His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 76

**Chapter 76**

**Claire’s POV**

Naomi stood a mere few feet away from me, her eyes a vivid red, swollen from what I could only assume were tears. The drizzle that had begun to fall clung to her hair, slicking it against her forehead like a dark curtain. I remained frozen in place, my hands gripping the strap of my bag tightly, as if it were a lifeline. I didn’t trust myself to let go; I feared the impulse that would surge through me if I did.

She took a hesitant step closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “Claire,” she said, her tone quaking with emotion.

I remained silent, my gaze fixed on her face, watching as her lips trembled before each shaky word.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you,” she continued, desperation lacing her voice. “For weeks now. You keep avoiding me, and you blocked me everywhere.”

“Oh? I didn’t notice,” I replied, my voice devoid of emotion. “Is that because I don’t want to hear whatever excuse you’ve concocted?”

Her shoulders stiffened at my words. “It’s not an excuse.”

“Then what is it?” I shot back, my irritation bubbling over. “A story? A justification for the pain you tried to inflict on me and Elijah?”

Her expression twisted, revealing a mix of frustration and hurt. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough,” I countered, my voice steady but laced with anger. “You paid someone to come after me. You wanted him dead. What more is there to understand?”

Naomi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I didn’t want him dead!”

“Then what, Naomi?” I pressed, stepping forward, closing the distance between us. “What did you want?”

In that moment, something inside her shattered. She released a frustrated sound, her hands trembling at her sides. “I wanted you gone!”

The air between us grew thick with tension, a silence that felt almost suffocating.

She blinked rapidly, her breath coming in shallow gasps. “You were supposed to stay out of it. You were supposed to stay away from him. You knew how I felt about him, Claire. You knew.”

My heart thundered in my chest, the weight of her words crashing down on me. “What?”

“I told you I liked him,” she said, her voice rising, filled with a mix of anger and sorrow. “I told you before your mom even had a solid standing as the next Luna. You laughed it off, said you’d help me. You said you’d talk to him for me, remember? You helped me pull off all those stunts to get his attention.”

I stared at her, the gravity of her words sinking in slowly, like a stone dropping into water.

“You were living in the same house with him,” she continued, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “You got close to him. You spent every day with him while I stood outside pretending not to care. And then you tell me you didn’t know what you were doing?”

My chest tightened painfully, and I could barely feel my fingers. “You’re saying you did all this because you were jealous?”

Naomi’s breath hitched, the weight of her confession hanging heavy in the air. “I was angry,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “You took everything. You took the one person I—” Her voice cracked, and a fresh wave of tears spilled down her cheeks. “I just wanted you to go away for a while. I didn’t think it would go that far. I didn’t know they would—”

“You didn’t know?” I interrupted, stepping closer until we were mere inches apart. “You didn’t know they’d try to kill him? You didn’t realize you were risking my life too?”

Naomi’s tears flowed freely now, her anguish palpable. “I made a mistake. I didn’t mean for it to—”

I cut her off, my voice rising in frustration. “You didn’t mean for it to happen, but you still did it. You still wanted me gone. You lied. You betrayed me over something as trivial as a crush!”

The words sliced through the air sharper than I intended. My hands trembled, and my heart raced, pounding against my ribcage. I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing, but the air felt thick and suffocating.

Naomi reached out, desperation etched across her features. “Claire, wait—”

“Don’t touch me!” I screamed, the sound echoing in the stillness around us.

She froze, shock evident on her face. It was the first time I had ever raised my voice at her—or at anyone, for that matter.

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