My Stepbrother (Book One - Steps Trilogy) - Romance/Mystery/Triller - Novel

(Book One - Crossovers with Book Two - My Stepfather)

Book 1 - Description

Seventeen-year-old Skylar van Eden has never known comfort beyond what her hardworking single mother, Laura, could provide. Growing up in East London, life was modest small homes, public schools, and secrets locked behind soft smiles. When she was ten to twelve, everything shattered. Her father, once her protector, betrayed her in the worst way, leaving scars she still carries. He was sentenced to prison, and her mother packed away the pain with a quiet strength Skylar has never fully understood.

Now, five years later, her mother's work has transferred them to Camps Bay, one of Cape Town's most affluent coastal suburbs. But it's more than just a job transfer, it's a new life. Her mother has fallen in love with a wealthy entrepreneur named Stephen Marais, who owns a penthouse-mansion overlooking the ocean.

Skylar is plunged into a world of luxury she didn't ask for. But luxury can't silence her anxiety or the sense that she doesn't belong. She's used to counting cents, not scanning menus with no prices.

Worse, she now shares a home with Julian, Stephen's 20-year-old son, a university student at UCT, majoring in Political Science and well on his way to becoming a politician or corporate leader. Charming, intelligent, athletic, and brown, blonde-haired, Julian is everything Skylar isn't: polished, confident, and seemingly perfect.

As Skylar navigates the unfamiliar halls of life, trying to adjust to her new reality, she battles with trauma, silence, secrets and self-doubt. Julian seems indifferent at first-until he starts to notice the cracks behind her quiet demeanor.

Can Skylar learn to trust again? Can two people from such different worlds find understanding and maybe even something more? And what happens when the past she's tried to bury comes knocking?

Audience: Teens+ (Mature)
Status: Ongoing

♡May 2025