The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

Annabel quickly got the address from Mason and headed straight to the hotel without even changing her clothes.

Mason left her at the door of the private room, harboring a psychological shadow towards Thomas.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

The private room was not locked. Upon pushing the door open, there was a tea room. A folding screen separated it from the living room inside. Annabel peeked through the gap in the screen and saw Thomas, David, and Liam sitting together. Thomas had a cold expression, seeming somewhat unhappy.

Liam had a smile on his face. “You’ve taken care of Annabel for the past year and a half, and we’ve all seen her changes. But we still hope you’ll leave Shining High School. It would be good for you and for Annabel. Of course, we won’t mistreat you. You can choose any other school or even go to the education bureau. We’ll provide financial compensation, and if you have any other conditions, feel free to mention them.”

Annabel’s heart tightened, fearing that David might be tempted.

David looked directly at Thomas with composure. “Mr. Green, I have no inappropriate intentions toward your daughter. You don’t need to doubt that. However, I want to stay at Shining High School. There are reasons I can’t leave. So, forgive me, but I can’t agree to your request.”

Thomas pinched his brow. Seeing his displeasure, Liam immediately chimed in, “Young man, why be so stubborn? There are many ways to make you leave Shining High School.”

If David hadn’t seen how dedicated David was to teaching Annabel, Thomas wouldn’t have personally come to negotiate. Young people were either too ambitious or too clueless.

David sensed the threat in Thomas’s words. Thomas didn’t say much, but every gesture exuded imposing power. Under such pressure, David felt it, but he had his principles. He wouldn’t easily change for profit and power. “You have authority and influence, and naturally, there are many ways to deal with me. But I believe that you must be a person of integrity to achieve what you have today. I think our deal has been fair. I’ve fulfilled what you promised me, and Annabel has become what you wanted. It’s time for you to fulfill your promise. Am I right? I won’t leave Shining High School, but I will apply to transfer to the senior year. I won’t teach Annabel’s class anymore. I’ve fulfilled my responsibility to her up to today, and I won’t deal with her affairs anymore.”

“What’s your deal, is it me?”

A familiar voice came from behind, and the three of them froze simultaneously. Annabel walked out from behind the screen, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, with a faint smell of tobacco lingering on them. Her hair was disheveled, making her look like a little madwoman.

Thomas frowned and spoke in a low reprimanding tone, “Look at yourself! What are you doing here?”

Liam felt a headache coming on. If Bella found out about this, it would be a big deal. He casually smiled and said, “We were just having a parent-teacher meeting. Let’s go home first, and I’ll explain it to you later.”

She angrily shook off Liam’s hand, stubbornly tilted her head to stare at David, and asked again, “Mr. Curry, tell me, what’s the deal?” David felt a little guilty. When he had agreed to Thomas’s terms initially, he hadn’t thought much about it. But now, with Annabel standing right there, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Actually, before Annabel had arrived, Thomas had received a call from Brenna saying she hadn’t gone to school and refused to eat dinner. Thomas had originally planned to go home and discipline her properly, but now, seeing her here because of David, he refrained from exploding and just coldly said, “It’s none of your business. Eve told me you slept all day and didn’t eat. Go home now. Aunt and the others are waiting for you to have dinner.”

Annabel didn’t even turn her head, completely ignoring him. Thomas had never had much patience with Annabel, and now that she had caused such a big stir and was still acting so self-righteous, Thomas’s temper flared up again. “Annabel, listen, Either you go home now, or you never come back home again!”

Annabel suddenly turned her head and glared at Thomas hatefully, like a little leopard, her eyes flashing with anger. “Fine, I don’t care about adult matters. Then you don’t care about my affairs either. So what if I became a trending topic? It’s my freedom to like whoever I want. I like David. So what? You drove my mom to her death because of your mistress. All these years, you’ve lived carefree despite that. Do you have to make me all alone to be happy? My mom was fine, but you forced her to death. My grandma was good to me, but you sent her abroad. You never liked Mason, my friend since childhood, and now David, you want to get rid of him too! Thomas, are you even my dad? You’re my enemy!”

Liam gasped in shock. Bella was saying these things in front of outsiders. With Thomas’s temper, she was likely to get beaten again.

Sure enough, Thomas raised his hand. David quickly pulled Annabel away. Her stubbornness and grievance made him feel very sorry for her, but he couldn’t show it. He could only admonish her in the guise of a teacher, “Annabel, you can’t speak to your dad like that.”

“Liam, contact Siling High School. Send her there tomorrow and let the teachers there teach her how to behave!”

Siling High School was a military-style boarding school. Only kids who were into drugs, fights, and brawls would be sent there. Every year, there were numerous news reports about students being punished physically.

David was taken aback by what he heard. Looking at Thomas, it didn’t seem like he was joking. At this point, he really couldn’t just stand by. “Mr. Green, give me half an hour. Let me talk to her, okay?”

Liam quickly added, “Yes, yes, a teacher’s way of teaching students is always better.”

Thomas glowered at Annabel, and Liam quickly whispered, “Let Mr. Curry talk to Annabel first. Besides, Christopher is still next door…”

Thomas snorted coldly and then turned and left the private room.

David approached her. There were still traces of hangover on her face, and her eyes were full of frustration and unease. He had studied educational psychology in college, and initially, his interaction with Annabel was more of a practical research attitude. She was his experiment, his subject.

At first, he thought everything was going according to plan, from resistance to acceptance, from acceptance to trust. It seemed like everything was successful. But at some point, things had gone sour. Later, he realized that it had never been successful from the start. He had never changed her. Her change was merely due to her dependence and infatuation with him, always doing things to please him. Deep down, she was still the same unruly person.

David wanted to comfort her, but the words that came out felt feeble. “Annabel, everything your dad did was for you. He loves you; he’s not your enemy.”

Despite her stubbornness, Annabel was extremely intelligent. She had already guessed what was going on, but she still wanted to hear it from him before giving up. “Did you two already know each other? Did he bring you to Shining High School, did he bring you close to me?”

David knew he couldn’t hide it any longer and nodded.

“Did you meet me before you interned at Shining High School, or was it when I was still in juvenile detention?”

David fell silent for a moment, then uttered reluctantly, “Annabel.”

Annabel’s eyes immediately turned red, tears swirling in her eyes. She bit her lip hard, clutching her clothes tightly, refusing to let them fall.

“Why? For money?”

He shifted his gaze slightly, pursing his lips without saying a word, looking somewhat embarrassed.

She clenched her fists tightly, looked up at the ceiling for a while, as if finally making up her mind. “Then I’ll ask you one last question, and I won’t bother you again. Is your kindness to me fake?”

David, despite being much taller than her, found himself almost pressed down by her tense body, like a taut bow. Her slender fingertips turned slightly pale from gripping too tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she still looked proud. He felt sorry for her, but he couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted.

“Yes, in my heart, you’re the same as all the other students. There’s no difference. You don’t need to give up on yourself because of me. Because the deal between your dad and me has expired. It doesn’t mean anything to you anymore.”

She let go of his shirt, and tears began to fall, hitting the floor heavily.

David didn’t even offer her comfort. He turned and left without a word.

“Liars, all liars!”