I came home from college expecting to deal with my emotionally unavailable father, an empty fridge, and a summer full of boredom.

What I didn’t expect was to walk into the kitchen and find a barefoot, stunning woman in my dad’s shirt stirring eggs like she owned the place.

Spoiler: She does.

Her name is Elena, and apparently, she’s my brand-new stepmother—seven years older than me, way too cheerful, and totally off-limits.

But try telling that to my brain when she’s bending over to grab orange juice or accidentally falling on top of me in the laundry room. Try telling that to my heart when she’s laughing at my jokes, defending me at dinner, or wearing my hoodie because “it smells like comfort.”

My dad doesn’t see her. Not really.
But I do.
And that’s the problem.

Now I’m stuck in a house full of tension, sarcasm, and slow-burn chaos.
She’s married to my father.
I’m supposed to be focusing on my future.
But somehow, I’m falling for the one woman I absolutely, definitely, 100% should not be falling for.

Oops.

I knew something was wrong the second I walked into the kitchen.


Not just wrong. Off. Tilted. Like reality had been nudged a few degrees sideways and no one else noticed but me.


Milo was already at the counter, pouring cereal with all the enthusiasm of a prisoner receiving his last meal. Elena sat at the table, her hands wrapped around a mug like it might anchor her to Earth.


Not even pretending to be normal anymore.


"So, uh… anyone see that new Dune trailer?"


Elena blinked. Milo didn't even lift his head.


7:02 AM — The Flashback That Won't Leave Me


I don't even remember how it started. That's the worst part.


It wasn't some slow-burning, cinematic thing with candles and stolen glances.


Chapter 23 - Chapter 23: The Edge of the Lie