Jacob Elordi never wanted a new family.

After his mother’s death, grief turned him cold and distant. While he withdrew into silence, his father chose to move forward—by remarrying. That decision brought two strangers into the house: a new wife, and her daughter.

Karina Lynn was twelve when she arrived. Small, quiet, and far too gentle for a house already weighed down by mourning. She tried to speak to Jacob, to smile at him, to treat him like an older brother. He responded with indifference, sharp words, and distance. To Jacob, she was not a sister—only proof that life continued while he remained stuck in loss.

Years passed. Karina was sent to Australia to study, and the house returned to its familiar emptiness. Jacob believed that chapter had quietly closed.

Then Karina returned at eighteen.

She was no longer the fragile child he remembered. Her presence was calm, graceful, and unsettling in ways Jacob did not immediately understand. He found his attention lingering despite himself, a strange feeling forming in his chest—something unfamiliar, something he refused to name.

He told himself it was meaningless.

Until one evening, on the staircase, when Karina slipped—and Jacob caught her.

That moment marked the beginning of a change he could no longer ignore.

The girl's petite body pressed against his muscular body, the floral and vanilla scent from her hair disturbed Jacob's sense of smell.

“Careful.”

The word left Jacob’s mouth before thought could stop it. His hand tightened just enough to steady her, not more.