He'll Be Your Stepfather

Cassie’s POV

I stood in front of the massive mansion, its towering pillars and sprawling grounds as familiar as they were overwhelming. Nostalgia swept through me in a wave I wasn’t prepared for. 

This place had once been my sanctuary, but also my cage. Compared to my small condo, this was paradise, yet I had left it behind because I couldn’t breathe here. My mother never supported my dream, so I chose to chase it alone. Now, with my career in shambles, I wondered if walking away had been worth it.

“I should just turn around…” I muttered, half-slurred, and pivoted on my heel. But then a voice came. 

“Miss Cassie? You’re back?”

The maid’s voice froze me in place. Too late to escape.

Moments later I was ushered into the living room, sitting stiffly on the sofa where I had once sprawled out with books as a girl. The house hadn’t changed much rich fabrics, gleaming marble floors, family portraits that felt more like decorations than memories. My eyes stung. Maybe this was my punishment for staying away so long. She hadn’t come looking for me all these years either.

“Erm, erm.” someone cleared their throat.

I jolted upright, heart skipping. My mother stood before me—still stunning, still intimidating. Dressed head-to-toe in designer labels, her face perfectly made up yet natural enough to look effortless, she could have been mistaken for my sister. Time had touched her lightly.

“Hi, Mom,” I said with a forced brightness, pulling her into a hug. The second her arms circled me, I realized just how much I’d missed her. Whatever our differences, she was still my mother.

She pulled back almost immediately. “Have you eaten?” Her tone brisk, practical as ever. No softness. No fuss.

“No.”

She snapped her fingers for the maids, who hurried to set the dining table.

Lunch began in silence, but soon her questions cut through the clink of silverware. “So. You quit?”

I swallowed hard and nodded. Suddenly, the food tasted like ash.

“I told you from the start,” she said smoothly, “that this passion of yours was a waste of time. But no, you had to prove me wrong. And now look who’s sitting here.” Her smirk sliced through me sharper than her words.

I lowered my eyes. She wasn’t wrong. I had given everything..my energy, my youth to my career, only to be blocked at every turn. Three years of loyalty and sacrifice, and all I had to show for it was exhaustion and humiliation.

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” I whispered.

“Don’t be.” She waved a manicured hand dismissively. “I didn’t call you back for that. I’m getting married in a month, and I want you here.”

The words hit me like a slap. “What!” I sputtered, choking on my food. After gulping down water, I blurted, “You’re getting married? Why?”

She arched her brow. “You don’t need to know why. It’s a formality. Something I need. But you will treat him with respect, regardless.” She leaned back casually. “He’s only eight years older than you.”

My jaw dropped. “Eight? You mean you’re fifteen years older than him! Mom, what are you even thinking?”

Her glare shut me up instantly.

“Don’t get clever with me, Cassie Williams. I make the decisions here,” she snapped.

I clenched my fists under the table. My mother had always been an enigma..cold, calculating, yet beautiful and commanding. But this? Marrying a man barely older than me? It didn’t make sense.

“I know it’s not my place, but…is this for money? A grant? Some kind of..”

“Careful.” Her voice was icy, and her eyes narrowed. “Are you interrogating me? Did quitting your job make you think you could cross me now?”

“No,” I murmured quickly, shrinking back. Lunch ended in silence, but my mind raced with questions.

Who was this mysterious fiancé? 

*************************

The following week dragged on like a punishment. Living under her roof reminded me why I’d left in the first place. Every look, every word from her was a reminder that I would never measure up. But with nowhere else to go, I endured.

The tension only grew when she announced a dinner party—an event to formally introduce her fiancé and reveal their wedding plans.

“Are you dressed yet?” she barked from outside my room as I fixed the last touch of lipstick.

“Yes!”

I slipped into the lilac strapless dress she had chosen for me, a daring piece with a thigh-high slit and a plunging neckline. My reflection left me momentarily speechless. Too much cleavage. Too much leg. Too much everything. I hated how it made me think of the hotel room, of that night, of the stranger who had burned his way into my memory.

“Snap out of it, Cassie,” I muttered. “It was just one reckless night.”

Downstairs, the ballroom was already buzzing with laughter and champagne glasses clinking. The stares I drew were sharp, but I ignored them all and slipped out into the garden. The moonlight was greater company than the crowd inside.

I stared at the moon. Always there. Always fulfilling its purpose. Unlike me stumbling, failing, suffocating in my own skin.

I stayed until footsteps rustled the grass behind me. My mother’s voice cut through the night. “There you are. I want you to meet someone.”

I turned. The man at her side stepped into the light.

And my world stopped.

“You…” The word tore out of me before I could stop it.

His hand was intertwined with hers, his sharp gray eyes locking onto mine, his perfectly sculpted jawline unmistakable.

“This is Sergio Carter,” my mother said proudly. “Your soon-to-be stepfather.”

My breath caught. My chest squeezed. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Because Sergio Carter wasn’t just her fiancé.

He was the stranger from the hotel.

The man I had slept with.

“What!” The scream ripped from my throat as the truth crashed down on me.