Semua Bab ONE NIGHT STAND WITH MY STEPFATHER : Bab 101 - Bab 110

I woke up late the next morning. No alarm. No rush. For once I had decided not to go to Aurora. The team could handle the early meetings without me. Joy already knew. I needed one quiet day at home. I stretched under the covers and listened. The house was still. Mom’s soft footsteps moved around downstairs for a while, then I heard her keys. She was going to the market. She always went early on Saturdays when she wanted fresh things. The front door closed. Silence. I stayed in bed a little longer, staring at the ceiling. Peace still felt new. Alex had stayed away. Work was steady. Mom and I were talking more. Everything should have felt light. But the night before kept playing in my head. Mom and Mark sitting with papers, talking about a wedding. The word still sat heavy in my chest. I pushed the thought away and got up. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and pulled on an old oversized shirt that barely covered my thighs. No bra. No real effort. It was just me at home. I was

“Evie!” Mom’s voice came from downstairs. My whole body went cold. I looked at Mark. He looked at me. For one terrible second, neither of us moved. “You awake?” Mom called again. “Evie, are you upstairs?” “Yes!” I shouted, my voice coming out far too quickly. Mark’s eyes widened. “We have to move,” I whispered. He nodded. Everything suddenly became a blur. I grabbed my clothes from the floor and pulled them on as fast as I could. Mark reached for his shirt and trousers, trying to stay quiet while I looked around the room. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure Mom could hear it from downstairs. “Evie?” she called. “I’m coming!” Mark picked up the last of his clothes. “Where do I go?” he whispered. I looked toward the door. “The bathroom.” He hurried across the room. I quickly straightened the sheets, though they were still badly disturbed. I pulled the blanket over the worst of it and opened the window slightly. The room still felt different. I didn’t even want to thi

The next morning, I arrived at Aurora earlier than usual. I needed work. I needed noise. Most of all, I needed something that could keep my mind away from Mark and everything that had happened between us. I had barely opened my laptop when Joy knocked on my door. “Come in.” She stepped inside with a folder in her hands. “Morning.” “Morning.” She placed the folder on my desk. “These are the updated supplier details.” I reached for them. “Thanks.” She was about to leave when a voice came from outside. “Is Evie Harrington here?” My hand froze. I knew that voice. I looked toward the door. Joy glanced at me. “Do you know him?” Before I could answer, Alex appeared at the doorway. For several seconds, I simply stared at him. I hadn’t seen him in months. Seeing him standing in my office brought back memories I had worked hard to bury. “What are you doing here?” I asked. Alex stepped inside. “I needed to see you.” Joy looked between us. “Should I stay?” She

The next morning I arrived at Aurora before most of the staff. The lobby was still quiet, the elevators empty, the usual hum of activity reduced to the soft click of my heels on polished stone. I had barely stepped into my office and set my bag down when my phone buzzed on the desk.I stopped.For a long moment I simply stared at the screen. Unknown number.My stomach tightened. I unlocked the phone and opened the message.You should check the old collapse report. Some things were never meant to be found.I read it twice. Then a third time. My blood ran cold.The old collapse report was not public. Only a handful of people at Aurora had ever been granted access to the full file. Even some of the staff who had worked through the crisis itself had never seen everything inside it. The document lived in a restricted folder for a reason.I immediately called the police officer I had spoken to the day before. He answered after a few rings.“Hello?”“It’s Evie Harrington. I reported the thr

I woke up the next morning with almost no sleep behind me. Mom was already waiting in the hallway, bright-eyed and purposeful.“Come with me,” she said.“Where again mom?”“My room. I need your opinion.”I was already getting tired of everything but I followed her to her room. A large box sat open on her bed. She reached inside and lifted two pairs of wedding shoes, holding them out as if the choice might change the course of the day.“I need to decide between these two.”I looked at them carefully. Both were elegant. Both would look beautiful on her. “They’re both beautiful.”She frowned. “That is not helpful.”A small laugh escaped me. “Ok, go for the second one.”“Why?”“It looks more like you.”Her expression softened. “I knew I could trust you.”For the next hour I helped her choose shoes, jewelry, and a few other small details for the ceremony. I tried to stay present. I nodded at the right moments, offered quiet opinions, and watched her light up with every decision. Yet my min