All Chapters of My stepdad's fantasy: Chapter 101 - Chapter 104

​The sun slipped below the jagged line of the western cliffs, dragging a heavy velvet curtain of indigo and charcoal across the Pacific. By the time the headlights of our neighbor’s station wagon cut through the coastal fog, sweeping a pair of bright, scanning arcs across the front windows of the cottage, the scattered architectural plans had long since been pushed off the edge of the oak dining table. They lay curled like fallen autumn leaves on the wide-plank hardwood floor, forgotten beneath a tangle of wool blankets and discarded clothing.​I was sitting on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom upstairs, pulling the hem of an oversized black sweater down over my thighs while Julian stood by the window. He had already pulled his shirt back on, the dark fabric clinging to the sharp, hard lines of his shoulders, though he hadn’t bothered with the buttons near his collar. He stood half-turned, watching the driveway through a narrow gap in the heavy linen curtains with the practice

​The space between two people who have survived a war is a delicate, razor thin corridor for two years, I had walked down that corridor believing it was paved with solid stone, believing that the foundation we poured on this isolated Pacific bluff was pure and absolute,Standing in the dark of the master bedroom, the heavy wool duvet tossed aside like a discarded skin, I realized the terrible truth the stone was only a veneer underneath it, the floor had always been hollow Juliann didn’t follow me right away​I stood by the window, the cold glass pressing against my forehead, watching the pale, bruised light of a latenight coastal fog swallow the treeline my bare feet felt anchored to the floorboards, yet my mind was spinning backward, violently cataloging every late night in the study, every quiet phone call answered outside, every calculated glance that I had previously mistaken for protectiveness It wasn't just protection it was containment he had built a fortress around us, yes, bu