Semua Bab More Than Just Her Stepfather: Bab 151 - Bab 160

RipFriday evening, I gave Simon a reassuring smile as he paced nervously in front of the door, waiting for Alexis and her father to arrive for their date. Once Alexis asked if it would be okay if her father came on their date, Simon had been even more anxious over it. I was proud of him for not questioning her request. It told me everything that I needed to know. I had every confidence that he would respect her. If he could understand that Alexis would feel more comfortable with one of her parents attending their date, then he was really maturing into a good, upstanding man.He jumped when the doorbell went off, glancing at me for the briefest second before dashing over to the foyer table to grab the roses that he had purchased with his own money. He rolled his shoulders back as he walked over to the door, pulling it open at the same moment he held the flowers up.“Alex, I bought you–sir,” he finished, and I could hear the heartbreak in his voice.I straightened up as a strange man w

Rip-2 days laterI was just wrapping up a meeting with Jon when there was a commotion outside my office door. I immediately jumped to my feet to race out of the room when I heard Simon’s fear-filled voice.“Mr. Hernandez, you’re hurting me. Please, let me go.”Jon grabbed my arm as I went to swing on Niles, stopping my fist from connecting with the side of his face. ”LET MY SON GO!”“FINE! YOU DEAL WITH HIM, BECAUSE IF I EVER CATCH HIM HAVING SEX WITH MY DAUGHTER AGAIN, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MAJOR ISSUE!” he hollered.My head whipped around so that I was staring at Simon. “Is this true?”“Dad, it’s not what you think. We didn’t mean for it to happen. And Alex…” He glanced at Niles before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”Niles threw his hands up in frustration. “I swear to God, boy, if she gets pregnant, I’m arresting you!”Simon immediately ducked his head. “Yes, sir.”Niles narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t want him even speaking to Alexis again!”I crossed m

Two Weeks LaterNaomiI groaned as I shut the computer for the last time for the semester. I was happy that even with my pregnancy, I still passed all my classes with flying colors. The kids still had another week of school, which meant one thing. I was going to get to sleep as much as I wanted during the day. I had even managed to talk Rip into taking the kids to school, and Caroline would be picking them up. I was so excited to get to do whatever I wanted to do. I could relax in a bath, spend hours floating in the pool, and even walk around the house stark naked if I wanted to.“No! I’m off! I’m not doing anything else!” I grumbled when Phoebe sat down next to me.She laughed softly as she raised an eyebrow at me. “You don’t even know why I came over here.”“I know you came over here because you want something. That’s all I need to know,” I told her.She chuckled again as she stood up next to me. “I wanted to know what you would be doing in August?”I narrowed my eyes on her as the

When Rip walked back into the room a few minutes later, Niles and I fell silent. Rip immediately crossed to my side and took my hand as he sat on the edge of the bed. I could tell that he was extremely upset by whatever the doctor had said to him, but I also knew that he wasn’t quite ready to talk about it, so I kept talking to Niles until he was. He finally sighed, instantly stopping our conversation.“Naomi?”“Yes?”“Did she tell you who died?” he asked.“No. She just said it was my fault,” I answered.He ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. “Natalie tried to kill herself when she got here.”I gasped loudly. “What?”He nodded. “She grabbed a scalpel and tried to slit her wrist.”My eyes widened as I stared at him. “Is she and the baby okay?”He studied my face for a moment. “Does it even matter if she’s okay?”I pulled my hand away from his. “Of course it does, Rip! Just because I don’t like the girl doesn’t mean I want her dead!”“I know, baby. She’s okay. So is the baby,”

Rip-3 weeks laterWhen I finally made it downstairs to the kitchen after getting ready for work, I beelined straight for my beautiful wife, who was standing at the stove, flipping pancakes. She smiled softly as she leaned back against my chest. I loved her more than anything. She had really embraced our new life. Every day she woke up to make me and the kids breakfast. Hell, most of the time, she was the one making our meals. I may be her safe place, but she was just as much my safe space.Whenever I had a bad day or was overly stressed, my favorite thing was to make time when she was either making breakfast or dinner and just stand at the stove with my arms around her. I sighed happily as I buried my face in her neck and placed my hands on her stomach, inhaling the lavender scent her body wash left on her skin. I immediately relaxed, loving these little moments with her. When I married her, I had been worried that she would change, but I should have known better. Naomi wasn’t one who