SEVEN NIGHTS WITH MY STEPFATHER의 모든 챕터: 챕터 171 - 챕터 180

IVYA soft knock pulled me from the edge of sleep.I lay there for a moment, eyes still closed, hoping it was nothing. The villa was quiet except for the distant sound of wind moving through the mountain trees. I wanted to ignore it. I wanted to pull the blanket over my head and pretend the day had never happened. But the knock came again, followed by a woman’s voice, gentle but clear.“Ivy, it’s Claire. Can we talk for a moment?”My eyes snapped open.Claire.Cassian’s wife.The woman carrying his child.The woman who had every right to hate me.I sat up slowly, heart already racing. I hadn’t expected her to come here. Not tonight. Not ever. My hands trembled as I swung my legs off the bed. The satin robe I still wore felt too thin, too exposed. I wrapped it tighter around myself and walked to the door.“Ivy, I know you’re awake,” Claire said again, her voice patient. “I need to talk to you.”I hesitated for one more second, then opened the door.Claire stood in the hallway, looking

CASSIANI carried Ivy back to her room with my heart hammering against my ribs like a war drum.She was limp in my arms, her head resting against my chest, her breathing shallow and uneven. The satin robe she wore had slipped open slightly at the neck, revealing the soft curve of her collarbone and the faint sheen of sweat on her skin. She looked so fragile, so pale, so unlike the fierce girl who had slapped my hand away earlier. I laid her gently on the bed, pulling the blanket up to her waist. My hands lingered a second too long on her shoulder. I hated how much I still wanted to touch her. I hated how my body reacted even now, when she was unconscious and vulnerable.I straightened up.My jaw clenched so hard it ached.I stormed out of the room and went straight for Everett.He was in the hallway, casually chatting with one of the crew members as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t just given Ivy something that made her collapse.I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him ag

IVYI sat on the edge of the bed, the IV still taped to the back of my hand, feeling like the walls of the villa were closing in around me.The room was quiet, too quiet. The only sound was the soft hum of the air conditioner and my own uneven breathing. My mind kept replaying the conversation with Claire, her calm voice cutting deeper than any scream ever could. “Do you have a choice not to be fucked by your own stepfather?” Those words wouldn’t leave me. They looped over and over, mixing with the memory of Cassian’s eyes on me during the photoshoot, the way Everett had smiled like he owned every second of my discomfort.I felt uneasy.Confused.Terrified of what I had to explain to Noah.He deserved the truth.He deserved better than the half-lies I had been feeding him.But how do you tell the man you love that you’re back in the same house as the stepfather who ruined you? How do you tell him you’re posing for photos again, that you’re selling pieces of yourself to buy your freedo

IVYI stood in the middle of the room, suitcase half-packed on the bed, my hands shaking as I folded the last piece of clothing.The photoshoot was finally over.Three days of lights, cameras, poses, and shame had come to an end. Everett had kept his word — this was my last day. I was leaving. The thought should have brought relief, but instead it felt like I was carrying a heavy stone in my chest. Every memory from this villa clung to me like smoke — the way Cassian’s eyes had followed me during every shot, the way my body had betrayed me with unwanted heat, the way I had forced myself to smile and pose while feeling completely broken inside.I zipped the suitcase.Took a deep breath.I was ready to go.Ready to leave this place.Ready to go back to Noah.Ready to start over.The door creaked open behind me.I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.Cassian.He stepped inside without knocking, like he still had the right to enter my space.“Ivy, I…”“Stop!” I spun around, my

CASSIANI stood in the hospital hallway with Ivy’s blood still soaking through my shirt, my hands trembling so hard I could barely keep them at my sides.The red stains had dried in patches on my sleeves and chest, but they felt wet all over again every time I moved. I could smell it — that metallic, coppery scent that wouldn’t leave my nose. My legs felt weak, like they might give out at any second. I kept staring at the double doors of the operating room, willing them to open, willing the doctor to walk out and tell me she was going to be okay. Every second that passed felt like a knife twisting deeper in my chest.I was here because I had chased her.I had run after her car like a madman, desperate to explain everything I had never been able to say. I wanted to tell her the truth about the debt, about her mother, about how I had loved her in the wrong way for far too long. But the words wouldn’t come. They never did. And then I saw it happen right in front of me — the other car swe