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Chapter 3 Stepbrothers

Faye's POV

He's the one who helped me that day at Uncle Simon's café! But wait! Something's different! He's not the man who saved me; he's the man I met outside the café!

"You bumped into me," I rubbed my shoulder.

Those blue eyes stared at me calmly. "I'm sorry, but I need to correct you. We bumped into each other. Besides, I think you should take more responsibility than me..." His gaze shifted to my phone. "You were walking with your head down, looking at your phone."

Under his stern gaze, I felt a blush rising from my neck. My face began to heat up, but I didn't want to give in. "Alright, you're right, I apologize to you. But you should apologize to me too. You hurt me."

"Sorry. If you're in pain, I can take you to the hospital after I find the person I'm looking for."

Unexpectedly, this man, though serious, had a good attitude.

Was he here to pick someone up? I instinctively looked down and noticed he was holding a sign. Now, the sign is stained with coffee.

Wait, that name... it's so familiar!

FAYE WILLIAMS. It's me!!

I pointed at the sign. "Are you looking for this person?"

The man scrutinized me. "How did you know..." His voice suddenly trailed off. He froze. "Are you Faye Williams?"

"Yes, yes. I am Faye Williams."

It was as if a wet cotton ball had blocked my throat, and I couldn't produce any more words.

Wait, could he be my mother's stepson?

Everything lit up like a lightbulb.

"Then which one are you? Which one of the twins?"

The man gave me a faint smile. "I'm Liam Shaffield. Welcome home."

Then he took my luggage from my hand. I felt a bit embarrassed, and at the same time, I wondered about his brother. Shouldn't twins be together?

Liam seemed to read my thoughts. "Leander is waiting in the car. His status is somewhat special ..."

At the same time, I saw a huge billboard in the terminal. It featured an athlete in football gear, and his name was Leander Shaffield.

I almost immediately realized that Leander was Liam's brother. Liam noticed me pausing and followed my gaze. "Yes, Leander is a football player. He's too famous, not convenient to be in the crowd."

As he explained, a tall, muscular man in all-black clothing with a low-brimmed cap shouted in our direction from afar, "Liam!"

Even though he was dressed in all black, with the cap's brim pulled low, some people still recognized him in an instant.

A girl who looked like Leander's fan dropped her suitcase in front of us and ran towards Leander, screaming.

I heard people around us start to talk.

"It's Leander!"

"Can you believe it's him? Where is he going? Will he be on the same flight as me?"

"He didn't bring anything. It looks like he's here to pick someone up. Oh my... I'd be jealous of the person he's receiving!"

"Could he be here to pick up his girlfriend?"

...

I started to feel nervous. This was my first time being so close to a celebrity in a public place, and he was also one of my stepbrothers. I lowered my head anxiously, hoping people wouldn't notice me.

But it was too late. Leander had already reached us. More and more people who recognized him were coming towards us.

Some had already seen me and were wondering, "Who's that girl?"

Leander also noticed me. He asked in surprise, "Is it you? Did you follow me to my city?"

I couldn't help but glare at him. Wasn't it a bit too early for jokes now?

Seeing that I was a bit annoyed, he smiled and said, "Just kidding! I believe you're Faye. What a coincidence!"

They both acted like walls, surrounding me, and we quickly left the area, heading for the parking lot.

We arrived at the parking lot, and Leander shook off the enthusiastic fans. He went straight to a luxury car that I couldn't name. The bright orange exterior of the car matched Leander's cheerful personality.

Liam helped me put my luggage in the trunk, and I sat on the back seat. Leander fastened his seatbelt and turned to me. "From the moment I saw you, I felt a special connection. The moon goddess had already arranged everything and it was all foreshadowing. You're our sister."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I haven't had the chance to thank you for that day. Thank you, Leander." It was the first time I said his name.

Leander started the car. "No problem. When we get home, you can praise me in front of Mom."

Mentioning our mother, Elena, made me feel nervous. My palms began to sweat.

Our car started moving. I couldn't help but wonder about my mother and her family.

"She's a great mother," Liam said. He always spoke so seriously and concisely.

"Yes, Liam is right," Leander added. "We lost our biological mother when we were young, and Elena raised us. She treats us all equally. Faye, don't be nervous. Elena is your mother, and she will love you too."

Their words gradually eased my nervousness, and I started to look forward to meeting my mother.

But for some reason, my mind kept replaying the scene when I met Liam and Leander earlier. Those enthusiastic fans running through my mind, that long-lost sense of danger crept up on me again.

I am almost 18 now, and after I get my wolf, I will find my mate. I didn't want my mate to be a heartthrob. I didn't like having lots of girls around my man.

But I was always surrounded by people like that, just like Andrew.

Andrew was my first love, and like Sibyl, he was a friend I grew up with in the orphanage. We fell in love when we were 14, but he was taken away by his family shortly after. That was when I found out he was a werewolf with alpha bloodlines.

Afterward, we kept in touch. At first, we had a long-distance relationship, expressing our feelings for each other in our letters. But then, we write the lower frequency. I went to his city to find him and discovered he was surrounded by a lot of girls. His beta told me that Andrew's Luna might be among those girls.

I was furious and broke up with Andrew when I found him. When I met Leander, these familiar feelings made me worry about what my future mate would be like him.

I felt conflicted. I have arrived in the state of San Tan. What if my future mate wasn't here?

Of course, the most pressing issue now is how to get along with my mother and her family.

I subtly observed Liam and Leander, who were sitting in the front. They looked so alike, yet their styles were completely different. Honestly, I would prefer to chat with Leander. He was more approachable and humorous. His status as an athlete also made me secretly happy. I was going to be the stepsister of a celebrity. Everything seemed perfect, except that he was very popular among girls, which reminded me of unpleasant memories from the past.

As for Liam, he seemed like a block of ice, serious and stern. I was a bit worried that I might say something to upset him. Plus, I didn't even know what he did for a living.

As I was lost in my thoughts, Leander's car smoothly entered a small town. It looked like the perfect place I'd only seen in tourism brochures. No, it wasn't small at all. It was much larger than a small town. Clean roads were lined with neat houses, and a castle-like building stood in the distance.

Leander pointed at the building. "That's our home."

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