INICIAR SESIÓN“You're up early.”Stephanie looked up to see her mother stroll into the dining room. The woman was still young, at a strong forty-eight, and sometimes she didn't look sick. But Stephanie had learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover. It'd been only a month ago when her mom had told her she'd been diagnosed with liver cancer. The news had been painful to hear. Ever since then, everyone tended to walk on eggshells around her. Though Heather always got upset whenever she noticed it. “Good morning, Mom. Couldn't sleep much.” She got on her feet to kiss the woman's cheeks. Stephanie wasn't surprised that sleep had deserted her. After the words Rolland had thrown at her, she hadn't been able to close her eyes for more than ten minutes. As a result, she'd spent the rest of the night battling between wanting him to make good on his promise and convincing herself that it was wise to stay away from him. He'd said he was crazy about her. Had he been playing the role then? He di
She thought he wasn't going to answer judging by how long he took before he opened his mouth. “Claire took someone important from you. I'd think you'd want to get them back and not by hiring another man to act as your fiancé.”So he was assessing by what had happened. She wasn't surprised anyway. Sure, she was a pretty good lawyer if she said so herself, but other than work, confrontations didn't sit well with her. She preferred to ignore the problem until it was gone. “Claire's my sister.” She reminded him.“All the more reason to make her understand that she can't treat you like shit.”Stephanie could see some truth in what he was saying. Claire had never cared about anyone but herself. The fact that she had showed up with a man was either because she wanted it to hurt Stephanie or she actually gave a fuck about their mother's happiness. Somehow, she concluded it was the former.“Our relationship has been somewhat strained even since we were kids. She had her own friends, her own li
Suddenly, strong hands were lifting her up, one under her knees and the other at the back of her neck. Stephanie shrieked, snapping her eyes open. A second later she was on the bed, and Rolland was next to her on his stomach, really close, closer than was necessary. His eyes were shut, and if she hadn't been sure there were only two of them in the room, she'd have thought someone else had lifted her, judging by how still he was.A smile stretched her lips and a warm feeling spread through her. His eyelid fluttered, the only evidence that he was awake. His eyelashes were thick and long, and Stephanie blushed red when the thought of something else that was thick and long filled her mind. She'd felt it earlier when they'd been kissing, and had even touch it lightly. It felt thick, harder than she thought was possible. She wanted to see it up front, wanted to caress the skin in her hands.Stephanie whined on the inside, pressing three fingers to her forehead. Here she was again fantasizin
Stephanie*She raised her glass to her lips and mistakenly locked eyes with Matt. He didn't look too good in her opinion, and he could die if he wanted to. She didn't mind. It wouldn't be close to what he deserved fit being the dick he was. His eyes pierced her skin, and it didn't take long for the contact to unsettle her. What was he thinking? She wanted to go step by step through the thoughts floating around in his mind. Was he angry? Repentant? Did he feel like he'd lost something good?For the longest time, Stephanie thought there was something wrong with her. It was either her boyfriends woke up one morning and decided they didn't want her anymore, or she got a text saying they'd moved out of the country. In Matt's case, he'd decided to move into Claire's vagina, which wasn't all that different if you thought about it.Rolland on the other hand... When his hands were on her, she felt rejuvenated, like she could take on the world and win. His touch left her frustrated with want, m
Stephanie could only stare. He hadn't been lying. He not only told her family who he actually was but turns out, he's rich and popular too. Stephanie almost groaned. Just her luck. Why, oh why hadn't Grace found her someone who was normal and ordinary? Why had she gotten the one person she absolutely didn't want?What was going to happen when everyone found out they weren't going to get married? Her mother would freak. Her favorite aunt would hate her. Claire would be delighted.It was no wonder he'd declined payment. If he'd requested for money, she probably wouldn't have been able to afford him. The ring he'd bought her had probably left an inconspicuous dent in his bank account.Her mother smiled pleasantly, looking from him to Stephanie. “Then maybe you could paint me one day.”“I'd love to paint you, Grandma.” Olivia piped up with her mouth full. She called anyone she considered too old 'grandma' or 'grandpa', and you didn't even have to be related to the family.Laughter rippled
Stephanie*Dinner started really well. Her mother sat at one end of the table, and Olivia sat at the other. Her mother never allowed anyone to sit there since her husband died, out of respect. But no one could say no to Olivia. Aunt Phoebe sat next to Mitch, who was next to Mom. On Aunt Phoebe's right was Matt and on his was Claire. Benjamin was closer to his daughter at the last seat, feeding her chicken.On the other side of the table closer to her mother were Aunt Emma and George. On George's left was Rolland, and then Stephanie and the last seat was occupied by Benedict.It felt good to be home again with the family. Stephanie couldn't remember the last time they'd all been in the same room together. She glanced at her mother. The woman had announced months ago that she had liver cancer, and it had been one of the worst days of Stephanie's life. Regardless, she looked as happy as one person could be and Stephanie wanted to do everything in her power to keep the smile on her face.E







