Owned No More

I've been in a secret relationship with my stepbrother, Caesar Kane, for eight years. He promises he'll marry me after graduation.

As graduation approaches, he tells me he's tired of me and has found someone younger and prettier. I throw away the ring he gave me and cut up my wedding dress.

All of his friends place bets on how long it will take before I come crawling back to him.

Caesar has always treated me like I'm his property and declares with complete confidence, "Give it three days tops. She'll come crawling back in tears, begging me to take her back."

So I accept the invitation from a prince from my Farbourne University prep program. I follow him to Snowcall, leaving behind the stepbrother who clearly doesn't care about me anymore.

Caesar finally cracks and calls me. "Miranda, enough with the drama. Come home."

A man's low, amused chuckle comes through the phone. "Pro tip—you shouldn't wait around if you want to win your woman back. Someone else might sweep her off her feet."

Caesar practically snarls into the phone. "Put Miranda on the phone!"

The man leans down and kisses me. "Sorry, we wore each other out pretty thoroughly just now, and she's out cold. Give me a second to wake her up properly."

I had been secretly involved with Caesar Kane for eight years.

To the outside world, he was the dazzling billionaire heir who became my stepbrother after my mother's remarriage. Behind closed doors, he was the man I planned to spend my life with.

I risked being discovered by my family to maintain this forbidden relationship with him, but that all changed the night I overheard him talking with his friends at a bar.

"Miranda? God, I got bored with her ages ago," Caesar said, blowing out a lazy smoke ring with that familiar arrogant expression.

"The same woman for eight years. It doesn't matter how good she is in bed—you get tired of anything after that long," he added.

His friends erupted in laughter around him.

"I still can't believe what started as a dare actually got you into your stepsister's pants," one of them said.

"Seriously, though. Caesar, Miranda's crazy about you. You really gonna break her heart?"

Caesar shrugged off my devotion like it meant nothing. "She's just too desperate to please me. I need someone with more fight in them."

He had actually told his friends about our relationship. But he had promised me he would never tell anyone about our forbidden affair!

That night, I felt my heart shatter, but I didn't storm in to make a scene. I slipped away quietly and made up some excuse when he called later. He barely acknowledged me before hanging up, not even bothering to ask if I was okay.

That night, I made my decision to break up with him.

Within days, word spread throughout the school that Caesar was pursuing the campus belle. He never tried to hide it when he was pursuing someone, and he was generous with his money. It took him only a few days to win her over, and he brought her to our usual group gathering.

The moment they walked in, everyone went silent. Caesar sat down with his arm around her, looking directly at me where I sat at the center of everyone's attention.

"Miranda, let's break up. I haven't had feelings for you in a long time," he declared.

My fists clenched so tightly that the ring on my finger dug painfully into my skin. Everyone's probing stares made me feel completely humiliated.

Caesar was extremely controlling and would threaten breakups whenever he was upset, testing me and enjoying how I'd scramble to win him back. However, I was exhausted too.

With all these people watching, I couldn't bring myself to beg anymore, no matter how desperate I might have been before.

"Molly is young and innocent. I really care about her. She's not like you. I don't want to hurt her, so I need to make things official with her," he said.

I could hear the seriousness in Caesar's tone and see the way he looked at Molly with genuine affection. Even though I'd tried to prepare myself, it still stung when reality hit.

Everyone was waiting for me to lose it, but I kept my voice steady. "Okay. Let's break up then."

Caesar's eyebrows shot up, clearly surprised that I wasn't putting up a fight. He replied, "We'll still be family, though. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

"That won't be necessary." I stood up and shook my head. "Since we're done, we should stay that way. Your girlfriend might get the wrong idea otherwise."

Caesar watched me with that knowing smirk, like he could see right through whatever brave face I was putting on. After a beat, he nodded.

I walked out, but I could hear someone inside asking, "So how long before Miranda comes crawling back this time?"

"Maybe a week?"

"She looked pretty torn up. I'm thinking two weeks."

Caesar's casual voice carried through the door. "Three days, tops. She'll be back within three days, crying and begging me to take her back.

"It's the same pattern every time. I know her inside and out. She's completely dependent on me."