Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 137 Why is he different?

Victoria’s POV:

I could feel a headache building as Damien finished heating our meal and placed it on the table. We ate in silence for a few moments before he broke it.

"Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?" His voice was casual, but I caught the underlying intensity in his smoky cedar scent.

I swallowed my bite of food. "My room door is broken, not the entire apartment. There’s no reason I can’t stay here."

Damien’s storm-gray eyes locked with mine, something smoldering beneath their surface. "So you and Patrick Wagner are close enough for him to stay at your place, then?"

"I already told you, my grandfather arranged it. And it’s just staying over, not a big deal." I paused, nearly saying he could stay too before catching myself. The last thing I needed was Damien Sterling taking me up on that offer. "Friends stay over all the time. Grace could drop by whenever she wants. Don’t you do the same thing? If your friends wanted to crash at your place, you’d let them, right?"

A cold smile curved his lips. "I don’t have female friends I bring home."

"What about me? I’m your friend, aren’t I?" I challenged, meeting his gaze. "If I said I wanted to stay at your place for a night, would you refuse?"

His eyes darkened noticeably. "You? That could be arranged."

"See? That’s exactly my point. So Patrick staying here isn’t a big deal."

"He’s different," Damien snapped, his expression shifting to that strange, possessive look I couldn’t quite decipher.

"Why is he different?"

"He just is!"

I could feel my wolf, Nora, stirring restlessly within me. She sensed something I didn’t, but I pushed her reactions aside.

"This is my business, not yours," I said firmly. "Just finish your food and go back to your place."

Damien deliberately ate at a glacial pace, dragging out our meal for nearly an hour. I ended up spending the night in my own apartment, but sleep eluded me completely. The next morning, I dragged myself to the office sporting impressive dark circles under my eyes.

By the end of the workday, Grace dropped by to invite me shopping, and I gratefully accepted the distraction. As we wandered through the upscale mall, she pressed me for details about last night.

"Don’t even get me started," I sighed. "Who could have predicted those two would run into each other?"

After giving her a quick rundown, Grace’s eyes lit up with mischief. "Wait, do you think these two guys are fighting over you?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Don’t be ridiculous," I protested. "There’s no jealousy happening here."

"Really? Because why else would Damien get so worked up about another man? I think he’s into you."

I rolled my eyes. "Who knows what goes on in his head. The man’s impossible."

Grace laughed. "You’re probably the only person brave enough to call Damien Sterling impossible to his face. If I tried that, I swear he’d tear me apart."

"He’s not some monster, Grace. Besides, we live in a civilized society," I reminded her, though my wolf growled softly in disagreement. Nora knew something about Damien that she wasn’t sharing with me.

"I’m just kidding," Grace said, then suddenly grabbed my arm. "Holy shit, Victoria, look! Isn’t that Mona over there? And isn’t that Ethan’s mother with her?"

I followed her gaze to an exclusive jewelry boutique across the way. Sure enough, there was Mona—Damien’s assistant—alongside Marcia Cross, Ethan’s mother. They were trying on jewelry, or more accurately, Mona was wearing pieces while Marcia beamed approvingly.

"Why would they be together?" I wondered aloud.

It made no sense. One was Ethan’s mother, the other his mistress. Those two worlds shouldn’t collide, yet there was Marcia, smiling at Mona like she was a cherished family member.

"Maybe Marcia was a mistress herself back in the day," Grace suggested. "Birds of a feather and all that."

I snorted. "Your theories are truly something else."

We watched as Mona finished selecting several extravagant pieces. Marcia instructed the sales associate to wrap everything up, not batting an eye at what had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry.

Mona looped her arm through Marcia’s. "You’re too good to me," she cooed loudly enough for us to hear.

I could read the calculation in her eyes. This was a woman tasting wealth and power, realizing how addictive it could be. The determination on her face made it clear—she was set on marrying Ethan and securing her place in the Sterling family. For her, money and status were the ultimate prize.

"It’s nothing, dear," Marcia replied, practically glowing with happiness. "As long as you ensure my grandson arrives safely, I promise you’ll want for nothing. Whatever you desire will be yours."

My wolf’s hearing picked up every word, and the pieces clicked into place. I felt my stomach clench in disgust.

"Look at her stomach," I murmured to Grace.

Grace squinted. "What about it?"

"The way she just touched it with that maternal gesture." I kept my voice low. "I think she’s pregnant with Ethan’s child. Given that Ethan is essentially sterile after his accident, this might be his only chance at offspring. That’s why Marcia is treating her like royalty."

"Seriously?" Grace’s jaw dropped. "But the baby would be illegitimate."

"Ethan himself was born out of wedlock," I reminded her. "Legitimacy clearly isn’t a concern for the Sterlings. And Mona is obviously using this pregnancy to secure her position."

Grace shook her head. "What kind of people are they?"

Just then, Marcia and Mona emerged from the store, shopping bags in hand. When they spotted me, both women froze, their expressions shifting from smug satisfaction to barely concealed hostility.