All Chapters of Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

LENAThe silence after Roman disappeared down the hall felt too heavy for the room. Too thick. Like the walls themselves were listening, waiting, holding their breath.Benjamin and Nataniel were tucked against my chest, calmer now, but still letting out soft whimpers that sounded more like questions than cries. As if they sensed something wasn’t right. As if they felt the tension vibrating through the house.My heart thudded painfully against my ribs.Roman told me to lock the door.But I couldn’t move yet.My legs felt like they were made of sand, my breath shallow and uneven. The soft night-light glowed across the nursery walls, casting gentle shadows—nothing threatening, nothing unusual. And yet the room still felt wrong. Like someone had touched it. Like someone had breathed inside it minutes ago.I tightened my arms around the twins.“Shh, baby… Mommy’s here…” I whispered, rocking slightly even though I was standing still.I kept listening for Roman.Any sound. Any footstep. Any

It had been weeks since everything spiraled — my ex showing up, the twins screaming as if someone had been inside their room, the door left open when neither of us touched it, Roman’s fury… and the heaviness that settled in my chest afterward.I didn’t mean to become withdrawn. It wasn’t intentional. It was like my mind kept replaying everything in a loop that never stopped. Every creak of the house made me tense. Every late-night shadow stretched a little too long. Every time the twins cried, my heart jumped faster than it should.So I clung to the things I could control.I asked Ava to take Isabella for a while — just until I could breathe again, until the house felt safer. She didn’t question it. She came over, scooped Isabella into her arms, whispered that she’d keep her like she was her own kid, and left without a single judgmental look.I think that’s why she’s been my friend for so many years.Meanwhile, Roman barely left my side. Not for long anyway. If he needed to take a cal

LENAThe sound of the front door opening wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to make every single one of us freeze. Roman instinctively stepped in front of me even though I still had Benjamin in my arms. Vivian straightened so fast she looked like she got electrocuted.I expected almost anyone else.But definitely not Ava.She stepped inside still holding her spare diaper bag, her hair tied messily into a bun like she’d run out of her house in a rush. She blinked, saw all of us staring at her like she’d broken into a crime scene, and frowned.“Okay,” she said slowly. “Why do you all look like I’m the IRS?”Relief hit me so fast I swear my knees almost gave up.“Ava,” I breathed. “You scared the hell out of us.”Roman muttered, “You could knock.”“I did knock,” she said, pointing at the door. “Three times. Nobody answered. So I used the key like a normal person who was told she can come in anytime.”She looked at me again. “Wait—did I interrupt something? You look… tense. Is this like

LENAIsabella’s room had become my favorite place in the house without me even noticing when it happened. Maybe it was the colors—soft lavender, warm cream, little golden stars Roman insisted on painting himself even though he absolutely couldn’t paint straight lines. Or maybe it was the feeling of safety there, like no matter what chaos touched our lives, this room stayed untouched.Right now, it smelled faintly of baby shampoo and colored pencils. Her toys were everywhere, her dolls facing the ceiling like they’d all fainted from exhaustion. Isabella, with her messy curls and determined little face, sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a picture book upside down like she was analyzing it in another language.I lay on my stomach beside her, propped on my elbows. “Sweetheart,” I said, gently flipping the book the right way, “the words go this direction.”She huffed dramatically. “I know, Mama. I was checking if the drawings look different upside down.”I bit back a laugh. “Do they?”

LENAAfter we finally calmed Isabella down from her very dramatic disappointment about not getting a sister immediately, she curled up in her bed with her stuffed unicorn and fell asleep almost mid-sentence. Roman tucked her in with the gentleness he reserved only for her, kissed her forehead, and smoothed her hair back.She didn’t even flinch. She was completely out.I stood by the door watching, my heart full in that way I didn’t fully understand until I became a mother. And Roman… he always looked different when he was with her. Softer. Younger. Like she was the one place he never had to be guarded.When we left her room, Roman closed the door quietly and exhaled.“Finally,” he murmured, taking my hand. “One mission completed.”“One?” I laughed softly. “What’s the second one?”He raised my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “Putting you to sleep.”I nudged him with my shoulder. “I’m not five.”“No,” he said, pulling me gently toward our bedroom, “but you’re exhausted. And I s