All Chapters of Ouchhh Step-Daddy: Our Dirty Secret behind closed doors: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Emily’s POVBy the time my last lecture ended at two o’clock, my nerves were completely shredded. I couldn't focus on a single word the professor said. All I could see every time I blinked was Daniel’s text message burning into my brain: Don't be late to work. See you in my office this afternoon.I packed my laptop into my tote bag with shaking hands, desperate to slip out through the side exit of the humanities building and disappear."Emily! Hey, wait up!"My heart dropped into my stomach. I turned around just as my classmate Sarah caught up to me in the crowded hallway, her eyes wide with excitement."Why are you running off?" Sarah squealed, grabbing my wrist. "You have to come outside to the main courtyard! Right now!""Sarah, I can't," I stammered, pulling my arm back nervously. "I have to get to my internship downtown—""No way, you are not skipping this!" she laughed, dragging me toward the heavy glass double doors leading out to the sunlit quad. "Trust me, you'll regret it if

Emily’s POV"They're young, Arthur," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a flat, dismissive register that cut right through the tension in the room. He didn't blink as he looked Mr. Reed dead in the eyes. "Both of them are still in university. There is absolutely no need to rush into family dinners or foolish formal introductions."Mr. Reed let out a booming laugh, waving his hand as if Daniel’s objection were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "Nonsense, Daniel! It’s not about rushing marriage, it’s about public relations! Look at the bigger picture.""I am looking at the bigger picture," Daniel replied coldly, leaning back in his leather chair. His hand rested casually on his desk, but I could still feel the phantom heat of his touch against my hip where he had pinned me just moments ago. "And Ethan’s priority right now should be learning his new department, not playing house.""Come on, Daniel, be reasonable," Mr. Reed insisted, taking a step closer and leaning his hands on

Emily’s POVMy breath locked in my throat, choking me. The image of Daniel's icy, unblinking eyes holding mine in the mirror while he moved inside another woman burned into my brain like acid. The raw, sickening betrayal crashed over me in a suffocating wave, turning my stomach into a knot of pure fire.I didn't utter a single word. I couldn't.I turned on my heel and slammed through the heavy wooden door of the restroom, my heels clicking frantically against the polished marble floor. My head was spinning so violently that the gilded hallway looked like a blur of gold and white.Behind me, the stall door burst open with a loud thud. The sound of frantic, scrambling heels echoed down the corridor as the young legal assistant bolted out right after me. Her silk dress was rumpled, her face flushed a blotchy, bright red as she yanked her skirt down and practically ran past me, disappearing into the crowded ballroom to hide her shame.I stopped near a grand marble pillar just outside the

Emily’s POVI gripped the doorframe, my knuckles turning white as the suffocating stench of spilled scotch and blood hit my throat."You don't get to ask me that, Daniel," I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to sound cold. "You don't get to lay there drunk after what you did and demand answers from me."Daniel didn't move for three agonizing seconds. Then, with terrifying speed, he rolled off the bed."I don't get to ask?" he growled.He crossed the room in two massive strides, his unbuttoned white shirt flying open, revealing his chest slick with sweat. Before I could back out into the hallway, his good hand shot out and clamped around my wrist, yanking me into the room. He slammed the heavy oak door behind us with his foot, the sound echoing like a gunshot."Let go of me!" I screamed, thrashing against his grip. "Touch me again and I'll—""You'll what, Emily?" Daniel snarled, backing me against the wall. His broad frame trapped me completely, his storm-gray eyes burning

Emily’s POV"It was a peck on the lips, Daniel!" I said, placing my palms against his jaw to keep him looking at me. "Listen to me! You need to calm down and hear me out!""I am not going to sit here and listen to you tell me how you kissed another man outside my front door, Emily," he snarled, his jaw flexing violently."It's a cover!" I raised my voice, cutting him off before he could spiral. "Think about it, Daniel! If anyone in the building or in the media starts suspecting what’s actually happening behind closed doors between us in this penthouse, we are ruined! If my mother finds out, everything blows up! I am planning on using Ethan as my public boyfriend."Daniel stared at me as if I had just spoken in foreign tongues. "Your public boyfriend.""Yes!" I insisted, leaning closer so our foreheads almost touched. "If the public and the board see me dating Ethan Reed, it explains why I was at the gala with him. It gives me a perfect, ironclad landing spot. Nobody looks at a univers