Tempted By my Evil Lycan Stepbrother novel Chapter 98

Chapter 56: She Sold Me

Riley’s POV

I looked down at Leon icily.

He was sprawled on the polished floor, one hand pressed to his chest where Ezra had kicked him. His hair was ruined His expensive suit was twisted, and his whole face cracked open with panic..

A few minutes ago he had still been pretending he could talk his way out of this. Now he looked exactly like what he was – a shameless fraud.

And of course I felt nothing for him.

It’s funny that he still thought I might save him.

Leon dragged himself up on one elbow and glared at Ezra.

“You entitled prick!” he snapped, though his voice shook badly enough to ruin the effect. “What do you have beside your title, huh? Nothing! Y-You were just born in a nice family and that’s all. I’m not scared of you. Actually, stay the hell out of this. Because I’m her fiancé. You have no right to interfere in this.” 1

Ezra’ stared at him. And then laughed.

It was a short, cold sound that sent a chill down my spine.

“Fiancé?” he repeated with despise. “No. You’re not.”

“Yes I am! We already had the date set-”

“Because I don’t approve this marriage,” Ezra cut him off icily. “Riley is not marrying without my approval. And she most definitely won’t marry some bankrupt little con artist who scams/women for a living.”

The color left Leon’s face.

Ezra turned slightly, and his men moved at once.

“Drag them out,” he said.

Two of his soldiers rushed forward and grabbed Leon before he could react. Others were already moving toward Yilia and her husband, who had gone from furious to terrified within just a few seconds.

“Wait a second! Y-You can’t do this! No!” Yilia struggled fiercely, kicking her legs and swaying her arms. “Someone helps us — Queen Everly, aren’t you going to do something about this?!”

Then my mother moved. She rushed in front of them and yelled:

“Stop!”

She looked pale now, almost sick, but there was still stubbornness in her face.

“I’m the Queen. And this is iny court, my event,” she said breathlessly to the guards. “So put Leon and his family down now

“Your court?” Ezra made a cold laugh. “No, you are nothing but a parasite.”

The crowd whispered. My mom’s face turned red.

Then she turned to Ezra. I could tell she was trying hard to keep her tone steady and not seem too scared of him, but the tremor in her voice still gave her away.

“Ezra, I know you’re trying to look out for Riley,” she said. “But This is the marriage I chose for Riley, and you’re not going to

ruin it.”

15 Bonus

Fot une second, I thought I had heard her wrong.

Was she serious now?!

Leon was practically the joke of the city. His family had just been exposed in front of half the noblewomen in court. There was no dignity left.

And still my mother stood there defending them.

She must have felt me staring, because she turned and looked at me next.

“Leon is your future husband. And you are just standing there while they get attacked? That’s not how I raised you, Riley,” she said reprobatively.

The words hit so hard I actually felt sick.

“Raised me?” I clenched my fists, my voice rough. “No, you never raised me. You abandoned your responsibility the moment you walked out of that house. Grandma did it for you. And you’re using her to threaten me to marry Leon.”

Ezra stiffened beside me.

“She fucking threatened you?” he grabbed my shoulder. “Why the hell didn’t you come to me with, this?”

I said nothing. I was actually ashamed that I needed help from him.

“That’s enough. I’m taking care of this for you,” he said shortly and turned to order his men. “Get that bastard and his family out of this room now.”

“I said no!” my mom raised her voice.

Ezra looked at her like she was dead meat. “Then haul out the Queen together with them.”

The crowd buzzed with whispers. And that was when a new voice boomed through the ballroom-

“What the hell is going on?”

King Soren strode in like a storm. The room shifted around him immediately. Voices dropped. Even the noblewomen who had been screaming for refunds stepped back a little with respect.

His gaze swept over everything-the shattered glass, Leon and his family, mom, and me in the middle of it all with Ezra too close to my side.

Then his eyes landed on Ezra.

“Tell your men to down,” he snapped at Ezra. “The Queen helped organize this event. Do you have any idea how disrespectfui this is?”

Ezra didn’t move.

He stood there facing his father with one hand still lightly at my back, not touching but near enough that I could feel the heat of him. The calm on his face looked almost lazy, but his presence was no less imposing than his father’s

“No,” he said loud and clear to his father. “My men and I stay till you get rid of that scamming prick and his family.

I felt the entire room flinch.

King Soren’s expression hardened into something dark and dangerous. “You DO NOT say no to me in my own court!”

Ezra’s mouth curved, but there was no real amusement in it. “Then maybe you should stop making stupid decisions in it *

A few people gasped out loud. My pulse started pounding all over again.

+15 Bonus

Ring Boren turned sharply to the soldiers neatest Leon. “Release them.”

Yet one moved.

For a second, I thought maybe they had not heard him clearly.

Then I realized something-

These soldiers were simply refusing Soren’s orders. Because they answered to Ezra.

Shock crossed King Soren’s face. It was the first time I had ever seen him look caught off guard.

His gaze snapped back to Ezra.

“So you’ve been building your own little force under my roof,” he said darkly. “Do you think that means you get to rebel against your father?”

Ezra let out a cold laugh. “You should see it coming the moment you drove my mom into her death.”

The father and son looked at each other across the wreckage of the ballroom, and suddenly this had stopped being about me or Leon or even the wedding. The tension was sharp and deep. And the hatred was real.

Suddenly I was afraid. Because if I let this thing explode, there was no telling what it would become.

So I reached out and caught Ezra’s sleeve first.

He glanced down at me.

“Come on,” I said quietly. “We don’t need to stay here with these idiots.”

For a second I thought he might insist to finish this fight with King Soren. Then, after one long look at his father, he let me pull him away.

We walked out together through the stunned silence of the ballroom.

No one tried to stop us.

The night air outside the palace was cooler than I expected.

For the first few steps, neither of us said anything. My mind was still racing too fast. Then I stopped walking abruptly and turned to him.

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

He frowned slightly. “Do what?”

“Go against your father for me. In front of everyone.”

‘

He froze and then looked away for half a second, then cleared his throat with an awkwardness that was very unfamiliar on him.

“I told you once,” he said lightly like it was no big deal. “I’d do anything for you.”

My mouth dropped open. Then he added quickly, “Because we’re family.”

My face warmed before I could stop it. I shut my mouth and gulped. “Oh right…yeah. Cauze we’re family. ”

Why did he do that? Why does he always show up in my life like a savior right after making my life a complete disaster himself?

I was so sick of his mood-swing and the back and forth.

But I couldn’t walk away. He was so bad and so…toxic.

Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. The silence felt both intimate and awkward. I could literally hear my own

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify