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MARKS

Author: Asmodeus
last update Last Updated: 2024-09-02 00:59:35

The morning light streamed through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the room.

I woke up feeling a strange mix of emotions—guilt, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of regret. My body was aching and mind was still foggy from the events of the previous night, but as the memories slowly resurfaced, my heart began to race.

I pushed myself up from the bed, the sheets tangled around my legs. I went to the bathroom to throw some cold water on my face because it felt like I was burning. The water did little to nothing to make me feel better, but when I saw my reflection in the mirror I let out a scream.

Blue and red spots were scattered all aroundy neck and chest, big and small. I threw some water and tried wiping them off with the help of towel thinking they were not real. How could they be? The hickies Camilia had shown me proudly after her first night with Phineas were nothing like those.

How had I let things go so far? I had promised myself that I would keep my distance, th
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  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    BUSINESS SCHOOL

    I took a deep breath as I descended the marble staircase, my fingers lightly tracing the smooth glass railing. The morning sun filtered through the tall windows, casting a warm glow across the marble floor of the entrance hall, but it did little to ease the tension knotting in my stomach. My heart pounded as I kept my head slightly lowered, my hair draped to one side, praying it would be enough to hide the faint marks Lucas had left on my neck. I had watched a tutorial on YouTube about how to hide hickeys using foundation and tried to follow the instructions, but I wasn’t confident in the results. The mere thought of someone noticing—Dev or, worse, Caspian—sent a wave of nausea through me. The house was eerily quiet, the usual hustle and bustle of the Salvatore family subdued in the early hours. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I paused. Ian was standing with a plate full of sandwiches in the hallway connecting the entrance hall to the family room. He looked up when he

    Last Updated : 2024-09-03
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    BREAKFAST

    “Missed you at dinner yesterday.”My breath hitched slightly, and I struggled to maintain my composure under Caspian's scrutinizing gaze. He was standing right across from me, his eyes dark and calculating, and for a moment, I was terrified he might notice something was off.“Good morning, Caspian,” I replied, hoping my voice didn't betray my nerves. I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my voice. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling too well, so I decided to rest early,” I lied, my voice surprisingly steady despite the turmoil churning inside me.Caspian’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite place—concern, perhaps? But just like the day before, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by his usual stern expression.“I see,” he said, his tone even. “You’re feeling better now, I hope?”“Yes, much better,” I lied, forcing a smile on his way. He didn’t respond, but his gaze lingered on me a moment longer, and I felt like he could see right through me. My heart was racin

    Last Updated : 2024-09-03
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    EMBRACE

    When everyone had finally finished eating, I started helping Dev carry plates to the kitchen, while Caspian escorted a still-protesting Leo toward the main door. The youngest Salvatore had been reluctant to go to school after learning I would be visiting the town with Neel.“Please, Caspian, just let me stay home today,” Leo pleaded after wriggling free from Caspian’s grasp. He folded his hands and dramatically dropped to the ground. “I promise I won’t cause any trouble. I just want to hang out with Kat and Neel too, please, big brother. I’ll do all my schoolwork later; my studies won’t be affected.”“Stop being silly, Leo,” Caspian said, picking Leo up like a doll and tossing him over his shoulder. “You’re going to school. I’ll take you to Seattle over the weekend.”“I don’t want to! Please, let me stay home today!” Leo tried to break free again, but Caspian had learned from his earlier mistake and was holding him tighter this time.“And I’ll take you to Disneyland when I’m free. Tha

    Last Updated : 2024-09-05
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    MORE

    After the kiss, the air between Dev and me felt heavier, laden with something unsaid, something we were both hesitant to acknowledge. He pulled back slowly, as if unsure of what to say. His eyes, still soft and warm, darted around the kitchen before settling on mine again.“Katherine…” His voice was barely above a whisper, his fingers trailing the side of my face gently as if weighing what he was about to say.I swallowed hard, not sure where to look or how to respond. I crossed the line again. This time with another brother. Guilt surged through me like a wave, followed by something far more unsettling—a longing I couldn’t quite place. However, with Dev, it felt different. It wasn’t like when I was with Lucas. When Dev and I kissed, something sparked between us that neither of us could fully understand, but we both felt it. Something more than just physical desire, something that scared me.“I’m sorry if that—” I began, but Dev shook his head quickly, cutting me off.“You don’t have

    Last Updated : 2024-09-05
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    PARK

    I came downstairs when Dev texted me that Neel was back and waiting for me.My heart still felt heavy, a mix of guilt and confusion swirling within me, but I pushed those thoughts aside. I couldn’t dwell on what had happened with Dev, not right now.When I entered the entrance hall, Neel was seated comfortably on a loveseat, flipping through one of his well-worn books. His fingers moved over the yellowed pages with the kind of familiarity that only came from revisiting old favorites.I remembered Leo telling me during breakfast that Neel had read through every single book on the shelves in the entrance hall. I still found that hard to believe because there were hundreds of books in the hall, from various genres and countries.“Hey,” he greeted with his usual soft smile, looking up as I approached. He set the book aside, closing it gently as if saying farewell to an old friend. “Ready for our little adventure?”“Yeah,” I replied, trying to inject some excitement into my voice. In truth

    Last Updated : 2024-09-06
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    FAMILY

    After a while in the park, Neel stood and stretched. “Want to check out the bookstore now?” he asked with a grin.“Only if you promise to buy me ice cream,” I said, giving him my hand to pull me up.He laughed. “Okay, books then ice cream. Sounds like a plan.” He pulled me to my feet, and together, we made our way to the entrance of the park.“An amazing plan,” I added with a smile.We walked in comfortable silence for a while, the sound of the water lapping at the shore filling the space between us. It was peaceful here, away from the chaos of the house, and for the first time since Grandma’s death, I found myself truly relaxing.“So,” Neel began as we reached the edge of the park. “How are you holding up?”His question caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”He smiled knowingly. “It’s a lot, isn’t it? Moving here, adjusting to all of us… I know it can’t be easy leaving your life behind.”I bit my lip, trying to find the right words. At this point, everyone in the house had asked me

    Last Updated : 2024-09-07
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    SULKING

    As the sun faded behind the horizon, Neel and I rode back together on his motorcycle. We spent a couple of hours at the town’s local museum. The building wasn't anything extraordinary but had its old charm. We spent around two hours inside, moving from one section to another, reading the information on the exhibit labels and taking pictures. Along with a history section, the museum also had zoology and botany departments. There were taxidermies of wild cats, bears and reptiles, fossils and skeletons of extinct species, plant samples from different parts of the countries and various chats describing the living conditions of various plants and animals. The local history exhibits were kind of interesting, displaying the heritage and cultural shifts in the town over the last three centuries. There were many displays dedicated to the native tribes of the region too. That ended up being my favourite section. At first, I thought the museum would be boring, but it wasn’t. Neel made

    Last Updated : 2024-09-08
  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    BALCONY

    I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my phone. The screen glowed, showing the time. 1:55 AM. I’d told myself that I wouldn’t wait up for him, that I didn’t care if Lucas showed up or not. But here I was, counting down the minutes, my stomach in knots. It was stupid. I knew it was. I didn’t want this, didn’t want him. At least that’s what I kept telling myself whenever bits of consciousness kicked in to let me know that I kissed his brother, the same day. My fingers hovered over the phone, and the urge to send him a message rang when I saw he was online on I*******m. But what would I even say? Ask where he was? Or why he hadn’t bothered to text? No. That would make it seem like I cared too much. Like I was waiting for him. And I couldn’t give him that kind of satisfaction. Different thoughts and questions came to my mind. I fell on my bed telling myself that I was being stupid. That it wasn't me. I couldn't possibly wait for a man, especially Lucas, to show up and pla

    Last Updated : 2024-09-08

Latest chapter

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    BITTERSWEET

    The Salvatore mansion didn't feel like home anymore.As I walked through the mansion once again, I felt the same way I did the first time—cold and out of place. The strange environment loomed around me, and with each step I took inside, I sensed a profound emptiness, the lingering ghosts of everything that had happened. Perhaps we changed while we were in the safe house, or maybe it was the mansion that had endured too much destruction in a very short period of time. The mansion was still recovering from the nightmares, and the gloom was maybe its way of narrating the pain. Not long ago secrets had been unraveled, trusts were shattered between the family members, and blood was spilled in the very entrance hall I was standing inside. In just a month, it was just a house again—not a home like it used to be. The brothers felt the changes, too; it was apparent on their faces. They could hear the silence everywhere inside the house, and the winds of winter that seemed to fill every corn

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    WALKED AWAY

    Caspian barely slept in a week and it was showing. None of us really got any sleep, but it was a little different with Caspian. The lack of sleep wasn't the only reason for the permanent exhaustion in his eyes like us, it was the weight of everything he was letting press down on him—crushing him, consuming his thoughts. It had been a whole week since the news about Derek's involvement in the money laundering was aired all across the country. Everything had only gotten worse after that. The Salvatore name was plastered across every news outlet—big or small. Everyone had their own take on the case, be it the editors of the Washington Post or The New York Times, anchors from CNN or Fox News, and even the social media influencers who were reporting the controversy in the hope of getting views and likes.In no time it became one of the biggest scandals in recent times. And Caspian being the oldest, took it all upon himself. Although we knew it was the politicians and businessmen whose

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    GOOD MAN

    The main purpose of us getting a safe house was to be safe, but the FBI made it feel anything but safe for us. The air inside the house felt suffocating to me, thick with an unspoken fear that we all felt, but none of us dared to voice. In the last three days, the FBI has visited us five times. The first day they took statements from us and collected evidence—the standard protocol—nothing more than that. We thought it was all, but Caspian warned us that it was just the beginning, and just like he said, they came back once again. This time they took our individual statements and cross-examined us. Since we were already prepared with our answers, nothing felt out of the ordinary. However, I noticed the way some of the officers were looking at us. They knew we were hiding something, but they had no proof. Caspian made sure that everything in the house was how it was supposed to be after Derek left. It was their sixth visit that day. The FBI agents sat across from us in the living ro

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    CASPIAN'S POV: Part 8

    They weren’t kissing, but they were about to, I was sure of that. Matthew called just a few seconds ago, to update on the situation. It wasn't looking good for us and we needed to plan our next move. I went into the room Dev was staying to call them both so that we could discuss the problem and try to come up with a solution together. However, I didn't expect to catch them just as they were about to kiss. I saw the way Dev hesitated and pulled away from Kat when I pushed the door open, the way Kat looked utterly lost as if she didn’t know how to process what had just happened between them. I was heartbroken by that but hid my feelings because it wasn't the right time to have that conversation. Instead, I focused on my brother and noticed the slight flush on his face. His fingers were twitching at his sides like he was debating whether to reach for her again or not. And Kat… she was frozen. It looked like she hadn’t yet decided if what happened was a mistake or not.And for a secon

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    DEV'S POV: Part 1

    Kat was never mine to fall for, to hold, to kiss, or to even dream about. She was in love with Caspian even if she didn't realize it herself, or was too afraid to accept the truth. Everyone in the house knew it, and I tried to convince myself the same thing a thousand times, that she wasn’t mine to love, that she had never been mine. The moments that we shared together were the prize for the good deeds I'd done in my life. There couldn't be any other reason for someone as beautiful as her to be interested in someone like me. Someone who is predictable, obsessed with things that don't matter, and lacks any social skills. I had nothing to offer her and I knew I was just another fool caught in her gravity, nothing more. It wasn't her fault or mine, it's just the universe forcing the likes of me to orbit around her. Each one of us was attracted by her warmth and kindness at first but couldn't break free after because leaving her meant spending eons in darkness. In her heart, there ha

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    RISKY BUT FLAWLESS

    Silence filled the room as Lucas finally exhaled and nodded in agreement with Caspian. “I don’t like this plan,” he admitted truthfully, rubbing his temples. I knew it was a hard decision for him because he did blame Derek for the things that were happening to the family. And neither of us could disagree with him. We knew he was right, but the actual issue was Derek's safety. “But… I don’t want Dad in prison with Alaric either. You are right, Alaric would make friends inside if he didn't already have one.”“Not just Alaric, the politicians and businessmen whose names are on the list would also try to have Dad killed,” Harry added, scratching his head. “You know the legal system of our country, one can pay to get anything done. We have to find a solution for them too.”“True, they are going to be troublesome in the future,” Neel agreed with Harry, bringing another pressing matter in front of our eyes. They made many new enemies in order to get rid of Alaric from their lives. “We have

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    FAKE PASSPORT

    By the time we arrived at the safe house, exhaustion and anxiety had settled deep into my bones. The thing we dreaded for so long finally happened and there was no taking it back. Mom confessed, Matthew showed the cops a file about money laundering and fake charities and officially lodged a complaint against Alaric. We did everything we could have done, there wasn't anything else in our hand. It was now on the cops and Matthew to move things forward. All we could do was wait for the things to unfold and hope they would go how we wanted them, and not in the opposite direction. The drive from the police station had been quiet, aside from Caspian’s occasional instructions about what needed to be done next. It was the same old thing, but I knew he was terrified and needed to say it, so I played along and kept nodding my head whenever he looked at me. My mom was in the back seat, staring out of the window, lost in her own thoughts after everything that had transpired that morning. Even

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    SERGEANT GRAYSON

    Before I could wrap my head around it all, the car stopped and we were in the parking lot of the police station. It was nothing like I expected. The inside was sterile, buzzing with incoherent movement. Officers moved briskly through the halls with a serious expression on their faces. Not a smile or light-hearted conversations like they showed in those TV shows. Phones rang in the background, and the permanent smell of coffee and printer ink lingered in the air.We approached the front desk, where a uniformed officer looked up at us. She was middle-aged, and her dark brown hair was tied in a tight bun. Her eyes flicked over the three of us before settling on my mom.“Can I help you?” she asked, trying not to come off as intermediating, seeing the fear in mom's eyes. “I-I need to speak with Sergeant Grayson,” she was able to speak out. “It’s about Derek Salvatore’s case. It's important and quite urgent.”The officer’s eyes sharpened slightly, but she nodded her head. “Do you have an

  • My 7 Deadly Stepbrothers    POLICE STATION

    The morning air was like a kitchen knife, and I felt it pressing down on my neck, ready to draw blood. I was still unsure about the day and the plan they had cooked to fight against their uncle, but I kept a smile on my face to support them, especially my mom, for the big step she was going to take against Alaric. I tried to convince myself that nothing bad would happen, but it was futile. It's like I was waiting for something bad to happen and ruin everything. My anxiety wasn't helping either, and wrapped around the conversation I had with Cami about Caspian the night before, my head was a mess. Every time I looked at Caspian, I could hear Cami saying that I was in love with him. I was sitting at the dining table with Caspian, Lucas, and Dev, going through the plan for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. I could see that Dev knew something was bothering me, but just like I was pretending about Caspian's plan and smiling to support them, he was pretending and smiling

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