My Stepbrother: secret possession

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We arrived back home around seven in the evening. I was utterly exhausted and in dire need of a hot bath, which is precisely what I did. I spent nearly an hour in the tub, indulging in a much-needed relaxation session.

Once I changed into my pyjamas, I made my way downstairs to the backyard, where I discovered everyone gathered around the table by the pool, enjoying pizza and chips. I took a seat next to Lilith, opposite Leigh, who seemed engrossed in his laptop. My stomach rumbled, urging me to join in.

"Lilith informed me we're going shopping tomorrow with the girls," I mentioned as I sipped my Coke through a straw.

"Is shopping a regular weekend activity for you guys?" I asked curiously.

"I suppose so, yes," Lilith replied, her brows furrowing as if she were processing something.

I giggled and took a bite of my pizza before a sudden realization hit me. "Oh no, I can't," I exclaimed, quickly covering my mouth with a napkin.

"Don't worry about Embry. I told her you were coming, and she wants to apologise to you," Lilith whispered, while Leigh glanced between Lilith and me before returning his focus to his mobile phone.

Embry's apology took me by surprise. It wasn't her usual style. "Well, that's new," I murmured.

"I told you Embry used to be cool. Things have changed," Lilith said.

"Clearly," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, I'm hanging out with Arlen tomorrow. I've already had to cancel on him twice, and I can't change plans again," I explained. Suddenly, Lilith's face lit up, and her eyes widened.

"I told you to keep me updated on everything. Oh my god, I can't believe you're dating Arlen Garrett," Lilith whispered, just as I looked up to find Leigh glaring at me. This time, I couldn't decipher his expression as he immediately lowered his head and swallowed.

"We're just going shirt shopping, that's all," I reassured Lilith while stealing glances at the person sitting across from me. He wasn't looking my way, nor was he focused on his phone. His eyes were fixed on the takeaway in front of him.

"Whatever... it will become apparent soon," Lilith chuckled and grabbed her coke.

Trying to ignore the strange behaviour from Leigh, I took out my phone and sent Sawyer a quick message about how my day went. Sawyer is obsessed with America and is eagerly awaiting her chance to visit, just as I am. Evie had left me a message in my inbox with a photo of the new books she bought today. I replied, saying, "I can't wait to see them." Then I opened Instagram to post the pictures Leigh had sent me thirty minutes ago via email. My notifications were buzzing with activity today. I had many mentions and, surprisingly, a substantial number of new followers. My feed was mostly filled with homecoming-related posts.

The pictures looked beautiful, just as Christian had said. The camera captured every detail perfectly. As soon as I posted the images, I began to receive a flurry of likes and positive comments, particularly on the solo bikini picture and the one where I leaned my head on Lilith's shoulder, both of us laughing. The background looked adventurous, and our colourful bikinis didn't look bad at all.

However, I chose not to upload the pictures we took with Leigh. He had sent me three images of us together, along with a bunch of others. The first one was of both of us looking directly at the camera.

Well, I can't say it was both of us because Leigh was staring at me while I looked pale in front of the camera. His body looked like a work of art, with perfectly defined abs visible beneath his smooth, glowing skin. In the picture, Lilith appeared oblivious and beautiful, just like any ordinary person would next to their family. The other two pictures were similar, except that Leigh had cropped out Lilith and zoomed in on our pose. The picture actually had some meaning. Our eyes were locked as we stared at each other with inexplicable emotions. His hand held me tightly against his bare torso, and I knew there was no way I would ever post that picture, or any of those pictures, for that matter.