Falling for my Enemy's Brother-Chapter 56: Driven by Him

Merlina blinked, disoriented for a second, as if shaken from a trance she hadn’t realized she’d been in.

"What do you mean?" she asked, aiming for casual, but her voice betrayed her. Tight and a little too careful, like she was afraid of the answer.

Megan watched her closely, the way a friend watches someone who’s clearly off balance but pretending not to be. "It’s not hard to notice."

Merlina stayed silent, unsure of where this conversation was going, her fingers tightening on the wheel.

"He offered you a ride, gave you his car, even followed you to the restroom..." Megan’s voice was slow, almost cautious now, like she was laying down pieces of a puzzle she wasn’t sure she wanted to solve. "That’s unlike the Craig Lesnar we know."

Still, no answer. Just Merlina staring ahead, like the painted lanes in front of her might give her a way out of this awkward conversation. She shuffled in her seat, swallowed hard, and turned her face just enough to avoid Megan’s eyes. She was doing anything to dodge the look.

Megan folded her hands together, her eyes never leaving Merlina’s face. Her tone softened, though it still carried weight. "He’s different with you. Like you matter to him."

That one stung. She shook her head, trying to push it away, but all that came out was a bitter, half-hearted smile. "I don’t. Trust me."

Mattered to Craig Lesnar?

She seriously doubted that, because he had the chance to show her that she did, he would’ve made it clear that their family drama wasn’t the entire picture, that Conor Lesnar all he cared about, but he didn’t.

Finally, she could afford to meet Megan’s eyes, with a clearer gaze yet tired—so tired "Everything he’s doing...he’s doing because of his brother." She paused, the words tasting bitter. "That’s how much Conor means to him."

Megan tilted her head. "Yeah, but it looks like he’s up to something," she said, her voice slower, more deliberate. "With you."

Merlina didn’t respond.

Not with words, anyway.

Because her mind had already gone back to the restroom. To that moment where everything felt like it could shift—if only he’d let it.

The tension. The way Craig’s voice broke when he asked her to stop dating Louis. The way his eyes almost said please, even when his mouth couldn’t. The silence that swallowed his feelings whole when she asked why.

And then... the part that hurt most.

He let her go.

Let her walk away when all she wanted and needed at that moment, was for him to pull her back again, but this time press her back against the wall. Whisper something reckless. Let his mouth say the things his eyes were screaming.

"Is he harassing you?" Megan’s voice pulled her back, alarmed.

"What? No!" Merlina said quickly. "It’s not like that." She licked her lips without meaning to, still dazed—still tasting the ghost of something that almost was. Then she sighed and looked away, thankful Megan couldn’t read minds.

"Then what happened in the restroom? You both looked tense," Megan asked, brows pinched.

Merlina exhaled slowly, trying to lock something wild and shameful inside. Her thighs shifted against each other, restless, tense. She crossed and uncrossed them under the dash, a quiet, desperate attempt to cage the reckless pulse curling inside her. She was still caught in that heat. Still thinking about how close he got. What almost happened.

"It’s nothing. Trust me." Merlina said firmly, surprised at how easily the lie slipped out—how calm she sounded when inside, everything was anything but nothing.

That moment with Craig was the closest they’d ever come to honesty, yet somehow it pushed them further apart. And she felt herself unraveling.

She never knew how much she wanted Craig Lesnar until now. Tonight stripped everything away, her mother, Conor, the affair, the mess of their lives, and left only the desire of his lips against hers, burning in her thoughts.

She wanted him. Entirely.

She finally allowed the truth. Since the day she’d caught him on that bench, lost in that handbook, he’d never left her mind.

"Alright..." Megan replied, but her tone said she didn’t believe her. She looked out the window, then back again. "Just be careful, Merlina. With the Lesnars... whatever he’s up to, it’s definitely no good."

Merlina nodded, but she wasn’t sure who she was agreeing with. Megan? Or herself?

She let the silence settle again. Let the words swirl around in her chest like smoke from a fire she couldn’t put out.

Megan turned slightly, voice softer. "Promise me you’ll tell Louis, if anything happens."

Merlina’s heart sank.

Louis.

Kind, loyal Louis. The guy who showed up when she needed support the most. Who held her when her hands shook. Who looked at her like she was worth loving despite her emotional baggage.

But he wasn’t the one she thought about in the dark, in secret.

She nodded anyway.

Because that was easier than saying the truth, that the person she needed protecting from, was also the one she couldn’t stop wanting.

Megan gave her a small squeeze on the arm before getting up. "I’m always here, if you need me."

"Thank you, Megan," Merlina said, and meant it, her voice small, sincere, her throat thick. She wasn’t sure if the tears building behind her eyes were from Megan’s kindness or from the guilt eating her alive.

Megan rested her head back and closed her eyes, clearly worn out from the long night.

Merlina finally reached for the ignition. The engine hummed to life, but everything inside her still felt broken. She didn’t know what she was doing anymore.

Why she was lying to the people who cared about her.

Her best friend.

Her boyfriend.

All for Craig Lesnar.

Even now, her hands were on his steering wheel. Driving his car. His scent still clung to the seats, his presence lingering in the air like the aftertaste of something she wasn’t supposed to want. And the weight of that reality made her sick to her stomach.

She swallowed hard, staring at the empty road ahead.

The truth was, the only thing more terrifying than what she felt for Craig, was how far she was willing to go for it.