My Stepbrother Wants Me-Chapter 139: Stay Away From Catherine

Julian’s POV

My mind kept on wondering where Catherine was.

My eyes had been roaming the hall for a while now and still, they caught no trace of her. I couldn’t even stop myself from thinking of her with that guy. He looked hot and from the way he was staring at Catherine, it seemed he was into her.

No! I wasn’t jealous.

I tried to convince myself again and again but a physical ache twisted in my gut. I looked down at my own sleeves, the perfectly pressed cufflinks, the expensive watch—the uniform of a captive, then I compared it all to that guy.

He looked hot too. He looked like he could take Catherine anywhere he wanted, and right now, "anywhere" was away from me. Men like that were nothing but players, who saw the hearts of women as football.

I scanned the room again frantically, the urgent need to find her kept growing. I needed to make sure she wasn’t actually falling for whatever game that tattooed bastard was playing.

But I couldn’t find her with Lucy attached to me like a parasite. I waited, my pulse hammering in my ears, until Lucy was distracted by a passing tray of champagne.

"I’ll be right back," I muttered, not waiting for her response.

I moved through the crowd like a ghost, my eyes darting into every shadowed corner.

"Whoa, easy there, big brother. You look like you’re hunting for a fugitive."

I spun around to find Gabriel leaning against a pillar, with a crooked grin on his face and a drink in his hand. He looked entirely too relaxed, the complete opposite of me.

"Gabriel," I said, forcing myself to relax my shoulders before lowering my voice, while trying to sound casual. "Have you seen Catherine?"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out and poked my shoulder playfully, his grin widening. "Forget Catherine for a second. Why didn’t you tell me you and Lucy were finally an ’item’? I thought you guys were just best of friends? I really can’t believe you hid that to yourself but that kiss on stage? Man, you two really went for it. The Vaughn name is trending on every social media site in the country right now."

I swallowed hard, the taste of the lie bitter in my mouth. It hurt to realize that even Gabriel, my own brother, couldn’t see my sadness or noticed that this was a performance. To him, I was just the brother who had finally "come to his senses" and embraced the family’s latest PR stunt.

"We’ll talk about that later, Gabe," I hissed, leaning in so the nearby guests wouldn’t overhear. "I really don’t want to draw more attention to myself right now."

He chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "A bit late for that, don’t you think? The attention is already on you. Your name is on everyone’s lips. Half the girls in here are heartbroken that the ’Hot Vaughn Bachelor’ is officially off the market, and the other half are wondering how Lucy pulled it off."

"I’m aware," I snapped, my patience fraying. "No need to taunt me further. Now, tell me... have you seen Catherine?"

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly, I could see the look of suspicion crossing his face. "And why are you even looking for her? You literally just announced a girlfriend to the entire world, Julian. You should be basking in your ’romance.’"

"She has my phone," I blurted out, the first lie that came to mind. "I handed it to her earlier, but I need it now for a call from the Foundation. It’s urgent."

"Oh." Gabriel blinked, satisfied by the explanation. He looked around the room, his eyes scanning the balcony doors. "I haven’t seen her for a bit. The last time I saw, she was with..."

Just then, Kiera passed by us."

"Kiera!" Gabriel called out.

"No, don’t—" I started, but it was too late.

Kiera stopped and turned to us with a searching look on her face, probably wondering why she was called. She smoothed her hair into her ponytail and walked toward us. "Hmm, the Vaughn brothers. Is there a problem?"

"Julian’s looking for Catherine," Gabriel spoke on my behalf, blissfully unaware of the tension. "He says she has his phone. Have you seen her?"

Kiera paused, her eyes on me for a second longer than necessary. She looked like she was enjoying my discomfort. She made a show of "thinking," tapping a manicured finger against her chin before a faux-happy smile broke across her face.

"Oh! I don’t know where she is at the moment," Kiera said, her voice dripping with sugary intent. "But I wouldn’t want to disturb her, if I were you. She’s in excellent hands.... with Dante."

The name hit me and my jaw tightened so hard I heard my teeth creak. So his name is Dante. The tattooed guy. The one who looked at her like she was a prize he had already won.

"Dante?" Gabriel asked with a surprised tone. "Who’s Dante?"

"My brother," Kiera replied, her smile turning to a smirk. "He’s been dying to meet Catherine. He has a bit of a thing for... well, for women who need a little excitement in their lives. And after tonight? I think Catherine is definitely looking for some excitement."

I felt the blood drain from my face, replaced by a cold, white-hot fury. My hands balled into fists at my sides. I was about to turn and walk away... to hunt Dante down and rip Catherine away from him, when Lucy’s annoying voice made me freeze.

"There you are, darling!" She moved into our circle, her hand sliding into mine and intertwining her fingers with mine with a possessiveness that made me want to strangle her. She leaned her head against my shoulder, looking at Gabriel and Kiera with a look of fake innocence.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked, her eyes darting between us. "Are we planning something against me?"

Gabriel let out a loud, easy laugh. "Planning against you? Please, Lucy. We can’t be planning against the lady of the hour, especially not when her lovely boyfriend is right here."

Lucy actually blushed, a sight that made me feel physically ill. She squeezed my hand, looking up at me. How could she enjoy this pretense? "Lovely boyfriend? I like the sound of that."

The fury in my veins was reaching a boiling point. I could feel Kiera’s eyes on me. She didn’t say a word, but the way she looked at me told me exactly what she thought: I was a coward who had chosen his father over Catherine.

"If you’ll excuse me," her voice sounded icy. "I have more interesting people to talk to."

She turned and walked away without a backward glance.

"I have to use the restroom," the excuse left my mouth at that very minute. I didn’t wait for her to nod or pout. I pulled my hand from hers and walked away, my pace quick and purposeful.

I moved through the crowd, while waiting until I saw Lucy get pulled into a conversation with some socialites. The moment her back was turned, I doubled back, weaving through the service hallway and catching Kiera just as she was about to re-enter the main ballroom.

I stepped into her path, cornering her near a tall arrangement of flowers.

"Kiera," I breathed, my voice low and desperate. "Please tell me where she is. I know you know."

Kiera didn’t flinch. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with anger. I was starting to think I made a terrible decision approaching her.

"You really have a lot of nerve, Mr. Vaughn," she said, her voice a low hiss. "You just stood on that stage and kissed a girl who Catherine despises, and told the world she’s yours. Now you’re lurking in corners asking about her?"

"It’s not what it looks like," I whispered, reaching out to grab her arm, but she stepped back as if I carried a communicable disease.

"It looks exactly like what it is," Kiera warned, her finger pointing at my chest. "You’ve made your choice. You chose Richard. You chose the ’Vaughn’ way. So do us all a favor and leave Catherine alone. She’s finally with a man who isn’t afraid of his own father. She’s finally with someone who actually knows how to protect her."

"Kiera, I—"

"Don’t," she snapped, her eyes flashing. "If you ever actually cared about her, you’ll stay in there with your ’girlfriend’ and let Catherine have one night where she isn’t your collateral damage. Stay away from her, Julian. I mean it."

She walked out on me, leaving me standing in the dim light of the hallway.

I looked around to see if anyone was looking, when I saw it was clear, I forcefully shoved my head to the wall surface, inflicting injury on my knuckles. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I deserve all this pain. I should have fucking told her, instead of dealing with all of this."