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Home / Romance / My Stepfather, My Ruin / Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

All Chapters of My Stepfather, My Ruin: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

137 Chapters

111

Nicole Harper~•~By the time Talia and I got back, the house felt a bit more comfortable, but maybe that was because I wasn’t tense around Talia anymore.She was good company and was able to make me relax in her space when she was the one intruding on mine.I could hear loud voices from the kitchen the second we stepped in, overlapping conversations and the occasional burst of laughter echoing through the house. I paused just before we turned the corner, grocery bags hanging from my hands, just taking it in.This was a side of Tristan I hadn’t seen before. Not the intense, possessive man who looked at me like I was the only thing in the world, or the composed boss everyone tiptoed around at work. Right now, he was just a man with his friends.And I was glad to be able to be part of it.“We’re back!” Talia announced as she brushed past me with two bags. “And starving.”“You were gone for an hour,” One of the men called out from the kitchen. If I recalled the voice correctly, that was

112

Nicole Harper~•~“Was that why you were grinning the whole time?” He arched an eyebrow. “Tell me, do you like them better than me?”I raised my chin in defiance, unable to pass up any opportunity I had to tease him. “What if I do?”Surprisingly, Tristan didn’t react to my question. Instead, his hand left my waist and wrapped around my wrist, pulling me toward the living room.“What are you—” I didn’t finish the sentence before he sat down on the sofa and pulled me with him, settling me on his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. My breath hitched slightly as I steadied myself, my hands resting on his shoulders. “You fit in too easily in my life,” he said randomly.I blinked down at him. “What?” That definitely wasn’t what I expected him to say after he pulled me onto his lap.“That’s a problem.”A small frown formed on my face. “What? Did you plan on discarding me when you were done with me?”Tristan chuckled as if the question was ridiculous, his lips brushing again

113

Nicole Harper~•~[Unknown: I saw you at the supermarket earlier.]I stilled, instinctively looking around to make sure nobody was watching me. The sound of the shower was audible, which meant Tristan still wasn’t done with his shower and I couldn’t suddenly burst in because I thought someone was watching me.When my phone buzzed with another text, I almost jumped out of my skin.[Unknown (2): I wanted to go say hi to you, but you were with your friend.]I tried to jog my memory, trying to recall if I recently gave out my contact. I couldn’t remember giving it to anyone. [Me: who are you?]When they didn’t reply fast enough, I panicked and sent another message.[Me (2): I’m blocking you][Unknown: Calm down, Nicole.”[Unknown (2): It’s your father]A mix of relief and unease settled in my chest. Relief because I wasn’t being watched by some stranger. Unease because it was him. The man couldn’t take a hint. I’d told him I didn’t want anything to do with him the last time we met two w

114

Nicole Harper~•~I almost didn’t go.I stood in front of the mirror longer than necessary, staring at my reflection like I could find an excuse to back out if I looked hard enough. My fingers hovered over my phone more than once, tempted to send a quick message to cancel, to say something had come up, to push it to another day. But I’d already said yes and I really needed to get it over with.I was tired of the man hovering around my life like a dark fucking cloud.“You know you’re not obligated to go, right?” Tristan asked, watching me from the bed.“Yeah, but I don’t want him to keep showing up.”“I’ll—““Take care of it?” I finished for him. “Do you have a savior complex or something?”Tristan didn’t falter. “Only when it comes to you.”I exhaled slowly, kissing Tristan goodbye, grabbing my bag, and forcing myself to move before I could change my mind.The drive to the cafe felt longer than it actually was. Maybe it was because I spent the entirety of the drive wondering what he c

115

Nicole Harper~•~My entire body stilled.How did he— Did he even know what he was talking about? Was he testing me? I forced my body to relax. I couldn’t give anything off. Maybe it was just like it was in the office. They were spreading rumors without any knowledge of the truth or even proof. I managed a casual laugh. “What are you talking about?”My father’s eyes twinkled with excitement as if he had me right where he wanted me. “Your mother’s husband. Tristan Michelson. Aren’t you dating him?”“Have you spent so much time gambling that you traded your brain cell for a few cards?” I blinked, trying to sound innocent. Yes, aside from Tristan and me, about six other people knew about us. It had almost become an open secret, but it was still a secret for a reason and I wasn’t going to let anyone who didn’t have good intentions for me find out. “You’re calling him my mother’s husband and asking if I’m dating him in the same breath.”“Playing dumb, I see.” The corner of his mouth lift

116

Tristan Michelson~•~I was working in the living room because it was stuffy in my office.It wasn’t because Nicole had been gone for more than two hours and my hand itched to pick my phone up and call her.I didn’t want her to think I was hovering around her and not letting her live her life. Deciding to meet her father was her decision to make, even if it was a poor decision to meet up with the person who had abandoned you for seven years. I didn’t point that out though. We didn’t have much time left together before Lily came back and I didn’t want to ruin the remaining two weeks with an unnecessary fight.She had pushed back when I kindly suggested we exchange locations and I didn’t want to possibly call her while she was still with her father and make her think I was trying to control her life by telling her her meeting ran long.My mind must have conjured her up.I looked up when I heard the sound of the front door opening and by the time she turned the corner, my laptop was clos

117

LNicole Harper~•~“My parents are dead, Nicole.” He deadpanned.I winced slightly but didn’t back down. “How were they like when they were alive? When did they die?” I questioned instead. It had come to my attention that I knew next to nothing about Tristan. I only knew his name, his age, and what company he worked at.Well, I also knew little things like his favorite food, favorite car to drive, and his favorite position, which was missionary because apparently he liked to look into my eyes while he fucked me.I was straying so I focused on Tristan instead. “Tell me. I want to know.” I prompted. I didn’t know any major thing about him yet I had ranted and broken down in front of him. It didn’t seem fair.There was also the fact that I was interested in knowing a lot about the man.Tristan looked down at me and I could see the fight in his eyes. On one hand, he knew I was distracting him from my problems by wanting to talk about him and he was willing to do that. On the other hand? I

118

Nicole Harper~•~Tristan and I both had mommy issues.And daddy issues.But at least, his father wasn’t blackmailing him for money. As I watched him sleep, I debated on how to bring it up. While my reputation was on the line, he had a lot more to lose than I did. His future position was riding on his reputation. He already had to enter a marriage of convenience because of it. If word got out that he was sleeping with his stepdaughter… was he going to lose his current position as well?My chest tightened at the thought.I shifted slightly on the bed, careful not to wake him. One of his arms was thrown under his head, the other resting loosely on my waist like even in his sleep, he needed to make sure I was still there. His face was relaxed, stripped of the sharp edges he carried when he was awake. He looked unburdened.It made me feel worse because it felt like I was his only burden.I let out a slow breath and carefully lifted his hand off me, replacing it with the pillow so he woul

119

Tristan Michelson~•~I knew something had happened to Nicole during her meeting with her father. It was more than her mother disappointing her.It wasn’t the first time Lily was letting her down so it wasn’t something she would lose sleep over.Aside from losing sleep, she was also incredibly distracted at work, which in turn kept me distracted because I kept staring at her through the glass that separated us. It was a good thing my see-through glass walls were only one-way or everyone would know how bad I had it for Nicole with how often I looked at her.I was worried about her though. I was trying my best to wait until she told me what was wrong, but Nicole didn’t seem like she’d be doing that anytime soon. I had to take matters into my own hands.Still keeping my eyes on her, I picked up my phone and called Sebastian. All he did was joke around and tease me about my situation, but he was useful in times like this.“Consultations start at five figures.” He said as soon as he answe

120

Nicole Harper~•~I hated Daniel Ashford.He was determined to torture me, which was why he wouldn’t stop texting me while I was at work. I could barely even concentrate on work because of him, but I managed to get through the first few days.When Wednesday came, he decided a call was much better than a text.He called me three times. I declined every single one, but that didn’t deter him.[Unknown: Pick up, Nikky. I’m in front of your building.”Then he attached a picture of the front of the office building.It made my skin crawl. Was that a subtle threat that he was going to walk in and expose us? And the nickname almost made me throw up. Looking around to make sure that no one was staring at me, I quickly slipped out of my seat and went into the restroom. I found an empty stall and called the man back.“What the hell do you want again?” I hissed the moment he answered the call.“Money,” he answered easily. “I’m broke.”“Well, so am I?” I said in irritation. “Or do you think I’m the

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