Trapped By My Possessive Adoptive Brother

air. Ms. Caldwell waved her arms exhaustedly, herding the

er chin held high. Hartley walked half a step behin

tly-the clatter of plastic trays, the roar of hundreds of children tal

slid it along the metal rails toward the hot food statio

a large, dripping pile of dark green, mushy boiled spinach and slapped it down onto the center secti

ession of pure, visceral disgust. Her stomach gave a violent lur

piercing through the ambient noise. Several childre

. She pointed the dripping spoon at Finley. "At Blackwood,

eyes darting around in panic. She looked over her shoulder,

didn't demand a new tray. He simply reached out and placed h

he woman, his voice smooth and polite

rom the line. He bypassed the loud, crowded tables in the center of the room and walked

d her arms tightly over her chest. She stared at the pile of wet

book. He picked up a clean fork from his tray. He r

shed potatoes and dropped it directly on top of the greens. Then, he used the edge of the fork to violently mash the potatoes and the finely

g it so the teachers wouldn't see she hadn't eaten it. She uncrossed her arms and

ound her wrist. His grip was tight enough to stop

serious. "If you don't eat, you will be hungry at 2:00 PM.

g. She yanked her arm, trying to break h

hreatening to spill over. She deployed her ultimate weapon-the silent, weeping s

y, a single tear tra

one wall. He sat perfectly still, letting the physical tension stretch between them, letting her realize

ley's neck began to ache. The realizat

ders slumped. She wiped her wet cheek with the

in Hartley's eyes melted. He relea

spinach mixture onto his fork. He leaned across t

oice dropping to a soft, almost hypnotic w

e of his will pressed down on her. She squeezed her eyes shut t

tter. She swallowed hard, her throat convulsing, and immediately grabbed her plastic cup of apple

n his chest. He immediately stabbed a piece of pure, unmixed r

ld force one bite of the hidden vegetables, wait for her to swallow, and immediately reward her with three bites

t Hartley feeding Finley. "Oh, my goodness," the woman whispered to a passing teacher. "Look at those t

e of the cafeteria faded into a dull hum, leaving only the rhythmic motion of her chewing in his focus. It was the quiet,