Officially Together

For a moment, it did occur to me that perhaps I could get used to living with Raphael as my stepbrother. I honestly thought that things might smooth over between us, and if he learned to be a little less touchy, then our relationship as step-siblings might just work out. Many of the things that he talked about were related to my integration into my new family, and I appreciated the effort that he took to make me feel more at home in the mansion. I could feel that he was taking the promise to make me feel part of the family that he made to our parents seriously. With that in mind, I told myself that the least that I could do was be cooperative and attend the party marking the new launch of the hotel as his stepsister.

...

**The Day of the Party**