Gabby's POV

I was the last person to come down for dinner. Not because I was busy with some life-changing project or anything noble like that. 

Well... it was a life-changing moment, just not the kind you tell your family about over roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.

I couldn't help myself. Not after what I'd seen in Aiden's bathroom. 

The second I'd slipped back into my room, heart still hammering from the hallway sprint, my body had taken over. 

I'd locked the door, yanked off the stolen button-down that still smelled like him, and thrown myself onto the bed. 

My fingers had slid between my legs before I could even think straight. 

I pictured his fingers instead of mine...thick, rough, sure...pushing inside me, stroking deep, seeking that spot that made my back arch off the mattress. 

I imagined his voice in my ear, low and wrecked, growling my name while he worked me open. 

I fisted my hand into my hair, yanking so hard that the pressure made my clit gush with more juice. I stroked faster, spreading my legs wider as the wet sound of my stroke filled the room.

Not long after, I came so hard my thighs shook, his name ripping out of my mouth like a prayer I couldn't hold back.

 "Aiden... fuck, Aiden..." Just a whisper, but it felt like a scream in the quiet room.

By the time I finally cleaned up and made it downstairs, my legs were still a little wobbly and my cheeks were burning. 

I hope nobody will notice.

The dining room smelled like home...garlic, butter, that faint hint of Dad's aftershave that never changed. 

Everyone was already seated. I slid into the empty chair between Aiden and Julian, trying to look casual, like I hadn't just fingered myself to the memory of my elder brother jerking off in the shower.

"Wow. The uninvited princess decides to finally join in," Julian teased, grinning like the smug big brother he was. "Are you aware that you had everyone waiting?"

I rolled my eyes and reached for the water pitcher. "Fashionably late is a thing, Jules. Look it up."

Dad cleared his throat from the head of the table, fork paused mid-air. "I'm not complaining about having a full house...God knows the mansion has been too quiet...but why exactly are you back, Princess? School's still going, isn't it?"

I gave him my sweetest sarcastic smile. "Can't a girl come home because she missed her family? Or does that only apply to the boys?"

Mom laughed softly, the warm sound cutting through the tension like it always did. "Don't mind them, sweetheart. I'm just glad you're here. The house feels right with all of you under one roof."

Dad turned to Aiden and Julian next, switching into full dad-mode. "And you two...how's living alone as bachelors treating you? I hope you're actually cleaning up after yourselves and not living like animals."

Julian groaned. "Dad!"

Aiden gave that polite half-smile he always used with my parents. "We learned to adapt, Mr. Walter."

Dad waved a hand, smiling wide. "When are you going to start calling me Dad? I practically raised you, son. You are my son."

I coughed into my napkin, the sound sharper than I meant it to be. "Aiden's not my brother. I have one brother and his name is Julian."

Mom gave me that classic mother-look...the one that said grow up. 

"Gabriella, sweetheart, when are you going to learn to accept Aiden as a member of this family? Honestly."

Only if he becomes mine forever, I thought, stabbing a piece of asparagus like it had personally offended me. He can't be mine if we all keep playing happy family and pretending he's just another sibling.

Everyone always thought I hated the idea of Aiden being my brother. 

They were right. I didn't want him as a brother at all. I wanted him to be so much more. I just never said it out loud. Not once.

Dad tried again, turning to me. "So... how was your last paper? You never sent the grade."

I ignored him completely, focusing on my plate like I hadn't eaten in weeks. The chicken suddenly required my full attention.

Dad groaned and looked across the table. "Aiden, please ask your sister how her results for last semester were."

Here we go. 

It had always been like this. Anytime they wanted me to do something I didn't feel like doing, they went through Aiden. 

Because everyone swore I was "so fond" of him and I "always listened" to him. Like he had some secret remote control to my brain.

Why wouldn't I listen to him? I thought, sneaking a glance his way.

 God, he looked ridiculous tonight...ridiculously hot. 

Six-foot-five of pure Greek-god territory. Jet-black hair still a little damp from his shower, ice-blue eyes sharp enough to cut glass, that scar through his eyebrow making him look dangerous even when he was just buttering bread. 

Broad shoulders stretching his button-down, the kind of jawline that made smart girls forget how to spell. He was the kind of beautiful that should come with a warning label.

Aiden's voice broke through my thoughts, low and easy. "How'd you do, kiddo?"

Kiddo? My stomach flipped with irritation and something hotter. Why does he keep calling me that? I'm a grown-ass woman, not the toddler who used to follow him around the house.

But my mouth was already moving on autopilot, like it always did around him. 

"I aced everything," I said, shrugging like it was no big deal even though my chest puffed up a little. "Straight A's across the board. Dean's list again."

Everyone exploded with congratulations...Aiden grinning like he was proud, Mom clapping, Julian ruffling my hair like I was still twelve. 

Dad, though? Dad was sulking, arms crossed, staring at his plate.

Mom elbowed him gently. "Stop acting like a child, honey. You should be used to this by now."

Dad brooded harder. "She's my daughter, Trish. Have you ever watched your own daughter call another person Mom and not you?"

Mom burst out laughing. "You're still remembering that? How old was Gabby back then...fifteen? She used to mistakenly call Aiden 'Daddy' all the time."

Aiden groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "No one should remind me of those days. It was hell having a little sister following me everywhere like she didn't have a mind of her own."

Julian leaned in, mimicking my old high-pitched voice perfectly. "Daddy, can you pass me the salt? Daddy, will you carry me? Daddy, I lost my favorite teddy, can you be my new teddy?"

The whole table cracked up. Even Mom wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

I stabbed my fork into my chicken so hard the plate rattled and shot Julian a death glare that could've melted steel.

Inside, I was screaming. I was sure I hadn't been confused about who my biological father was. 

I mean, how could anyone confuse this bald-headed, slightly-round-in-the-middle business tycoon with this figure of perfection sitting right next to me? 

And I was even more sure the "Daddy" I'd been calling wasn't the one they all thought it was.

Heat crept up my neck at the memory of the shower, of Aiden's hand flying over that thick cock, of the way he'd groaned like he was dying for release. I pressed my thighs together under the table and prayed no one noticed.

Dad cleared his throat, obviously trying to steer the conversation back to safer ground. "So...why exactly did you two come back this time? Surely it's not because you missed us. Need financial assistance with your company?"

Aiden set his fork down, wiped his mouth with the linen napkin, and looked straight at my parents. "I came back because I want to introduce you all to someone."

Mom and Dad exchanged one of those long, loaded glances...the kind parents do when they're speaking in full sentences without saying a word. 

My stomach just twisted.

Why are they all glancing at each other like they're speaking some cryptic language? What the hell is going on?

Mom leaned forward, smiling curiously. "Who?"

Aiden dropped his napkin, leaned back in his chair, and said it so calmly it felt like the floor dropped out from under me.

"My girlfriend. I want to introduce you all to the girl I love."

The world spun. Blood rushed to my ears so fast everything else went silent. All I could hear was that one word echoing over and over...girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend.

He wants to introduce a girl? That he loves?

Gabby's POV

The more I thought about what he just said, the harder his words hit me like a slap across the face.

A girl? He loves a girl?

My fork slipped from my fingers and clattered against the plate when I saw the look on his face. 

He wasn't joking. 

The sound was too loud in the sudden silence that dropped over the dining room. 

Mom's eyes went wide with delight instantly at the news. Dad actually grinned, that big, proud smile he saved for when one of the guys did something "manly" or responsible. Julian leaned forward, elbows on the table, already laughing like this was the best news he'd heard all year.

"Oh my God, Aiden!" Mom clapped her hands together. "You've found a girl? Are you ready to settle down now? That's wonderful! When do we meet her? Tell us everything!"

Dad was nodding so hard I thought his head might fall off. "Finally settling down with one girl, huh? About time, son. We've been waiting for this day."

Julian punched Aiden's shoulder lightly. "Look at you, big guy. Locked down. I guess I'm the only player now."

Everyone was buzzing, chairs shifting, questions flying...What's her name? How long have you been together? Is she coming for dinner tomorrow?...like we were all in some happy family commercial. Like this was normal. 

Like the world wasn't cracking open right under my feet.

I couldn't breathe. My chest felt too tight, like someone had wrapped barbed wire around my ribs and was pulling it tighter with every second.

Is this supposed to be a good thing?

The word kept looping in my head, louder and louder. He was in love with someone...and maybe soon, he'll be talking about marrying her? Some other woman was going to get his ring, his last name, his dick, his mornings, his nights, the way he groaned when he came...

No. Fuck that.

There's no way I'm letting that happen.

I'd been destroying his flings since I turned sixteen, and I wasn't about to stop now. Not when it mattered this much.

It's safe to say that I was the reason none of his girlfriends stayed longer than a few days.

I still remembered the first one. Her name was Chloe. All glossy hair, soft laughter, and that effortless confidence that made people think she belonged anywhere she stepped. 

Especially in our house.

Aiden was twenty-four then, fresh out of high school, and she was his very first real crush. The first girl he looked at like she mattered.

I'd hated her instantly.

Not because of anything she did...

But because of how easily she fit into his life.

I'd watched them from the staircase the day she came over...her giggling at everything he said, her hand sliding into his back pocket like she owned him. It made me sick.

So I fixed it.

I didn't confront her. That would've been messy. Obviously.

No...sixteen-year-old me had been smarter than that.

I let her settle in first. Let her get comfortable. Let her believe she'd already won.

Then I slipped in right where it would hurt the most.

A careless comment here. A quiet "accidental" reveal there. Nothing loud. Nothing dramatic. Just enough.

Just enough to make her question him.

Just enough to make her feel stupid for trusting him.

I made it sound like a pattern...like she wasn't special, just the latest in a long line of girls he got bored of. I didn't accuse him of anything outright...I didn't need to.

Doubt does the real damage.

By the time I was done, she was watching him differently. Every word he said, every touch, every smile...she was second-guessing all of it.

And once that crack forms?

It spreads.

Fast.

She didn't fight for him. Didn't ask questions. Didn't try to fix anything.

She just...left. 

Blocked him everywhere like he'd done something unforgivable.

I remember how confused he'd been. The frustration. The way he kept checking his phone like it might magically explain itself.

He never figured it out.

He never did.

And me?

I stood back and watched it all fall apart...knowing all it took was a few well-placed words.

I'd smiled into my pillow that night, heart racing with victory. That was just the beginning.

After that it got easier. A fake text from a "pregnant ex" here. A whispered comment about how Aiden "still called me his little girl" there. 

One time I even paid someone to show up at his apartment in London wearing nothing but his old varsity jacket and instructed her to tell the girl he was seeing that she was "the reason he could never really commit." 

She packed her bags before breakfast. Every single time, I made sure I was the poison in the well. 

Because he was mine. He'd been mine since I was born. No one else got to have him. Not ever.

And now this? This new love interest?

I was going to burn it to the ground before she even stepped foot in this house.

Aiden turned to me then, that easy, crooked smile on his face like he had no idea he was ripping my heart out. 

"Kiddo, are you excited to meet my girl? You know...she could be your sister-in-law if it works out."

Kiddo? I'm a fucking adult!

The word snapped something inside me.

I shot up so fast my chair scraped back across the hardwood with a screech that made everyone flinch. 

My hands were shaking. I could feel the heat crawling up my neck again, the same heat from earlier when I'd come with his name on my lips.

"You're not my brother," I said, voice low and sharp, each word cutting through the happy little bubble they'd built around the table. "So why the hell would your dumb girlfriend be my sister-in-law?"

The silence that followed was deafening as all eyes turned towards me.

Mom's smile dropped. "Gabriella-"

Dad's face went from proud to thunderous in a heartbeat. "Gabby, apologize to your brother. Right now. That is completely out of line."

"He is not my brother!" I screamed, not even bothering to look at them. 

My eyes were locked on Aiden. Those ice-blue eyes that had been watching me my whole life, the ones I'd pictured between my legs less than an hour ago. 

He looked... surprised. Hurt, maybe. Good. Let him feel a fraction of what I was feeling.

I shoved my chair in harder than necessary. "And no. I won't be apologizing for stating facts!"

Then I turned and walked away before anyone could stop me, heels of my bare feet slapping against the floor. 

The hallway stretched long and dark in front of me, the old money silence wrapping around me like it always did...thick walls, heavier secrets. 

I could hear Mom calling my name behind me, Dad muttering something about "teenage hormones," Julian trying to laugh it off like it was just Gabby being Gabby.

But I didn't stop. I took the stairs two at a time, pulse hammering in my ears, tears burning behind my eyes that I refused to let fall.

He has fallen in love with someone new?

Fine.

I'd destroy this one too. Just like all the others. Only this time I wouldn't stop until there was nothing left.

Because Aiden Calder wasn't ever going to have a girlfriend as long as I'm alive.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

I was about to shut the door when a foot pushed in, stopping it.

I looked up...and there he was.

Aiden.