All Chapters of My Stepfather, My Ruin: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Nicole Harper~•~I had told Tristan not to bother with getting me a hotel but I decided to get one for myself because I had no other options.I was sitting in my car by the curb of the first decent hotel I saw when my phone rang again. This time, it was Talia.I debated picking up, but I realized that just like Clara, she was probably worried about me so I answered the call. “Clara told me she talked to you.” She said in lieu of a greeting. “So I figured you were finally in the mood to talk. Where are you? Still with Tristan?”I shook my head even if she couldn’t see me. “In front of a hotel.”“Hotel? Why? Weren’t you returning to Tristan’s house?”I’d told Clara I was going to Tristan’s main house so I wasn’t surprised that she relayed the news to Talia. “Not anymore. I figured it’s best for us to stay separately at the moment.” I lied. I didn’t want to stay away from Tristan, but I couldn’t be with Tristan in the same house as my mother, not when she was so disappointed in me.“Wh

Nicole Harper~•~It had been exactly one week since the scandal exploded. So basically seven long days of my face being plastered across every news site, every gossip blog, and every trending hashtag on social media. Seven days of people I didn’t know suddenly having opinions about my life. I still hadn’t gone back to my apartment. The reporters had mostly moved on after the first few days of not being able to reach me, but the hate comments and death threats in my DMs hadn’t. With the kind of messages I got, one would think I personally offended them.I let out a yawn as I woke up on Talia’s bed. Surprisingly, she hadn’t banished me to the guestroom yet. Whenever she thought it was fine for me to sleep alone, she saw another article on the internet that made her change her mind. She was too sweet a person. I reached for my phone on the nightstand out of habit and immediately regretted it. Notifications were already pouring in. I silenced them without reading anything and rolled ov

Tristan Michelson~•~I paid him no mind and headed straight for the elevator, but the persistent bastard followed me inside.He stayed quiet on the short ride a floor down and I wasn’t surprised when he stepped out after me, following me inside my office.As soon as the door was closed behind us, I turned around to stare at him, not expecting it when a sudden punch landed on my face.I hissed, stumbling back. Pain exploded across my jaw and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. For a split second, my vision was blurry. Then rage took over.Sebastian stood there, his chest heaving with anger and his fists still clenched. “You fucking bastard!” he snarled. “You ruined everything!”I straightened slowly, wiping blood from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. My eyes locked on his. “You hit like a bitch, Sebastian.” He didn’t. His punch hurt, but it was more than enough to set him off again.He swung again, but this time I was ready.I ducked and drove my fist straight

Tristan Michelson~•~The chairman vote eventually commenced on Friday after work hours.I walked in at exactly 5:00 p.m., wearing my favorite suit. It wasn’t my favorite before today but Nicole had picked it out for me in the morning. It was hard because she had to describe it over the phone while I had to find it based on her description.Sebastian was already seated near the head of the table, adjacent to the board chairman, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot, his usual smugness replaced by barely contained rage. It gave me a sick sense of satisfaction.Chairman Martin cleared his throat as I took my seat opposite Sebastian. “We all know why we’re here. Recent events have forced us to re-evaluate the succession for the Chairman position. Today, we finally vote.”Sebastian barely waited for him to finish his sentence before he shot to his feet desperately. “Before you cast your votes, I ask you to consider what kind of man you want leading this company,” h

Nicole Harper~•~I felt a lot better on my drive to Tristan’s office. It was almost like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt a lot lighter. I wasn’t exactly sure why but I was grateful I didn’t feel like a dark cloud was hanging over my head anymore. Even if I didn’t say it to her, I loved the conversation I’d just had with my mother. It wasn’t perfect. Nothing between us ever was, but we were both making an effort to do better. It was long overdue, but better late than never, right? That small win gave me courage I didn’t know I still had. I parked right in front of the main entrance of Michelson Enterprise with the windows down, texted Tristan that I had arrived, and stepped out of the car. I leaned against the hood of the car and waited openly with my arms crossed over my chest, not caring that anyone could see me.People did glance at me as they walked past, some doing double-takes. A few people whispered to themselves and I could’ve sworn I saw a flash go off,