Tasting 157

157–I Am Dating My Stepbrother’s Enemy

Nora:

The room fell completely silent, so I stepped in because it really hurt my feelings that he thought

asking me to reject my mate would be the right thing to do. “Why?” I asked, shocking the brothers.

I’m sure they didn’t expect me to react this way to a hypothetical question. I was fighting tears now.

“Huh?” Lord Atwood looked confused and turned to me.

“Why would you ask someone you claim to love and care for so much to reject her mate?” My voice

was breaking, but I didn’t want to come off as obviously hurt. But what could I do? It was a serious

question.

“Because–” Before he could continue, I interrupted, “Is it because I’m not good enough? You can

keep me as their stepsister but not your son’s mate?” I felt horrible saying it, but thankfully, Lord

Atwood was not one of those men who uses every word against you.

“No, Nora! You are perfect. I’m glad you’re picking Alpha today because I know you deserve the

best. I’m so happy that you’ve also found an alpha,” he continued, dodging my question.

“She’s upset because of how you said it–” Silas quickly brought his attention back to the main

subject until he received a glare from Nash and added, “Oops, sorry!”

“Do you want to know why?” Finally, Lord Atwood seemed to answer

my query.

“Because it was your mother’s dying wish that I accept you as my

Am Dating My Stepbrother’s Enemy

stepdaughter and for the brothers to be your stepbrothers. Those were the last words that came out

of her lips before she passed away. She wanted nothing but for you to have my sons as your

stepbrothers, and as much as I know how important the mate bond is, my hands would have been

tied,” he explained, pulling the ground from under my feet.

“But that’s a bit much. Last words don’t mean that much,” Nash shrugged.

“Here they do. It wasn’t just her last words. She made a deal with me that I must accept her

daughter as my stepdaughter to protect her from her crazy father and brother, and in return, she

gave me something. I just want you to know, there’s a heavy burden on my chest. It will only be

lifted the day the adoption papers are signed,” he finished, and the brothers nodded, finally

understanding the importance of accepting me as their stepsister.

I was speechless. It felt like I was now trapped in the emotions of our mate bond and burdened with

the responsibility to help Lord Atwood uphold his end of the deal, which had caused him so much

pain.

“Now you understand why it’s important?” Lord Atwood asked his

sons.

“Hmm,” Nash sighed, stepping away slowly and running his hand through his hair. Silas stood still, a

frown forming on his lips.

“Anyway, why are we discussing this now? We need to ensure all kinds of rumors are dispelled.

Any speculation, no matter how small, must not linger,” Lord Atwood began speaking with much

more confidence and energy now that he had clarified his position.

I felt utterly powerless and despondent. Part of me wanted to flee and never return to this mansion,

but another part feared for Lord Atwood. He needed me now.

1574 Am Dating My Stepbrothers Enemy

“I think Nora dating Brody will also help a lot. Once it’s known she’s already dating an alpha,

everyone will back off,” Lord Atwood was the only one speaking, while his sons nodded in

agreement. Nash continued to pace around, casually throwing glances at me, while Silas stood with

his arms folded.

“So you think she should date Brody?” Silas inquired.

“Even just for the time being. I mean, give it a try and if it doesn’t work out, breakups happen,” Lord

Atwood turned to me after realizing I hadn’t spoken a single word this whole time.

I didn’t have anything to add to the conversation; I was deeply disturbed and bothered. Also, I

wanted to tell Lord Atwood the truth about me, his sons, and the mate bond. But then I was afraid

he would ask me to reject them if I revealed any truth from that entire conversation.

“Tell me, Nora. If you don’t want to date Brody, do you have anything else in mind that would help

you and my sons with their reputation?” He held my hand, giving me the opportunity to tell him the

truth.

But I was afraid. Afraid I would ruin everything. It had been going so perfectly until now. With my

head down, I took a deep breath and shook my head. “You’re right. I have no other option,” I uttered

faintly.

Just as I spoke, Cain walked in with his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning me. It wasn’t as if

he could do anything anymore anyway.

“I will date Brody,” I said as I straightened my back. I expected Cain to be angry or look betrayed,

but instead, he scoffed and smirked in a taunting way. This was another reason I was so quick to

accept the date plan. Cain had been so distant from me, especially after we slept together. Now that

I think about it, my first time with him was

followed by him going missing on me and then treating me so poorly.

157 Am Daling My Stepbrother’s Enemy

“Good, I was expecting this from you. It will all be fine now,” Lord Atwood smiled in relief, getting up

from his chair, probably to inform the council that everything was resolved.

“What about the proof? Natalya claims to have something on Nora, maybe the painting?” Silas

brought up another issue that we had entirely forgotten about. My heart skipped a beat, and I

gulped nervously.

“Cain! Is it true?” Lord Atwood asked Cain, who shook his head calmly, not even making an effort to

deny the accusations.

“You can check my studio. You won’t find her painting because it never happened,” he spoke

confidently while maintaining eye contact with me.

I was so surprised by what he said. What did he do to my painting?