The Stepbrother (UPDATED)

March 2023 Author's Note/Announcements and Other Stuff

Repetitive Comment: Aurora's relationship with her little brother, Toby, is so sweet while in reality, it's different.

- I've seen a lot of these comments and from what I can tell, some of you have siblings. I am an only child so I don't know what it's like to have siblings or how siblings behave around each other haha. But from experiences or from what I have heard, I caught glimpses of relationships between siblings. I know siblings fight or annoy each other but you still care for each other. And from what you can tell about how their mother raised them, they come from a home full of love and I guess that's why they treated each other so sweetly.

Question: There are a lot of changes and I'm confused. Why change this chapter entirely or some parts of this chapter?

- I know some of you are rereading this story and you noticed some chapters are different because I want to put some sense into the chapter and make things less confusing. For those who are new and you probably look at the comments from 2 or 3 years ago or so, mentioning some details or things here and there and you cannot find it anymore, I just want to inform you that I am editing and updating everything from top to bottom. I am so sorry for the confusion and changes in the story.

Question: What happened to the part/chapter where Steven decided to throw a party because their parents are on their honeymoon for two weeks?

- When I read the entire chapter, it didn't make any sense at all and the writing felt rushed. So instead of Aurora and Steven alone in their house, I decided to add new characters, Grandma Abigail and Grandpa Walter, who will look out for Aurora, Steven, and Toby while their parents are on their honeymoon and edit a chapter or two. And instead of a party, the grandparents threw a gathering and invited some of their friends.

Trigger Warning: Mention of SA, Victim Blaming, Mention of Themes of Sexual Trauma (this could be upsetting for some readers).

Repetitive Comment: "Aurora is so dumb and weak for not telling her Mom and her friends about Steven and all of the SA.", "Why can't Aurora say anything? It's not that hard.", etc.

- Okay... I am a bit tired but entirely, still upset that I still see some similar comments that are stated above. Seeing these types of comments is mainly victim blaming and that is already one of the reasons why Aurora cannot say anything. I've experienced being sexually harassed a couple of times and I kept on blaming myself and the fear of telling and that no one will believe me was the reason why I didn't say anything. I've done a lot of research on the topic and the common reason is victim blaming. And I kept on hoping on the thought, if only people will try to put themselves in Aurora's shoes. 

Imagine... Aurora,16 years old, was sexually abused multiple times and even threatened by Steven with a dangerous weapon and told her that no one will believe her and that if she will tell anyone, he'll do so much worse to her and hurt or even kill anyone including her family and friends.

That is already terrifying and traumatizing for her and she is young and she is still considered a child. She doesn't know what to do and yet she is aware that she needs to tell someone but she is scared and she is human. She kept on telling NO to Steven, but he refused to listen, and she tried to fight back but Steven is twice her size. It takes a lot of courage to finally tell someone and for some people, it may seem easy cause all we need to do is to open our mouths and let it out. You cannot force someone to do so, especially when they're going through a hard time.

Even while I was editing some parts of a chapter, specifically Chapter 9,  I was very close to crying cause it felt so real and it took me some time to finish editing it. It felt so real to the point I ended up crying a little bit.

I hope there will be fewer victim-blaming comments cause it is never the victim's fault. Always believe the victim.

Repetitive Comment: Negative comments mainly about abortion

- Okay... there are a lot of negative comments about Aurora's decision to abort the baby. We are all entitled to our opinions and we all have different opinions and I respect that. I am not entirely sure if I am in the right place to say this but going through an abortion is not easy and even going through the aftermath of abortion is also not easy. 

Question: Will the ending remain the same or will there be any changes?

- It depends actually but I think there will be some changes and I'll make sure to not change the ending entirely.

Question: As for the chapters, will there be a lot of changes?

- Again, it really depends on the chapter itself. There will be some chapters with major changes and there will be some chapters with minor changes.

Okay, that's all I could think of. And again, if there are any questions you would like to ask, feel free to leave a question and I'll answer it as soon as I can.

I hope you guys will wait a bit longer for the updated chapters and the new chapter/s coming soon! And I hope you will look forward to the new chapter/s!

That's all and take care! ♡

-emopastelgirl^^