A DATE WITH MY EX-BOYFRIEND DAD

CHAPTER 1Amelia sat across from Ryan, her fingers wrapped around the edge of her coffee cup. The café was noisy, but between them, there was nothing. Just silence.Ryan exhaled, shifting in his seat. He looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to be anywhere but here.“I think we should break up.”The words hit Amelia like a slap. For a second, she just stared at him, waiting for him to take it back. To laugh and say he was joking. But he didn’t. He just sat there, avoiding her eyes, tapping his fingers against the table.She swallowed hard. “What?”Ryan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t think this is working anymore.”Her chest tightened. “You don’t think?”He finally looked at her then, and she wished he hadn’t. There was no sadness in his eyes. No regret. Just that same distant expression he’d been giving her for months.“I feel trapped, Amelia.” His voice was calm. “We’ve been together for three years, and it’s just... too much.”Too much.The words made her stomach turn

CHAPTER 3The car's engine made a steady humming noise. But Amelia couldn't focus on it. She felt very aware of the man sitting next to her. Ethan's hand was on the steering wheel. His fingers were tapping on it. But Amelia noticed that his hand tightened slightly every time she moved in her seat. She crossed her legs, trying to find some relief from the aching warmth between her thighs. It didn’t help. The fabric of her dress brushed against her skin, teasing, making her all too conscious of her own body. Ethan caught the movement. A slow smirk curved his lips as he turned his head slightly, his dark eyes glinting in the dim glow of the dashboard. “You’re squirming, sweetheart.” His voice was deep, taunting, thick with amusement. “Still thinking about how I’d feel between your legs?” A sharp breath escaped her, but she refused to let him see how easily he unraveled her. She tilted her head, forcing a smirk of her own. “You talk a lot, Ethan. I bet you don’t have the strength to

Chapter 5Amelia didn’t sleep much that night.She lay still, tangled in her sheets, Ethan’s words echoing in her mind. His touch lingered on her skin long after they’d parted. That kiss hadn’t been casual. It had been deliberate. Deep. Like the kind of kiss that doesn’t just spark something — it awakens it.She didn’t want to admit how much she wanted more.By morning, she was restless. Her phone buzzed softly beside her — a message from Ethan.*“I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”*She read it twice. Smiled. But she didn’t reply yet.Instead, she went about her day trying to focus on anything else — laundry, groceries, a short video call with Sarah that didn’t help much since Sarah instantly noticed her distraction.“You’ve got that dreamy, been-kissed-by-a-dangerous-man look,” Sarah teased. “You better spill.”Amelia only laughed. But she didn’t spill. Not yet.That evening, a knock came at her door. She wasn’t expecting anyone, which meant she knew exactly who it was. Ethan sto

Chapter 7Amelia didn’t sleep that night.She lay in bed wide awake, replaying every second she’d shared with Ethan — every kiss, every look, every word — now seen through a cracked lens. She kept asking herself the same question over and over: *Why didn’t he tell me?* The silence gnawed at her, feeding a pit in her stomach that only grew deeper.By morning, the ache in her chest had hardened into something sharper. Determined, she pulled on jeans, tied her hair back, and headed to the café where they first met — the place where it had all begun. If he remembered her favorite things like he claimed, he’d come looking for her there.And she was right.At 10:17 a.m., Ethan walked in, wearing a navy sweater and a look of relief — until he saw her face.He froze.She stood slowly, her heartbeat pounding loud in the quiet café. “We need to talk.”He nodded, jaw tightening. “I figured.”They sat across from each other in silence. No coffee. No smiles.Just truth waiting.“I know,” she said

Chapter 9The morning light filtered softly through the curtains, casting pale stripes across Amelia’s bed. She woke to a quiet that felt heavier than usual, as if the air itself was waiting for her to make a decision she wasn’t ready to face.Her phone lay on the bedside table, silent. No messages. No calls. The absence was louder than any word.She turned over, pulling the covers tighter, but the warmth didn’t chase away the cold knot twisting in her stomach. The truth was, she wasn’t sure if she could face Ethan again—if she could look into his eyes without wondering how much of what he’d said was real and how much was a beautiful lie to mask the complicated web of their lives.Ryan’s face flashed behind her eyelids—the son she once loved and lost, and the unseen link tying Ethan and her in a tangled knot.How was she supposed to move forward when the past kept pulling them back?Even the memory of Ethan’s touch felt different now. Not tainted—but heavy with consequence.And yet, i