All Chapters of One Night Stand with My Stepdad: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Elena’s POVBy the time we left the company, I had made up my mind.The heavy, suffocating air of the executive floor had clung to my skin like a second coat of ash as Chloe and I finally descended the high-speed elevators down to the main lobby. The bright, sterile lights of the grand entrance hall felt blinding after the dim, secretive shadows of the upper hallway where my mother and Marcus were still trapped in the wreckage of their broken marriage. Every step across the polished marble floor felt heavy, as if my shoes were weighted down by the monumental secrets that had been dropped onto my shoulders over the past twenty-four hours. Arthur wasn't my father. Gabriel had materialized out of the ghost-ridden past to claim me. My mother was running a countdown to a forced corporate marriage. And Marcus—my stepfather, the man whose child was quietly growing beneath my heart—had just been told a dark, shattering truth behind closed doors that had wiped the fury right off his face.I co

Elena’s POV“What happened?”I looked up as Chloe entered the room.The soft, warm glow of the bedside lamp cut through the dim shadows of the guest bedroom, casting long, wavering silhouettes against the pale walls. Chloe had changed into a comfortable cotton nightgown, her hair tied back in a loose, effortless knot behind her head. The fierce, protective sentinel who had stood guard in the corporate hallways all day had melted away, leaving only my best friend—the one person in the entire world who had never lied to me, manipulated me, or treated me like a pawn in a larger game.I tried to smile, but I couldn't.My facial muscles felt frozen, heavy with the sheer, crushing exhaustion that had settled into every fiber of my being.“I don't even know what's happening anymore,” I whispered, my voice thick and raspy as the words caught painfully in my throat.She came closer and sat beside me on the edge of the mattress.The bed dipped beneath her weight, and she slid her arm around my

Elena’s POV“Hello?”There was silence on the other end.It wasn't the dead, empty silence of a dropped line, but a heavy, charged pause filled with the sound of shallow, labored breathing. I sat frozen in the center of Chloe’s guest bed, the glowing screen of my phone casting a harsh blue light across my face in the pitch-black room. The digital clock on the nightstand still read 2:15 AM, marking the exact moment the rest of my world officially detonated.I checked the screen to make sure the call hadn't disconnected.The active call timer was ticking upward, confirming that the line was wide open, bridging the distance between whatever dark, lonely room Arthur King was currently sitting in and the quiet safety of Chloe's guest room.“Hello? Dad?”The word slipped out before I could stop myself.Habit was a terrifying thing. Even after everything—after he had looked at me with cold disgust, after he had learned the hospital results and thrown my entire existence back in my face, and

Vanessa’s POVBy the time I reached home, my mind was nowhere near at rest.The grand, sterile estate that had once symbolized the absolute pinnacle of my societal triumph now felt less like a sanctuary and more like a gilded prison cell closing in around me. Every shadow in the sweeping hallway, every ticking grandfather clock, and every reflection in the tall, arched windows seemed to mock the fragile, crumbling architecture of the life I had spent decades constructing.I couldn't stop thinking about Gabriel's arrival at the company.The sheer audacity of his appearance—striding out of that executive elevator as though he owned the building—had sent shockwaves straight through my nervous system. For twenty-six years, I had kept him neatly boxed away in the darkest corners of my past, believing that a combination of distance, time, and financial severance would permanently silence any threat he posed.The look in his eyes had told me everything.There was no hesitation left in him, n

Vanessa’s POVWhen I woke up, I was happy, but my happiness didn't last long.The morning light filtered softly through the heavy velvet drapes of our master bedroom, casting a warm, golden glow across the silk sheets. For a brief, surreal moment, as I lay there wrapped in the lingering comfort of Marcus’s arms, the heavy, suffocating nightmares of the past few days felt like a distant memory. The raw vulnerability of the night before—the quiet confessions, the unexpected tenderness, and the crushing realization that he was still willing to stand beside me even when my world was fracturing—had given me a dangerous, intoxicating sense of security. I had actually believed, for a fraction of a second, that love and loyalty might be enough to shield us from the storm.That illusion vanished the absolute second my mobile device vibrated against the bedside table.As I picked up my phone, I received a call from Gabriel.The sharp, digital chime cut through the quiet morning air like a knife