บททั้งหมดของ Craving My Stepdaddy: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 23

Bronte’s POVThe tension in the house didn’t leave after Mom’s questions. It just settled into the walls like dust.I spent the next two days moving carefully, watching every word, every look. Mom was still polite, still smiling, but her eyes lingered on me longer than usual. Rufus noticed it too. He became more careful in public. The perfect, distant stepfather and more intense when we were alone.On Thursday night, after Mom had gone to bed early with a headache, Rufus found me in the kitchen. He didn’t speak at first. He just walked up behind me, pressed his body against mine, and rested his hands on the counter on either side of me.“She’s watching,” he murmured against my ear. “Closer than before.”I swallowed. “I know.”His lips brushed the side of my neck. “Then we need to be smarter. No more risks while she’s in the house. Not until things calm down.”I nodded, but the words didn’t settle me. Because the truth was, the more we tried to be careful, the more I felt the press

Bronte’s POVWe sat in the living room like strangers.Mom was on the couch, back straight, hands clenched in her lap. Rufus sat in the armchair across from her, calm and composed. I stayed standing near the doorway tense to sit, the necklace burning against my skin like a secret about to be exposed.Jake’s name hung in the air between us even though he wasn’t here.Mom spoke first.“Jake sent me photos,” she said, her voice tight. “he sent timestamps, locations. He says Bronte has been going to your apartment when I was away. He says there’s more he wants me to see it.”Rufus didn’t flinch. “Jake is obsessed with Bronte. He’s been trying to get her back since before we got married. This is his way of creating chaos.”Mom’s eyes flicked to me. “Is that true, Bronte? Have you been going to his apartment?”My mouth went dry. The lie sat on my tongue, ready, but the weight of everything, Chloe’s warnings, Jake’s documents, the men, the nights made it hard to speak.“I… went a few time