All Chapters of The CEO's Stepdaughter: Chapter 131 - Chapter 139

Niccola FairchildCole sets his hand lightly at my lower back, grounding. “Stay here.” I nod.Elisabeth opens the door. For half a second, I don’t see who it is, only hear the shift in the air, the sound of a voice slicing through the warmth.“Oh, Elisabeth,” My mother says brightly. “How lovely to see you.”My stomach drops. The room goes very, very still. It’s like someone turned the volume down on the party. Conversations fade. Laughter dies mid-breath. Even Aiden pauses, frosting on his face, blinking like he senses the change. Monica steps into the doorway as if she belongs there.She looks perfect, of course. Hair glossy, makeup flawless, clothes tailored like she’s here for a magazine shoot instead of a child’s birthday. She holds a wrapped gift in one hand, a neat little box with a bow, and her smile is practiced sweetness. Then her gaze lands on me.“Niccola,” s

Cole SutcliffeWhen the door closes behind them, the house is quiet again, quiet in the aftermath way, not the peaceful way. The party decorations look strange now, like a costume left on after the play ends.Steph breaks the silence first. “Well. That was festive.”Sawyer gives a short laugh. “You throw one children’s party and suddenly it’s a crime scene.”Faith exhales, rubbing her forehead. “I should go check on Jonas.”Mark nods. “I’ll help.”Jasmin stands. “I’m going upstairs too. If she comes back, I’m throwing hands.”Mom’s voice is calm but firm. “You will do no such thing.”Jasmin grins. “Figuratively.”Steph watches them all disperse, then looks at me. “Do you want me to stay?”I glance toward the kitchen again. Niccola is standing at the sink, shoulders squared, breathing

Cole SutcliffeThe first thing I notice is the noise.Not the city, New York has always hummed like a living thing, but the cameras. The low, predatory click-click-click that follows us the moment the car door opens. Flashbulbs bloom like small explosions against the sidewalk, voices rising in a practiced chorus.“Cole, over here!” “Niccola, how are you feeling after court?” “Is this a celebration?”I instinctively angle my body, one hand settling at the small of Niccola’s back, not to hide her, she doesn’t need hiding, but to anchor us together. She doesn’t flinch. That alone feels like a miracle. She leans in, lips brushing my ear. “Ignore them.”“I’m trying,” I murmur back. “I preferred when dates didn’t come with a soundtrack.”She smiles, calm and conspiratorial. “Think of it as ambiance.”We move forward, guided by security, the doors of the restaurant opening like a promise. The noise drops away the second we step ins

Niccola FairchildThe house is quiet in the way that feels earned.Not the tense quiet we lived with for so long, the kind that pressed against my ribs and asked me to listen for danger, but the soft, domestic kind that settles after a full day. Aiden is asleep upstairs, sprawled diagonally in his crib like he fought sleep and lost. The dishwasher hums. Somewhere outside, a siren passes and fades without dragging my pulse with it.I’m sitting at the dining table with a notebook open in front of me, a pen resting between my fingers, doing something that used to feel impossible. Planning. I don’t realize Cole is watching me until he clears his throat gently from the doorway.“You look serious,” he says.I glance up and smile. “I am. This child is going to need a place to put their things.”He laughs softly and comes closer, leaning over the back of my chair to kiss the crown of my head. “You’re n

Happiness doesn’t announce itself.I learn that slowly, in fragments, in the way mornings stretch instead of snap, in the weight of two children sleeping against me, in the fact that laughter no longer feels like something borrowed from the future.Jade is curled against my chest, all warmth and quiet insistence, while Aiden builds a tower on the living room rug with the kind of intense concentration usually reserved for surgeons and bomb disposal experts. Cole is on a call in his study, voice low and confident, the sound of a man who knows exactly what he’s doing and why.This, this ordinary miracle, is our life now.Two kids. Two businesses that no longer feel fragile or defensive but expansive. A house that holds noise and stillness in equal measure.I rock Jade gently and watch Aiden knock his tower over on purpose, delighted by the crash.“Again,” he declares.“Again,” I agree.Outside,