Chapter 2
Finding His Stepbrother
She froze when she saw me holding Lev's phone.
Her face paled, then she forced a shaky smile. "Alayna, wait..."
"Don't," I whispered. My throat burned. "Just don't."
Lev reached for me, but I stepped back. "I trusted you," I said, my voice breaking for the first time. "Both of you."
Lilith's eyes glistened. "I didn't mean to..."
"Don't lie," I said. "You meant every word in those messages."
The look she gave me wasn't guilt. It was pity. The kind people wear when they've already decided they're the stronger one.
And somehow, that hurt worse than the betrayal.
"You were never right for him, Alayna," she said quietly. "You live in your own world. You hide behind scarves and modesty and old-fashioned dreams. He needs someone who can match him. Someone confident."
I almost laughed. "So that's what you call confidence? Cheating with your sister's future husband?"
Her lips trembled, but she didn't answer.
Lev stepped forward. This time his voice low. "Alayna, please, don't do this here. The guests, your mother, everyone's waiting. We can talk later."
I looked at him really looked and realized I didn't recognize the man standing in front of me.
He wasn't the boy I once prayed for.
He was a stranger wearing the skin of someone I used to love.
"Don't worry," I said softly as I handed him his phone. "There's nothing left to talk about. Get away from me."
He reached for me again, but I was already gone. Not just from the room, but from the illusion we'd built together.
I walked past both of them, out of the room, past the glittering decorations and polite laughter of people who didn't know the truth yet.
Every step felt heavy, but it was the only thing that still felt real.
The air outside bit through my skin, sharp and merciless.
I kept walking, not knowing where I was going. The night was too quiet, too beautiful for the kind of pain I carried.
Streetlights glowed like blurred halos through my tears.
I just needed to breathe.
To escape the suffocating laughter inside that hall.
To exist even for a moment without pretending.
"Hey! Watch out!"
The shout came too late.
A motorcycle sped past the curve, splashing a dirty puddle right across my dress.
I stumbled back, my heel caught on the edge of the pavement, and the world tilted for a split second.
Then someone grabbed my wrist. Firm, warm, steady, pulling me back just before I hit the ground.
My breath hitched.
"Careful," a low voice said. "You almost met the road up close."
I looked up.
And for a moment, everything; the noise, the pain, the betrayal faded into silence.
He was tall, with broad shoulders hidden beneath a worn leather jacket. His dark hair was messy, the kind that didn't try too hard but somehow worked anyway. A faint stubble darkened his jaw, and his eyes.
God, those green eyes were the kind that didn't just look at you, but through you.
There was mischief in them. And exhaustion. And something else I couldn't name.
"Are you okay?" he asked, as he was still holding my arm.
I blinked for a second, and I tried to find my voice. "Yeah... I'm, I'm fine."
He arched a brow, glancing at my soaked dress. "You sure? Because you look like you just escaped a crime scene."
I almost smiled. Almost. "Something like that."
He let go, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Figures. No one sane comes out of that kind of party looking that miserable unless they're running from something."
My gaze flicked toward the grand building behind me. "You could say that."
He studied me for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, good news. The world outside is much more honest than inside that building. Ugly, but honest."
I frowned slightly. "Who are you?"
A crooked smile tugged at his lips. "My name's Dafa Halton. Lev's stepbrother."
The air left my lungs. "You're… his stepbrother?"
To be honest, I never knew that Lev had a step brother. Since I was out of town for five years, I didnt know much about Halton's family. I only knew they're one of the rich family in the city.
"Yeah." He kicked a smirk. "Don't worry, I'm not invited inside. I don't exactly fit the Halton family image. You know, the kind where everyone wear masks of perfection, but behind doors, they're tearing each other apart."
I stared at him, and I stunned by how casually he said it.
"Jobless. Useless. Blacklisted. Possibly allergic to rich people," he continued with mock seriousness. "That's what they say about me."
Dafa chuckled softly at his own words.
I should've walked away. I should've ignored him. But something about his unbothered tone, his calm in the middle of my storm pulled me in.
"But…" I said slowly, my voice unsteady, "you're still part of the Halton family, right?"
He looked at me for a moment. Really looked before letting out a low laugh that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Technically, yes. By name. Not by heart."
Something in the way he said it made me pause. There was a weight behind those words. A story he wasn't telling.
He bent down, picked up a fallen leaf, and rolled it between his fingers. "Funny thing about family. We share blood but not always loyalty and soul."
The truth of it hit harder than I expected. I wanted to say something, but the words stuck somewhere in my throat.
He shifted his weight, shoving his hands deeper into his jacket pockets.
"By the way," he said, his tone light but his gaze sharp, "Why are you outside? Aren't you supposed to be getting engaged to my stepbrother right about now?"
For a second, I couldn't speak. The lump in my throat burned, and the air suddenly felt too heavy.
"Yeah, I have to," I said finally, forcing a small breathless laugh. "My mom's waiting inside. I just… needed some fresh air for a moment."
He raised an eyebrow. "Fresh air, huh? That what they call running away these days?"
The words stung a little, but the teasing glint in his eyes softened it.
I managed a faint smile. "Maybe. Guess I'm not very good at pretending everything's fine."
Dafa tilted his head, studying me as if he could read everything I wasn't saying.
"Good," he murmured. "People who can't pretend are usually the real ones."
For a second, neither of us spoke. The sound of muffled laughter drifted from the hall behind me. Out here, the night air was cold, but somehow it felt more honest than the world I'd just walked out of.
Dafa broke the silence first. "You don't owe anyone an act, you know. Not even them."
I looked up at him. This man who looked like trouble, spoke like he didn't care, but sounded like he understood too much.
And just like that, something in me shifted. Then I asked him something I never thought before.