The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

Eve saw the two of them coming in, one after the other, and asked, “Are you hang out together?”

Both of them denied in unison, “No!”

Eve chuckled, which irritated Annabel even more.

She heard in the next morning that Logan had caught a cold and hadn’t come down for breakfast.

At the breakfast table, Annabel mentioned to Thomas about spending the winter break in New Avalon. It was because the old lady had called him early about it, and her attitude was very firm. Thomas didn’t oppose it either.

Since the bar incident, Thomas hadn’t been as strict with her. But the relationship between father and daughter had become even colder than before, as they hardly spoke a complete sentence to each other without arguing.

The night before going abroad, Annabel was packing her luggage at home when Orla called. “Did you get Logan’s FB account for me?”

“No.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow. Please… Are you even a friend?”

“No.”

“Ah… Bella, please, you’re the best, you’re the most beautiful, you’re a fairy…”

“Okay, I’ll give you the his phone number. You ask him yourself.”

“No, you ask for me, or else I’ll die , do you believe me?”

“Then go ahead and die.”

“Bella…” Orla actually started sobbing.

Orla resorted to all sorts of tactics, like coaxing, throwing tantrums, and whatnot, to achieve her goal. Annabel was annoyed, “Fine, since Logan won’t like you anyway, it’s better for you to verify it for yourself.”

After hanging up the phone, she struggled for a long time before knocking on the door of the adjacent room.

Logan was sitting on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, with a thick book on his knee. “What’s up?”

He tilted his head slightly, asking her in a heavy nasal tone.

Annabel sneered at the bookworm in her heart again. “Give me your FB account.”

Logan looked surprised and blushed again, “I’ll send it to your phone.”

Annabel looked at his face, prettier than a girl’s, and tentatively asked him, “Do many girls confess to you?”

Logan nodded calmly, but without a proud expression. Annabel couldn’t help but be curious and asked, “Do you reject them all?”

Logan was more confused but admitted straightforwardly, “Yeah.”

Annabel couldn’t help but laugh at Logan’s taste. He had given up a whole forest for a girl like Aria. But that was just as well. It meant Orla didn’t stand a chance. She didn’t want her friend to have anything to do with Logan.

Suddenly, Logan turned the question back on her, “So, do you like David or Mason?”

She turned her head away, adopting the expression he hated the most. “Who I like is none of your business.”

Suddenly, Logan felt an overwhelming urge to throttle her.

This year’s weather seemed unusually cold, with heavy snow falling for a long time. The bad weather didn’t dampen Annabel’s excitement to go to New Avalon. She couldn’t wait to rush through security without even saying goodbye to Thomas, who had taken the time to see her off and couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s. On New Year’s Day, the Green Family’s servants were all on holiday, so everything had to do for themselves. In previous years, Thomas would have Logan and Annabel decorate the house together, but they can argue in the yard for half the morning.

This year, Annabel wasn’t there, and Thomas had intended to do it himself, but Logan said he could handle it alone.

Sure enough, Logan finished in just over half an hour. Thomas watched him from the steps, nodding in satisfaction at the energetic young man. “Looks like Bella used to make trouble for you.”

Logan smiled but said nothing. Thomas patted him on the shoulder gently. “You’re the older brother. If Annabel misbehaves, you should discipline her, not indulge her.”

Logan thought to himself, “If you can’t handle it, what can I do?”

In the evening, Brenna cooked personally, and the table was filled with delicious dishes. The three of them had a pleasant meal together, but Logan felt like something was missing.

“Gan, this is your lucky money.” Thomas and Brenna both smiled and handed him a big red envelope. He couldn’t help but think of Annabel again, as if he could see her reaching out to grab his envelope, wondering if his was more than her.

Logan shook his head, feeling like he was going crazy. Why did he keep thinking of her today?

“Gan, come and wish Grandma, Aunt, and Uncle a happy New Year.” Brenna waved to him from the study door, her smile somewhat embarrassed. It was clear that Bonnie hadn’t given her a warm welcome. She had never treated them as family, so they had lived alone in the old house with Annabel for all these years.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Naturally, Logan didn’t have much affection for the Green Family’s old lady. He frowned, wanting to refuse but fearing to embarrass Brenna, so he got up and went to the study.

“Grandma, Happy New Year.” Bonnie in the video just nodded slightly, her expression cold. The sharpness of her youth was still evident in her eyebrows and eyes. The aunt and uncle sitting beside her were very concerned about his studies and life.

After chatting for a long time without seeing Annabel appear in the video, Thomas suddenly asked, “Where’s Bella?”

On this festive day of reunion, both Bonnie and Annabel were absent, which left Thomas feeling a little regretful.

Bonnie complained, “You treat your own daughter like an enemy, but you treat your stepson like your own. No wonder she’s not close to you.” Apparently, Annabel had reported quite a bit. Brenna looked embarrassed, probably afraid that Logan would feel uncomfortable hearing this. She patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him, and said, “You go and do your thing first.”

Logan looked calmly at the screen for a moment and then left the room.

From childhood to adulthood, Logan had always had this calm face. He was restrained and disciplined, not like a child at all. Bonnie, who had been shrewd all her life, couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Now that he was older and excelling in everything, Bonnie was even more wary of him.

Thomas quietly held Brenna’s hand and couldn’t help feeling angry at the mother on the other end of the video. “Mom, please stop saying things like that!”

Seeing that the situation was not right, Cora quickly changed the subject with a smile and adjusted the camera to focus on the sofa in the living room. She shouted, “Kids, come and greet your elders quickly.”

Just as Logan reached the door, he couldn’t help but turn his head back. In the video was a European-style living room with three people sitting on the sofa. On the left was Cora’s son Finny, about the same age as Logan. On the right was Kelsey, a year younger than Annabel. In the middle was the tall and thin Annabel. She wore a thin black turtleneck, and something she said must have been funny, as the two girls laughed and leaned against each other.

Finny and Kelsey quickly came over, but Annabel slowly approached the camera. In the light, the row of earrings on her left ear sparkled, and her hair was dyed smoky gray, making her look cool and aloof.

Logan suddenly thought she looked quite beautiful. He looked at Thomas again and saw that his face didn’t look good, but it was a holiday, and Bonnie was there, so he could only endure it.

Annabel casually said to the camera, “Boss, Happy New Year.”

Bonnie was speechless. “Bella, why are you talking to your dad like that?”

Although Bonnie pretended to be stern and scold her, her sharp gaze turned into a helpless indulgence when she looked at Annabel. How could Annabel not know? She turned and walked away arrogantly.

Logan cursed inwardly, “silly,” and then left the room.

Like most boys, Logan also liked to play games, but he was restrained and disciplined. However, since it was New Year’s Day, he decided to relax and play.

As it approached midnight, Logan glanced at the messages on FB. In the classmates’ group chat, everyone was greeting each other and chatting enthusiastically, and there were many classmates sending him private messages, mostly girls, but Logan often chose to ignore them.

Suddenly, there was a friend request on FB. He remembered that Annabel had asked for his account, so he didn’t hesitate to accept it. After adding the friend, the other party quickly came to say hello, but to his disappointment, it wasn’t Annabel, but Annabel’s friend Orla.

“Happy New Year, I’m Orla, Annabel’s friend. Do you remember me?”

Logan remembered her quite well. She always wore her hair in messy black braids and dressed provocatively, looking much more mature than Annabel. There were always plenty of boys around her, and although Ryan liked Aria, Ryan had once encountered Orla at the school gate, and his eyes couldn’t help but follow her.

Ryan often said he was strange. During puberty, when boys were interested in the opposite sex, Logan wasn’t interested in those girls at all.