My Stepbrother's Punishment— Part 3

THE DISCOVERY

The door swung open before I could even reach the stairs.

My mother stood in the doorway, with suitcase in her hand, she looked tired but happy. Fresh from her trip. Completely unaware that her daughter had just spent the night in her stepson's bed.

"Mom," I said. My voice came out too high. "You're back early."

She smiled, stepping inside, the suitcase rolled across the hardwood floor. "The flight was shorter than I expected, and I missed you two." She glanced around the living room. "Where's Maddox?"

"He's—" I swallowed. "He's in the kitchen."

"Mmm." She headed that way, and I followed, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

Maddox stood at the counter, pouring coffee into two mugs. He was calm and completely unbothered. He turned when my mother walked in, a smile already on his face.

"Mom," he said, setting down the coffee pot. "You're early."

“Yes dear," she said as she kissed his cheek. Then she turned to me, "Ivy, honey, you look exhausted, are you okay?"

No mum, I'd spent the night being punished by my stepbrother, I'd done something unforgivable.

"Yeah," I said. "Just a little bit tired."

My mother nodded, not quite buying it, but let it go. "I'm going to unpack, then we can have lunch together. The three of us."

My stomach dropped; a family lunch, sitting across from Maddox and pretending everything was normal.

Maddox caught my eye, and his expression was unreadable, but his hand found my lower back as he walked past. Just a brush, and it was barely anything.

But my mother noticed.

Her head whipped around as she narrowed her eyes, looking at me, then at Maddox.

"What's going on with you two?" she asked.

I froze. "Nothing, why?"

"I don't know." She studied my face. "You're both acting strange, and Ivy, you have a mark on your neck."

My hand flew up to cover the hickey, but it was too late. She'd already seen it.

"I fell," I said quickly. "I was drunk last night, so I tripped on the stairs."

"On your neck?"

"On the banister, so it bruised."

My mother stared at me, and I could see her calculating my poor excuse, my guilty expression, and the way Maddox had his back turned to her, not showing his face.

"I think I need to sit down," she said quietly.

She walked to the couch, sat down, and rubbed her temples.

"Maddox," she said. "Come here."

He walked over and sat across from her. I stayed frozen in the doorway.

"Tell me the truth," she said. "Both of you, what is going on?"

I opened my mouth to speak, the lie was right there, but no word came out.

Then I looked at Maddox.

He was calm. His eyes met mine, and something passed between us, an understanding that he wasn't going to lie.

"Maddox," my mother repeated. "I asked you a question."

He took a breath. "Ivy and I have been spending time together."

My mother's face went pale. "What kind of time?"

"The kind that's been building for two years," he said. "I know it's wrong, but I can't pretend I don't feel—"

"Stop." My mother held up her hand. "I don't want to hear this, Ivy, is this true?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mom."

She stood up and walked to the window. I could see her shoulders shaking as she was trying to stay calm.

"I've been gone for four days," she said, her voice trembling. "And this happens."

"Mom, it's been happening for weeks—"

"I don't care how long it's been happening!" She spun around. "He's your stepbrother, your family, how could you do this?"

I wanted to explain, wanted to tell her about the months of tension, the secret glances, but the words just wouldn't come.

Maddox stood up and walked toward her.

"I know you're angry," he said. "I know you're hurt, but I need you to understand something."

"What?" Her voice was bitter. "That you seduced my daughter?"

"No, but that I've been in love with her since the wedding, that I've been fighting it every single day."

My mother stared at him.

"Get out," she said.

"Mom—"

"Both of you get out of my sight. I can't look at you right now."

Maddox walked toward me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Away from here."

We walked out the front door, down the driveway, to his car that was parked on the street. He opened the passenger door and waited for me to get in.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked again.

"Somewhere quiet, we need to figure this out."

I got in, and he also got behind the wheel, started the engine, and we pulled away from the house.

---

We ended up at a park, and thankfully, no one else was there. He parked the car and turned off the engine.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't want you to have to go through that."

"Neither did I." I stared out the window. "What happens now?"

"I don't know, your mom needs time.”

He reached over and took my hand. "I've spent two years trying to push you away. I've been miserable, miserable pretending I don't want you, and now that I've had you, I can't go back."

"Even if it means losing your family?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "You're my family."

I leaned over and kissed him, soft and gentle.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips.

He pulled back and looked at me. "You do?"

"Yeah, and I think I have for a while, I just didn't want to admit it."

He smiled, a real smile that made his eyes crinkle at the corners.

"I love you too," he said. "So much it scares me."

He kissed me again, deeper, and I felt loved.

Then his phone buzzed.

He ignored it.

"Maddox," I said. "It might be Mom."

He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.

"She's asking us to come back," he said. "She wants to talk."

I swallowed hard. "Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we have to find out."

---

We drove back in silence. My hands were sweating, and my heart was racing.

My mother was sitting in the living room when we walked in, her eyes were red, and I knew she'd been crying.

"Sit down," she said. "Both of you."

We sat on the couch across from her.

"I've been thinking," she said. "About what you said, and I realized something."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I've been so focused on what's proper, on what's acceptable, but I never stopped to ask either of you how you really feel."

"Maddox touched my hand. "We've told you how we feel."

"I know." She took a shaky breath. "And I hate this, I hate that you're my children, I hate that this is wrong, but I also hate that I've been so blind."

I didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I saw the way Maddox looked at you at the wedding, but I ignored it, reassuring myself it was nothing. But deep down, I knew."

She reached out and took both our hands. "I can't accept this overnight, I'll need time, but I also can't lose my daughter, or my son. So I'm going to try."

I blinked. "Try what?"

"To understand, to accept, and to figure out how we move forward, together."

She squeezed our hands, then let go.

"Now go," she said. "I need a glass of wine."

We walked out to get her wine.

"That went better than I expected," Maddox said.

"Hmmm, so what happens now?" I asked.

"Now we stop hiding." He kissed the top of my head. "We stop pretending, and we live our lives."

"And if people judge us?"

He smiled. "Let them, I don't care what anyone thinks. I only care about you."

I looked up at him, my stepbrother, the man who'd punished me and broken me and put me back together.

"I love you," I said.

He kissed me softly. "I love you too.