Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Stepfather, My Ruin: Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

Nicole Harper~•~“Was that why you were grinning the whole time?” He arched an eyebrow. “Tell me, do you like them better than me?”I raised my chin in defiance, unable to pass up any opportunity I had to tease him. “What if I do?”Surprisingly, Tristan didn’t react to my question. Instead, his hand left my waist and wrapped around my wrist, pulling me toward the living room.“What are you—” I didn’t finish the sentence before he sat down on the sofa and pulled me with him, settling me on his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. My breath hitched slightly as I steadied myself, my hands resting on his shoulders. “You fit in too easily in my life,” he said randomly.I blinked down at him. “What?” That definitely wasn’t what I expected him to say after he pulled me onto his lap.“That’s a problem.”A small frown formed on my face. “What? Did you plan on discarding me when you were done with me?”Tristan chuckled as if the question was ridiculous, his lips brushing again

Nicole Harper~•~I almost didn’t go.I stood in front of the mirror longer than necessary, staring at my reflection like I could find an excuse to back out if I looked hard enough. My fingers hovered over my phone more than once, tempted to send a quick message to cancel, to say something had come up, to push it to another day. But I’d already said yes and I really needed to get it over with.I was tired of the man hovering around my life like a dark fucking cloud.“You know you’re not obligated to go, right?” Tristan asked, watching me from the bed.“Yeah, but I don’t want him to keep showing up.”“I’ll—““Take care of it?” I finished for him. “Do you have a savior complex or something?”Tristan didn’t falter. “Only when it comes to you.”I exhaled slowly, kissing Tristan goodbye, grabbing my bag, and forcing myself to move before I could change my mind.The drive to the cafe felt longer than it actually was. Maybe it was because I spent the entirety of the drive wondering what he c

Tristan Michelson~•~I was working in the living room because it was stuffy in my office.It wasn’t because Nicole had been gone for more than two hours and my hand itched to pick my phone up and call her.I didn’t want her to think I was hovering around her and not letting her live her life. Deciding to meet her father was her decision to make, even if it was a poor decision to meet up with the person who had abandoned you for seven years. I didn’t point that out though. We didn’t have much time left together before Lily came back and I didn’t want to ruin the remaining two weeks with an unnecessary fight.She had pushed back when I kindly suggested we exchange locations and I didn’t want to possibly call her while she was still with her father and make her think I was trying to control her life by telling her her meeting ran long.My mind must have conjured her up.I looked up when I heard the sound of the front door opening and by the time she turned the corner, my laptop was clos

Nicole Harper~•~Tristan and I both had mommy issues.And daddy issues.But at least, his father wasn’t blackmailing him for money. As I watched him sleep, I debated on how to bring it up. While my reputation was on the line, he had a lot more to lose than I did. His future position was riding on his reputation. He already had to enter a marriage of convenience because of it. If word got out that he was sleeping with his stepdaughter… was he going to lose his current position as well?My chest tightened at the thought.I shifted slightly on the bed, careful not to wake him. One of his arms was thrown under his head, the other resting loosely on my waist like even in his sleep, he needed to make sure I was still there. His face was relaxed, stripped of the sharp edges he carried when he was awake. He looked unburdened.It made me feel worse because it felt like I was his only burden.I let out a slow breath and carefully lifted his hand off me, replacing it with the pillow so he woul

Nicole Harper~•~I hated Daniel Ashford.He was determined to torture me, which was why he wouldn’t stop texting me while I was at work. I could barely even concentrate on work because of him, but I managed to get through the first few days.When Wednesday came, he decided a call was much better than a text.He called me three times. I declined every single one, but that didn’t deter him.[Unknown: Pick up, Nikky. I’m in front of your building.”Then he attached a picture of the front of the office building.It made my skin crawl. Was that a subtle threat that he was going to walk in and expose us? And the nickname almost made me throw up. Looking around to make sure that no one was staring at me, I quickly slipped out of my seat and went into the restroom. I found an empty stall and called the man back.“What the hell do you want again?” I hissed the moment he answered the call.“Money,” he answered easily. “I’m broke.”“Well, so am I?” I said in irritation. “Or do you think I’m the