The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

After becoming a full-fledged teacher, David’s attention was spread across fifty-some students, leaving less time for Annabel. Still, he kept tabs on her-when she was late, how often she played with her phone during class, and who she argued with. As long as it wasn’t too serious, he chose to tolerate her behavior. One reason was his busy schedule, and another was his intention to establish some distance between them, reinforcing their student-teacher relationship and maintaining boundaries.

Annabel, used to being stubborn and mischievous, didn’t take to studying naturally. Last semester, her efforts were mostly to make David happy. Now that David’s attention had shifted to top students like Aria, Annabel felt frustrated. No matter how close she tried to get to him or how much she acted out, David remained at an appropriate distance, correcting her in a teacherly tone.

Annabel felt a significant emotional gap. She used to think he liked her but was just restricted by their student-teacher dynamic. Now she genuinely felt he didn’t like her at all.

Coincidentally, Mason’s band drummer fell ill and was hospitalized two days before a competition. Knowing that Annabel was good at playing the drums, they recruited her as a last-minute replacement. Annabel, feeling disheartened and seeing no way to win David’s favor, questioned why she should bother being a diligent student. After all, subjects like physics and chemistry seemed useless for her future.

With only two days until the competition, Annabel skipped classes without permission to rehearse with the band. Fortunately, she was familiar with their song choice, having played similar tunes with a bar band before, and quickly got into the groove.

Orla wrapped an arm around her shoulders, exclaiming, “You should just join our band.”

The competition they were preparing for was a well-known talent show. Orla, being of legal age and the daughter of former live performers, had her parents’ full support. However, Guo Le and Mason faced strong opposition from their families, so they kept their participation a secret.

Mason quickly interjected, “Hey, stop! If she actually joins us, her dad will kill me. You have no idea-every time he looks at me, it’s terrifying.”

Annabel agreed, knowing her father’s disdain for Mason was no joke.

Annabel waited all day for a call from David, but it never came. After rehearsing until the early hours of the morning, she checked her phone and saw that the only missed call was from Logan. A surge of uncontrollable anger and despair welled up within her. She leapt up and hurled her phone against the wall with all her might.

The phone shattered, its screen splintering into pieces. Mason winced; he had scrimped and saved to buy her the latest iPhone, and now it was ruined.

Mason scolded her, “With that bad temper of yours, don’t expect me to buy you another one!”

Annabel slowly crouched down and buried her head in her knees, staying silent.

Orla noticed Annabel’s shoulders shaking. Was she actually crying?

She quickly went over to her, gripping her shoulders, while scolding Mason, “It’s just a phone. Big deal. When I get famous, I’ll buy you ten to smash.”

Through her tears, Annabel choked out, “Orla, I’ve lost my love.”

“The teacher?”

Orla thought to herself, it wasn’t really a breakup, more like unrequited love, but she didn’t want to discourage Annabel. “It’s no big deal. When I marry Logan, I’ll introduce you to someone better.”

Mason glared at her, while Alexander burst into laughter. Annabel, always one to bounce back, stood up, wiped away her tears, and said, “Let’s go. We’ve got a competition tomorrow.”

The live competition was the next evening, so Annabel, not wanting to miss anything, stayed with them at the Number Seven Factory.

The next day, everyone woke up early. It was their first big competition, and they took it seriously, rushing to the venue for rehearsals without even stopping for breakfast.

Brenna found out from Logan that Annabel had skipped a whole day of school. Early the next morning, Logan came to her again. “Mom, Annabel didn’t come home last night, and her phone is off.”

Brenna was sorting some freshly delivered flowers, preparing to arrange them. “I know. You go to school first.”

Seeing his mother’s distracted demeanor, Logan insisted, “We should tell Uncle. What if something happened?”

Brenna smiled slightly. “Okay. I’ll tell him.”

Though she said that, Brenna wasn’t too concerned. Annabel staying out all night wasn’t unusual. They had an unspoken agreement: Brenna wouldn’t meddle in Annabel’s affairs, and Annabel wouldn’t make things difficult for her. Of course, she still pretended to care in front of Thomas occasionally.

Eve came in to say the bird’s nest soup was ready. Brenna set down her scissors and examined her work. “Does it look good?”

“Yes, it does.”

“To arrange flowers beautifully, you must first choose good materials. It’s like with people. If they’re a piece of rotten wood to begin with, no amount of money will help.”

Eve paused for a moment, and it took her a while to realize that she was talking about Annabel.

Logan arrived at school but didn’t find Annabel anywhere. He called Orla.

Given the critical timing of the competition, Orla was afraid that if the Green Family sent someone to fetch Annabel, their performance would be ruined. She lied, saying she didn’t know where Annabel was.

Logan, worried that Annabel might be in trouble, decided to call David.

“Mr. Curry, Annabel didn’t come to school yesterday and didn’t come home last night. Did she tell you where she might be?”

David was away for training this week, leaving Nancy in charge of the class. “She didn’t come home last night? Have you tried calling her?”

“Her phone is off.”

“Alright, if you find her, let me know.”

“Okay.”

Logan heard David muttering angrily on the other end, “What’s wrong with Nancy!” before the line went dead.

Logan suddenly thought that David might be more worried about Annabel’s disappearance than he was.

David couldn’t take leave and searched all the places where Annabel might be, even visiting her mother’s grave. He was anxious and felt incredibly guilty, because he was afraid that he would not be able to resist the temptation and did not fulfill his basic responsibilities as a teacher to Annabel.

Just when David was exhausted and at his wit’s end, Paul called, sounding excited.

“Where are you? Stop searching and turn on the live stream. Annabel is in a competition.”

“What competition?”

“The third annual Original Music Competition. Annabel is the drummer for a band that just went on stage.”

David quickly opened the stream on his phone. Amidst the dazzling lights and intense rhythm, the stage lighting followed the sexy and charismatic lead singer. In the darker background, David easily recognized Annabel behind the drums. He let out a long sigh of relief, the weight on his chest finally lifting.

The song ended quickly, and the lead singer introduced the band members one by one.

Annabel’s hair was short, barely reaching her ears, cut in a deliberately messy style. She wore a loose yellow crop top, revealing a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder, paired with low-rise skinny jeans that showed off her long, slender legs. Her face, with a cool demeanor, exuded a rebellious charm.

To David, she stood out as the most beautiful, different from everyone else.

The judges gave their scores, mostly praising them, though Christopher, the central judge, pointed out their flaws but still gave a high score.

Since their band performed early, they had to wait backstage for the results. Annabel found a quiet corner and smoked a cigarette, then started to head back.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Excuse me, please wait.”

She turned around to see the judge who had criticized them. He spoke kindly, a stark contrast to his stern demeanor on stage.

“What’s your name?”

“Annabel.”

He looked at her intently. “Is your mother Essem?”

Annabel nodded, “Did you know my mon?”

He smiled warmly, “I was a friend of your mother’s.”