | could still detect the lingering affections in her eyes.

She still loved me! But be the one taking the first step. It had to be her. She had to discover her feelings toherself.

Just when my patience was running out, my mother called and toldthat she wanted to introduce my marriage partner to me. Funny. Did she really think that | would still marry the random woman they shoved my way? But then | realized that this could becmy gentle nudge to Natalia. So | eagerly agreed to her proposal and brought Natalia back to Boston.

| knew | was being manipulative again, a trait that Natalia hated the most. But this is who | am. | planned ahead and | planned carefully. I'm like a predator, carefully waiting for my prey to fall into my trap.

The one thing I didn’t expect was Katherine. | didn’t even know her full nbefore this, just that she was Natalia’s best friend in Boston. Nat was furious at first knowing that my marriage partner was her. But then she quickly got over it. She even cwith us shopping for engagement ring. | didn’t show it on my face, but | was panic as hell internally.

What if she was really ready to give us her blessing? That way I'd be doomed.

The day before Christmas, | was already ready to give up on my whole plan. | figured that | would go to my parents the next day and told them that this marriage is over. Then | would find Natalia, getting down on my knees begging her to cback. If she said no.... well, I didn’t know what | would do if she turneddown again. I'd rather die.

So you can imagine the thrill and surprise | had when | opened her Christmas gift. She pulledup from hell to heaven. | was a troubled person before her. She rescued and completed me.

She is my savior.

“Eason...” Her sleepy voice snappedback to reality.

I look down and find that she is awake now. | can’t help but lower my head and plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.

I love her so much.

“How long have you been up?” she asks, letting out a little yawn.

“Not long.” | say, tightening my arms around her.

Not long, but it’s enough forto relive those dark times when she was gone. | will cherish those memories and take it as a constant reminder of how lucky | am right now.