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Chapter Eleven

Author: Soulfulpen
last update Last Updated: 2023-10-03 20:35:51

Alethia came into the living room where Ethan and Olivia sat laughing over whatever conversation they were having before she came down from her room. They both stopped and looked at her in unison, both going stiff as if they had been discussing her before her presence.

Olivia cleared her throat and sat right, smiling at Alethia. Alethia looked at her discerningly, then mouthed:

"You conniving bitch…"

Olivia winked at her and then turned towards Ethan. "So, Ethan, what do you think of Aleth as a stepdaughter?"

Alethia's eyes suddenly pooped out of their sockets in surprise.

"Oliv…" Olivia shushed her with a finger in the air, not particularly looking at her. Olivia's scrutinizing eyes were on Ethan.

Ethan breathed discomfortingly. He adjusted and drew back a bit to lessen the suffocation, but Olivia drew closer, still staring at him.

"Well…" he scratched his right brow and glimpsed at Alethia. Alethia swallowed hard -- somehow she had become interested in wanting to know what Ethan tho
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    "Hey, honey." Alethia swore she heard Ethan's voice in her head. A gentle and caressing hand cupped her cheek and felt the smoothness of her skin. She recognized the hand, and it wasn't Ethan's."Mom?""Good morning, dear," Emily said. She was smiling so wide as if she'd practiced it to warm up to Alethia that morning. Ethan had convinced her that she had to make an apology to Alethia that morning, and his idea of an apology with the highest probability of being accepted was the one made early in the morning."What are you doing here?" Alethia said. She strained as she rose from the bed and sat on it, then she drew her knees to her chest so that her blanket was crumpled within her arms. "How was your night?" Emily said, forcing the smile again. By now her lips were aching, so she let them relax a bit, then cleared her throat as she adjusted where she sat at the edge of the bed.Alethia squinted her eyes severally, then brushed a hand over it to keep her awake. She'd gone to bed late

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  • Blazing Inferno: Step Dad's Mine   Chapter Thirteen

    Her lips had swollen, but the slight pain she was feeling in them seemed to be the essence of the pleasure. Ethan was a good kisser, she admitted. He knew when to thrust his tongue and how to make use of it so that she enjoyed every bit of the kiss. When he let go of her lips and began to kiss her neck, it suddenly occurred to Alethia that her mom was present. But it was strange that she felt okay about it as if Alethia was supposed to share Emily's man anyway.Alethia frowned. She tried to wrap her head around a single reason why her mom should be okay with her making out with Ethan in her presence, but the only thing she could place her hands on was that…Is she dreaming?Suddenly, the visuals began to cave in, and everything began to disappear, abandoning Alethia to deal with whatever consequences there would be if the scenario had been real. But it wasn't, and now she wasn't even sure of anything."Aleth?" Ethan called again. This time, Emily startled out of her trance and stared

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    He wanted to reach out to her to touch her face, caress her cheeks, and draw her close to himself. He knew she could only feel the passion that was swelling in him if only she was within the embrace of those hands that kept numb at his sides as if everything moral in the world was urging him to keep still.Ethan was just standing there, staring at her who'd channeled all her efforts into restraining herself from looking at him. He swallowed."Aleth?" He managed to say. Alethia sighed softly. She should have left him be while he was fast asleep, now he'd woken the lion and she had to work out a way to escape from its claws. She turned to look at him, holding herself in a way that suggested that she wasn't fazed by the unceasing awkwardness between them. But she only had to look at his face to lose her composure again."Have you had breakfast?" Ethan said. That seemed like a perfect escape, but Alethia was rather surprised by the sudden change of topic. She looked at him for a while bef

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  • Blazing Inferno: Step Dad's Mine   Chapter Fifteen

    Alethia swallowed and braced herself. She'd read in one of those novels of hers, how after bolting in his feelings and denying her the moment, the boy shows up at her doorstep, and once she opens the door, he grabs her to himself and kisses her, vigorously as if to punish her lips for being tempting in the first place.Now, she couldn't remember the title of the novel, but she felt she was about to live the moment, and she couldn't be more ready for it. But while he was staring at Ethan's lips and expecting his head to approach, he was staring at how gaunt she looked."Are you okay?" He asked as if he knew she wasn't okay. She was way over her head, and again she had to drag herself out of the trance that had proven unceasing every time Ethan came close to her.She swallowed again and cleared her throat lightly, vying for composure."I brought you food," he said.Alethia looked down to see that he had a closed dish in a small tray and a glass of juice. "What's that?" Ethan. Smiled.

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    Alethia woke up feeling tired. The night had weighed on her, and it didn't seem like it was done with her yet. Her eyes were heavy and itchy. And her head immediately strides into retrospection.She closed her eyes and shook her head to ward off the thoughts and the pain that wouldn't stop straining the back of her neck. She didn't want to think about anything now, the acceptance and the rejection she'd felt last night.Alethia drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around, burying her head in between her knees. The back of her eyes suddenly burned with restrained tears, but she kept them in restraint anyway. She wasn't going to let Ethan break her down any further. She would go out and act like nothing happened, if only to show him that she was strong and wouldn't allow herself to be toyed with.She nodded gently. She would go out, ignore him, and make him beg for her attention. And if he tried to bring up what almost happened between them last night, she would pretend amne

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    "Hey...you look dashing," Olivia commented as Ethan stepped ahead of Emily to get one of the chairs for her.He was looking tall and refreshing in a pair of dark wash casual pants and a long-sleeve button-down with a blazer. His face brightened the mood the moment he walked in, and a lot of heads turned to look twice. There were side comments, and men holding their women tight as if they would be stolen awayEmily smiled to herself, obviously feeling like the most beautiful woman in the world. Or why would a man as handsome as Ethan be with her if she wasn't? She breathed deeply and made to sit as Ethan pulled the chair out for her, then held it in place as she sat. She felt super comfortable in the pink button-down dress styled with a belt, and a pair of over-the-knee boots."Mom, what are you doing here?""Is there a reason we can't be here?" Ethan said."I wasn't talking to you, Ethan. Okay?" She turned back to Emily."Honey, we--""Are you guys stalking me?"Ethan giggled. "Stalk

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    Alethia heard a sharp sound, prompting her fingers away from the keyboard of her laptop as she looked at the door immediately. What was that? She thought as she hesitated to look back at what she was doing on her computer. The sound had been light to be that of thunder, but it had been loud enough to shake something in her for worries. She got out of bed and removed her glasses, then she dropped them blindly on the bedside table. She approached the door gently, taking her time should the sound come again and it was nothing. But nothing came. All she could hear when she got closer to the door was the spiteful voice of her mom. Alethia opened the door and came out. She'd just closed the door behind her and turned around when she saw Ethan crouched, his face clouded with persistent hysteria like that of a man whose glory days had come to an end."Ethan?" she said and headed down the stairs immediately. Emily turned around and stood in her way."Aleth, go back to your room.""No, Mom,"

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    If anything, the silence that held them in that frozen moment spoke what was more apparent--'stunned'. Alethia's impulsiveness has never been more heart-wrenching than when Emily looked at Ethan's face and saw that should she decide to press further on the allegation, he didn't seem like he was going to deny it. It was true after all--he was cheating on her. She breathed deeply and bit her lower lip. Emily reckoned that she'd have preferred that Ethan had cheated on her by sleeping with just a random woman to having fallen in love with someone else. She wouldn't have decided how they move further from there by his momentarily carnal desire, which she considered only biological for him to satisfy. But how does she move on knowing that Ethan has fallen out of love with her?She looked at his face again, this time looking for a hint of remorse, but rather she met a screaming guilt that made it impossible for him to raise his lashes and look outright at her. Ethan took in a huge gasp o

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