All Chapters of Power and Pleasure |The man my mother married|: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Adler carefully rolled the cuff of his white dress shirt back down and fastened the button. The press conference had gone better than he expected. The questions had been straightforward,yes, but predictable. His aides prepared the entire narrative perfectly, painting him as a man the people could relate to, a man with roots. A man with a family. He had smiled when asked about “adjusting to married life,” glancing at Judy the way a husband was expected to and, she returned the gesture, her lips curving with that sweet but distant smile people wear when the cameras are still watching. They were good at this, he thought while smiling to himself. Or at least, good enough. Behind this image was the bargain. The performance. The careful architecture of appearances that kept his world steady. He’d replayed it all in his mind more times than he cared to admit—because rehearsing meant control. And control was what kept everything intact. The quiet room behind him looked nothing like the

For a moment, Jason let himself believe things were normal. That his dad was downstairs, reading the paper, his mom humming along to the radio as usual. But reality was sharper. He sat up, eyes catching the neat gray suit draped over the chair. Adler’s. Mom must have left it there. It was crisp and well-kept just like the man himself. He could hear the clinking of plates and Judy’s soft voice from downstairs while he took his time to dress, delaying what would inevitably be a morning full of forced smiles and fake conversation. When he came down, Adler was already seated, sipping his coffee like he owns the damn house. It was undeniable though. He looked good—because why wouldn’t he? Perfect hair, perfect posture, like the universe just handed him mornings on a silver platter. Immediately, Jason tore his gaze away before his brain got any dumber. “Good morning,” Judy said, her eyes flicking from Adler to Jason. He muttered something that sounded like morning and reached f

Jason's eyes burned from the cigarettes he had chain-smoked after the drive back. The smoke did nothing as his chest still throbbed with last night’s burn—the way Adler had looked at him. No, not Adler. His stepdad. Christ. He dragged a hand over his face, but the burn in his gut only sharpened. It was one thing to catch himself staring. Another to let the truth slip through, even in his own head. That it wasn’t just Adler, the man, the highly respected politician. It was his stepfather—the man his mother married. The wrongness made it worse He lay there staring at the ceiling, stale smoke clinging to his shirt, his body aching for another cigarette but his stomach already sour. The house was still, or maybe he just couldn’t hear it yet through the fog in his head. A minute later, a light knock came, exactly how his mum would knock when she was not sure of how he would take the intrusion. “Jason,” Judy called softly, voice thin through the wood. “Don’t stay in bed too long. We’ve

Jason waited until the penthouse went quiet.Not silent because it was obvious that this place never truly went silent.. but right now it was quiet in the way expensive spaces did, where even the hum of electricity felt curated. Judy had retired early, claiming that exhaustion had finally won and she needed to rest due to the stress of the moving. Adler’s footsteps had faded down the hall toward the study, his door closing with that soft, decisive click that sounded less like privacy and more like a silent command of do not enter.Jason lay on the bed for exactly five minutes.. Then he got up.He moved barefoot, in a slow and careful way, the marble cold beneath his soles. The lights along the corridor dimmed automatically as he passed, reacting to his presence like the house itself was tracking him.“Creepy.. So damn creepy,” he muttered to himself as he started with the obvious.. the living room, kitchen, dining area. And honestly everything was just too pristine and.. too untouc

That night sleep came a bit later than it usually did for both Jason and Adler both they dared not complain.Because what were they going to say?But the next morning something felt a bit off and Jason noticed it over breakfast.His mother seemed tired lately and to make matters worse she laughed too easily..It was the wrong laugh.. too quick, too bright, like she was rushing to fill space before silence could ask questions. She stood by the kitchen island in a soft cream blouse, hair pinned back neatly, and her hands were wrapped firmly around her mug as if she needed both to keep it steady.“You don’t need to hover,” she said, smiling at Jason when he hovered anyway. “I’m fine.”Jason frowned. “You’ve said that three times this morning and I haven’t even asked you if you were okay or not.”“That’s because it’s true and because you’re staring at me weirdly.”Adler glanced up from his tablet. “The driver will be ready in ten minutes.”Judy nodded. “Perfect.”Jason watched her rub he