Library
Search
Home / Romance / Craving My Stepdaddy / chapter 23: The conversation

Share

chapter 23: The conversation

Author: efi great
last update publish date: 2026-08-22 19:34:15

Bronte’s POV

We sat in the living room like strangers.

Mom was on the couch, back straight, hands clenched in her lap.

Rufus sat in the armchair across from her, calm and composed. I stayed standing near the doorway tense to sit, the necklace burning against my skin like a secret about to be exposed.

Jake’s name hung in the air between us even though he wasn’t here.

Mom spoke first.

“Jake sent me photos,” she said, her voice tight.

“he sent timestamps, locations. He says Bronte has been going to your apartment when I was away. He says there’s more he wants me to see it.”

Rufus didn’t flinch. “Jake is obsessed with Bronte. He’s been trying to get her back since before we got married. This is his way of creating chaos.”

Mom’s eyes flicked to me. “Is that true, Bronte? Have you been going to his apartment?”

My mouth went dry.

The lie sat on my tongue, ready, but the weight of everything, Chloe’s warnings, Jake’s documents, the men, the nights made it hard to speak.

“I… went a few times,” I said carefully. “For help with school stuff, projects. Nothing more.”

Mom stared at me for a long second. Then she looked back at Rufus.

“I want to believe you both,” she said.

“But something feels off. Bronte has been different.

She has been distant and Jake is persistent enough that I’m starting to wonder if there’s any truth to what he’s saying.”

Rufus leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees.

His voice stayed steady, almost gentle.

“Catherine. I love you. I married you. Bronte is my stepdaughter. Whatever Jake is trying to imply is dangerous and false. If you want, I can show you my apartment logs, camera footage. Whatever you need.”

The offer made my stomach twist. I knew there was camera footage. Just not the kind that would help us.

Mom was quiet for a long time. Finally she stood up.

“I need space to think,” she said. “I’m going to stay at a hotel tonight. I don’t want to make any decisions while I’m this upset.”

She looked at me one more time. “Bronte if there’s something you need to tell me, now is the time.”

I shook my head, the words stuck in my throat.

Mom left without another word. The sound of the front door closing felt final.

Rufus stayed seated for a moment, staring at the empty space where Mom had been.

Then he stood up and walked over to me. His hands came up to cup my face, but there was no softness in his eyes now.

“She knows something,” he said quietly. “Not everything. But enough to start digging.”

I swallowed hard. “What do we do?”

Rufus’s thumb brushed over my bottom lip.

“We prepare,” he said.

“And we make sure that when the truth comes out it’s on our terms.”

He kissed me hard, claiming, and angry, I felt the shift in him. The careful control was cracking.

The version of Rufus who planned everything was starting to give way to the version that would burn the whole house down before he lost me.

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure which one scared me more.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   chapter 31: what she walks into

    bronte’s The hours before Mom came home moved too slowly and too fast at the same time.I tried to keep busy. I cleaned the kitchen. I folded laundry that didn’t need folding. I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall. Nothing helped. Every sound in the house felt louder than it should have. Every time a car passed outside, my stomach tightened.Rufus stayed close without crowding me. He worked in his office with the door open, glancing up whenever I walked past. Once he called me in and pulled me into his lap, kissing me slowly while his hand slid under my shirt. We didn’t go further. He just held me there for a while, forehead against mine, like he was steadying himself as much as me.“Whatever happens when she walks in,” he said quietly, “you don’t have to face it alone.”I wanted to believe that. Part of me did. Another part of me kept hearing Jake’s messages and Chloe’s warnings and the way Mom’s voice had sounded the last time she left.Around six thirty, headlight

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   Chapter 30: Lines drawn

    Bronte’s The next morning felt heavier than the ones before it.I woke up in Rufus’s bed again. He was already gone from the room, but I could hear him downstairs on a call. His voice was low and controlled the same tone he used when he was handling something important. I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.Mom still hadn’t come home.I checked my phone. Two missed calls from Chloe. One long message from Jake that I didn’t open. And a short text from Mom"I’ll be back this evening. We need to talk properly. No more avoiding it."I sat up slowly, the sheet falling around my waist. The necklace felt colder than usual against my skin.When I finally went downstairs, Rufus was in the kitchen making coffee. He looked up when he saw me and held out a mug. I took it without speaking.“She’s coming back tonight,” I said.“I know.”“She’s going to ask again.”Rufus leaned against the counter and studied me. “And what are you going to say

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   Chapter 29: Weight of almost

    Bronte’s After Mom left the second time, the house felt different.It wasn’t just quiet anymore. It felt judged. Like the walls had heard every lie and were waiting for the next one.Rufus didn’t say much after she drove away, he went back to his office and closed the door. I stood in the living room for a long time, staring at the spot where Mom had been sitting, replaying the look on her face when my phone lit up with Jake’s name. That look had said more than any of her words.She didn’t fully know yet.But she was close.I went upstairs and sat on the edge of my own bed for the first time in days. The room felt foreign. Smaller. I pulled the necklace off and held it in my palm, staring at the tiny engraving on the back. Property of R, for a moment I considered throwing it away. Instead I put it back on.My phone buzzed again.Jake, She called me after she left. She’s scared, Bronte. She asked me if I thought you were in danger.I told her the truth that I don’t know. But I’m no

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   Chapter 28: The return

    Bronte’s POVI woke up alone in Rufus’s bed.The sheets still smelled like him. My body ached in familiar places. For a few seconds I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember what day it was. Then the quiet of the house came over me and I remembered Mom was supposed to come home.I sat up fast. The necklace shifted against my skin.Downstairs I could hear movement a door closing, the soft sound of keys being set on the counter. My stomach dropped.She was already here.I pulled on one of Rufus’s shirts and a pair of shorts, then forced myself downstairs. Mom stood in the kitchen with her back to me, still wearing the same clothes from two days ago. Her suitcase was by the wall. When she turned around, her eyes found me immediately.“Bronte.”That single word carried too much weight.“Hi, Mom.”She looked tired, older somehow. Her gaze drifted over the oversized shirt I was wearing, then away again.“Where’s Rufus?”“In his office, I think.”She nodded once. “I’d l

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   Chapter 27: What I keep

    Rufus’s POVI watched her sleep on the couch after I carried her upstairs and put her in my bed.Bronte always looked younger when she was unconscious softer, less haunted. The marks I’d left on her thighs and hips stood out against her skin in the low light. The necklace rested in the hollow of her throat. She still wore it even when she was alone. That detail pleased me more than it should have.Catherine was coming home tonight. I could feel it. The messages she’d sent earlier were careful, distant, full of the kind of quiet that meant she had already started making decisions. Jake was pushing harder. Chloe was calling more often. The walls were closing in, and Bronte was starting to feel the pressure in ways that made her hesitate.I didn’t like hesitation.I sat in the chair near the bed and opened my laptop. The security feeds from the house played in small windows on the side of the screen. The recordings from the guest lounge the night my friends came over were still encry

  • Craving My Stepdaddy   chapter 26: The edge of knowing

    Bronte’s By the second day of Mom’s absence, the house had settled into a strange, dangerous rhythm.Rufus worked from home more than usual. He kept me close sometimes in his office while he took calls, sometimes downstairs on the couch with my legs draped over his lap, his hand resting possessively on my thigh. We fucked in almost every room. On the kitchen counter while coffee cooled beside us. Against the hallway wall. In the shower with water running over both of us. Each time felt hungrier than the last, like he was trying to stamp himself deeper into me before the real world came back.I stopped fighting the need. That scared me more than anything else.On the afternoon of the second day, Chloe called. I almost didn’t answer.“Where are you?” she asked the second I picked up. “Your mom is still at the hotel. She’s talking about coming home tonight. And Jake is losing his mind. He showed up at my place again this morning with more files. He’s talking about going to the polic

More Chapters

You May Also Like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status