Falling For My Alpha Stepsister (GL)

April

I never knew this town, or as they called it, the District, was so huge.

The deeper you went, the more there was to see.

There were occupied lands, empty lands waiting to be developed, and all kinds of businesses. Long dirt roads split off into crowded alleyways, full of shops, neon signs, and people moving around like ants.

Katie, Abigail, and I did a little shopping. Katie kept complaining about how she had always dreamed of having a proper wedding, not the last-minute one she got.

She dragged her sandals through the dirt, clutching a massive shopping bag against her chest while she pouted.

She said her mother had only used her marriage to gain influence and nothing more.

She would rather have stayed single, but she had no choice because her mother made every decision for her.

I could relate to that. Mine did the same.

I kept my hands tucked deep into my skirt pockets, watching my own shoes step over the cracked pavement as those old memories crept back into my mind.

I was only 12 when my parents officially got divorced.

Before that, I used to switch between them. I would spend one week with my father and the next with my mother.

Then, after the divorce, my mother won custody of me.

My dad stopped coming to pick me up like he used to.

I remembered running away from home just to see him, only for him to return me like I was some defective product he had purchased.

He hadn’t even let me inside his front door.

He never once came to visit me, even though I knew where he lived.

My mother made every decision for me.

She built a tight wall around my life, controlling every breath I took.

She paid for my education from middle school all the way through college.

Whenever I refused to do something she wanted, she would remind me of how much money she had spent raising me. She would bring up every tuition check, every dress she bought, and every meal she put on the table just to make me feel small.

Even when I refused to change my surname, she did the same. She yelled at me for hours until I signed the papers, erasing my father’s name to match her new name.

When I wanted to choose my own college, she refused and chose one for me.

I still don’t know why she wanted me to live with the person who hated me.

She forced me into that mansion with Angel, pushing me right into the path of a girl who treated me like garbage.

The market looked more like a rural marketplace than a modern shopping mall.

Tightly packed stalls lined both sides of the dusty streets under huge canvas awnings. There was a fabric and clothing section, a salon section, a food section, an auto section, and many others.

We mostly shopped for jewelry and clothes.

It took us forever because Katie insisted on trying on every outfit she saw and taking pictures in them. She kept hopping from one mirror to the next, posing in skimpy dresses and bright tops while holding her phone high in the air.

Even the bride was getting tired. Abigail leaned her back against a display rack, fanning herself with a magazine and groaning every time Katie grabbed another hanger.

Afterward, we stopped at a restaurant.

It was a open-air spot right near the water, with wooden tables set under large palm umbrellas.

We ate and had some drinks.

Abigail bragged about how she used to work there, but now that she was married, Javier had forbidden her from working anymore. He promised he would treat her like a queen. She crossed her legs, showing off the shiny diamond ring on her finger while sipping her iced tea.

”So, you’re Angel’s new favorite?”

While we were eating, a strawberry-blonde woman wearing bum shorts and a sleeveless top walked over to our table.

She stood right at the edge, resting one hand heavily on her hip while her short denim shorts showed off almost all of her legs.

Seriously...I’m beginning to wonder if everyone in this district knows about Angel’s sex life.

She looked me up and down as though I were a product sitting on a shelf for sale.

Her bright eyes glared through my glasses, scanning my messy hair and my plain clothes with pure disgust.

”Just give her two weeks. Angel will get tired of you like she has with every other girl. There’s nothing special about you. Besides, she hates girls with glasses.”

”Um... sorry, do I know you? I don’t understand why you’re talking to me like this,” I said.

I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose, staring back at her with a deep frown.

”Take a good look at me,” she replied. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder, stepping closer to our table with her chest puffed out.

”Please... do you know her?” I whispered to Abigail beside me. I leaned over, keeping my voice low as I gestured toward the loud stranger.

”Just ignore her. She’s nobody important,” Abigail said. She didn’t even bother looking up from her food, casually chewing on a piece of grilled pork.

”I am a very important person in this district,” the woman snapped. Her cheeks turned red, her fingers clenching into tight fists at her sides.

”Your brother sells porn toys, and you’re still a nobody,” Abigail shot back. She wiped her lips with a cloth napkin, letting out a short, mean laugh.

”I am Angel’s number one favorite girl. I’m the only one who has what she wants.”

”The last time I checked, Becca, you were at the bottom, and I was Angel’s number one.” Abigail tilted her head, giving the girl an icy, arrogant smile.

”You’re married now. Angel doesn’t sleep with married girls. You’re goner, which makes me her number one. I have the total package.” Becca ran her hands down her waist, bouncing on her toes as if she were trying to prove her point. Even showing off her boobs..

”Come on, April. Let’s head back to the beach,” Abigail said. ”Let’s not waste our time on a waste product.”

Abigail threw a stack of bills onto the table to cover the meal, turning her back on the girl without another word.

Katie and I grabbed our shopping bags, following Abigail as we walked out onto the sunlit boardwalk.

”Just wait and see! I’ll always be Angel’s number one! I’ve always been her favorite!”

The woman kept shouting after us like a market vendor advertising her goods. Her shrill voice echoed off the stalls, making several passersby turn their heads to stare at her embarrassing display.

”Wow, April...” Katie said with a laugh. She bumped her arm against mine, giggling as we left the market behind.

”Looks like there are a lot of crazies in this district, all fighting over something you already have.”

I didn’t say anything.

I pulled my shopping bags tighter against my legs, keeping my eyes fixed on the sandy path leading back toward the shore.

Because Angel wasn’t mine... Not yet.