All Chapters of A Hot Daddy For Christmas: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

Ariana didn’t leave that night.Not because he asked her to stay.Because she didn’t even think about going.It was quiet in the apartment, but it didn’t feel empty anymore. The silence felt full, like something had finally settled into place instead of slipping through her hands.She sat curled slightly into his side on the couch, her head resting against his shoulder. Neither of them had said much after everything. There wasn’t a need to fill the space with words.His hand moved slowly along her arm, absentminded, steady. Not distracting. Just there.She watched it for a moment before speaking.“I really thought I lost you.”Her voice was soft, almost like she didn’t mean to say it out loud.Mateo didn’t look at her right away.“You didn’t lose me.”“I did,” she said quietly. “Just not in the way I expected.”That made him turn his head slightly.She lifted her eyes to his.“I lost whatever this was when I started treating it like something I could walk away from.”The honesty sat b

Cami didn’t plan to go home that early.But something about the night lost its pull halfway through.The music felt louder than usual. Conversations blurred together. Diego was saying something beside her, but she wasn’t really listening.She picked up her drink, stared at it for a second, then set it back down untouched.“I’m leaving,” she said.Diego paused. “Already?”“Yeah.”He studied her face like he was trying to figure out if something had happened.“Want me to come with you?”Cami shook her head.“No.”A small pause.“I just want to be alone.”He didn’t push.“Text me when you get back.”She didn’t answer that. Just gave a small nod and walked out.The night air hit her differently this time.Cooler.Quieter.She wrapped her arms loosely around herself as she walked, heels clicking softly against the pavement.For once, she wasn’t rushing.She didn’t feel like she was escaping anything.But she wasn’t staying either.When she got home, she didn’t turn on the lights right away

Ariana noticed the shift before it was said out loud.It wasn’t dramatic.It wasn’t obvious.It was in the way Mateo looked at his phone a little longer than usual, then put it down without saying anything.In the way he stayed quiet after dinner, not distant, just… thinking.She waited a while before asking.“What happened?”He looked at her from across the table.Nothing defensive.Nothing hidden.“I spoke to Cami.”That was enough to tighten something in her chest.Not fear.Not jealousy.Something more complicated.“Okay,” she said carefully. “And?”Mateo leaned back slightly in his chair.“She’s angry.”Ariana nodded slowly.“That makes sense.”Silence followed.Because neither of them tried to soften it.Ariana traced the edge of her glass with her finger, watching it for a second.“What kind of angry?” she asked.Mateo didn’t rush.“The kind that hasn’t finished yet.”That landed heavier than she expected.Ariana looked down for a moment.“I didn’t want to hurt her,” she said q

For a moment, neither of them spoke.The noise of the café filled the space between them, but it didn’t touch what was sitting at the table.Cami looked down at her hands, then back up at Ariana.“You know what the worst part is?” she asked.Ariana didn’t answer.She knew this wasn’t a question that needed one.Cami’s fingers tightened slightly around her cup.“It’s not even that you’re with him.”A pause.“It’s that you let me be around you while it was happening.”That landed differently.Sharper.More personal.Ariana felt her chest tighten.“I didn’t plan it,” she said quietly.Cami let out a short laugh.“That doesn’t make it better.”“I know.”“No, I don’t think you do,” Cami replied, her voice still controlled but heavier now. “Because you weren’t the one sitting there, talking to someone, trusting them, while they were hiding something like that from you.”Ariana’s gaze dropped for a second.Not avoiding.Just… taking it in.“I would’ve told you,” she said.Cami shook her head

Ariana didn’t go back to Mateo’s place right away.She walked.No direction, no plan, just letting her body move while everything inside her tried to settle into something she could actually understand.The conversation kept replaying in her head.Not the sharp parts.Those had been expected.It was the quieter moments that stayed.I don’t want you completely gone.That one lingered.Because it wasn’t forgiveness.But it wasn’t rejection either.It was something in between.And that space—felt fragile.Her phone buzzed in her hand.Mateo.She stared at his name for a second before answering.“Hey.”“Are you done?” he asked.His voice was steady, but there was something under it.Not tension.Attention.“Yeah.”A small pause.“Where are you?”“Walking.”“Alone?”Ariana let out a quiet breath.“Yes.”Another pause.“I’ll come get you.”“You don’t have to.”“I know.”That was his way of saying he was already going to.Ariana didn’t argue.She stopped walking a few minutes later, leaning