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Chapter 195

Author: Billie Patsy
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-30 21:08:39

LENA

On the way home, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Vivian’s voice kept replaying in my head, calm and poisonous, like a song you can’t forget no matter how much you hate it. Her last words sat heavy in my chest, pressing down on every breath.

There’s something you should know about the contract Roman signed.

I didn’t know what scared me more—the word contract, or the way she smiled when she said it.

Without really thinking, I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts. Ava’s name was there, glowing like a safe place. She would listen. She would rage with me. She would tell me I wasn’t crazy.

But my finger moved past her name.

Billy.

I stared at it longer than I meant to. I didn’t even know what I expected from him. Comfort? Perspective? Distraction? Maybe I just wanted someone who wasn’t tangled in my life, someone who didn’t love Roman or hate Vivian.

I pressed call before I could change my mind.

“Lena?” Billy answered, his voice warm, familiar. “Is everything o
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  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 205

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  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 204

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  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 203

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    LENAThat night, I woke up without knowing why.It wasn’t a sound. It wasn’t a dream. It was that strange instinct women get, the one that tugs you out of sleep before your mind can catch up. My eyes opened to darkness, the room quiet except for Roman’s steady breathing beside me.Then I saw the light.A faint glow pulsing on the nightstand.Roman’s phone.He had put it on silent, I knew that. He always did. But the screen lit up anyway, soft and insistent, like it was calling only to me. Roman didn’t stir. He was sleeping deeply, his face turned slightly toward me, peaceful in a way that felt cruel.For a moment, I just stared.I told myself not to look.I told myself that if I reached for that phone, whatever I saw would change something forever. And I was so tired of things changing without my consent. I had promised myself I wouldn’t search for pain anymore. I had promised I would wait for honesty instead of digging for it.My hand still moved.Slowly. Carefully. Like I was afraid

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