Todos os capítulos de Harder, Daddy: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

The plumber showed up at 11:40.Chloe was at work. Elias was in his office on a call. I was the one who answered the door.He was younger than I expected — early thirties maybe, broad shoulders under a faded work shirt, dark hair pushed back from his face, hands already marked with the kind of grit that didn’t come off easy. He looked past me into the house and said he was here about the upstairs bathroom leak.I let him in.Elias came out of the office long enough to point him toward the stairs, then disappeared again. The office door clicked shut. The low sound of his voice on the phone started up a second later.I followed the plumber upstairs.He set his tools down in the guest bathroom and crouched to look under the sink. The muscles in his back shifted under the shirt. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him work for a minute, arms crossed, the anger from the last two days still sitting hot and mean under my ribs.Every time I closed my eyes I still saw Elias behind my mo

I didn’t sleep in the guest room that night.After he left me on the couch, I stayed there until my legs stopped shaking. Then I went upstairs, showered until the water ran cold, and sat on the edge of the bed in a towel, staring at nothing. The anger was still there, but it had changed shape. It didn’t feel clean anymore. It felt like something we’d both stepped in and couldn’t wipe off.When I finally came downstairs the next morning, Chloe was already gone. Note on the counter said she had an early shift and then drinks after. Elias was in the kitchen, dressed for work, pouring coffee like it was any other day.He looked at me over the rim of his mug.“You eat yet?”“No.”He nodded toward the fridge. “There’s eggs. Or I can make something.”The normalcy of it made my skin itch. “I don’t want eggs.”“Then what do you want?”I leaned against the opposite counter and crossed my arms. “I want to know if you’re going to keep fucking my mother.”He set the mug down carefully. “No.”“Why

Chloe was the one who suggested it.She came home from her shift around three, dropped her bag by the door, and announced that the weather was too nice to waste inside. “Park. All of us. I already checked and Dad’s free. No arguments.”Elias looked up from his laptop at the kitchen island. “All of us?”“Yes. You, me, Riley. Fresh air. Walking. Maybe ice cream after if you’re both good.” She pointed at me. “You’re coming. You’ve been moping around this house like a Victorian ghost.”I almost said no. The idea of the three of us out in public, acting like a normal unit, felt strange after everything that had happened inside these walls. But Chloe was already grabbing her keys, and Elias closed his laptop without arguing. Twenty minutes later we were in his car, Chloe in the front passenger seat, me in the back, the windows cracked to let the late afternoon air in.The park wasn’t crowded. A few families near the playground, joggers on the path, someone throwing a tennis ball for a dog i

Elias didn’t raise his voice.He just stood there in the doorway looking at us on the couch, the forgotten file hanging from his fingers. The silence stretched until it felt like it might snap.Then he set the file down on the side table and shut the living room door behind him.“You’ve been bad,” he said quietly, eyes locked on me. “Bringing your ex into my house while I’m gone.”Jake started to stand. “Look, man, we were just—”“Sit down.” Elias’s voice stayed low, but something in it made Jake freeze and lower himself back onto the cushion. Elias’s gaze never left me. “You wanted attention. You got it. Now you’re going to take what comes with it.”My mouth was dry. “Elias—”“Clothes off. Both of you.”Jake looked at me, uncertain. I should have stopped it. Should have told Elias to get out. Instead I stood on unsteady legs and pulled my shirt over my head. Jake hesitated only a second longer before following. When we were both naked Elias walked closer, eyes moving over me with a d

The knock came a little after one.Elias had left that morning for a full day of meetings across the city. Chloe was working a double. The house was empty except for me and the low hum of the refrigerator.I opened the door without checking the peephole.Jenna stood there in her delivery uniform, a small package under one arm and the same half-curious, half-nervous expression she’d worn the first time. Her dark hair was pulled back messily. She looked at me for a second longer than necessary.“Package for Kane,” she said. Then, quieter: “I was hoping it’d be you.”I stepped aside. She came in. I shut the door.We didn’t bother with the package. She set it on the entry table and followed me into the living room like she’d been thinking about this exact path since the last time. When I turned around she was already close.“He’s not here,” I said.“I know.” Her eyes flicked over my face. “I waited until I saw his car leave.”That was all it took.She kissed me first — softer than Elias e