{"id":35,"date":"2026-01-21T12:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/?p=35"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:45:19","slug":"how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-8\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY STEP MOTHER Episode 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 8<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The air in the room felt different after Kamsi walked in.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Not softer.<\/div>\n
Not calmer.<\/div>\n
Just heavier.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Real.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Amara stood frozen for a moment, her back to the hallway where the boy had disappeared. I could see her shoulders rising and falling, slow, controlled, like someone fighting a storm inside.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I sat down again, slowly this time, my mind racing.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She turned to me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis is why I was afraid to see you,\u201d she said quietly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I nodded. \u201cI understand now.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. Then she walked toward the kitchen, her footsteps light but tense. I followed her with my eyes, watching the way she moved\u2014still graceful, still careful, but carrying more weight than before.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She returned with two glasses of water and placed one in front of me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cDrink,\u201d she said softly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I took a sip, though my throat was still dry.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cKamsi is my world,\u201d she continued. \u201cAfter everything I lost, he became my reason to breathe.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI would never hurt him,\u201d I said immediately.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She studied my face. \u201cI know. But our presence in each other\u2019s lives already creates risk.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
A long silence stretched between us again.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
From the hallway, we heard Kamsi\u2019s small footsteps, then silence as he stayed in his room.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cWhy did you really come tonight?\u201d Amara asked suddenly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I looked at her honestly. \u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She raised an eyebrow slightly. \u201cThat\u2019s not an answer.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I exhaled. \u201cI think\u2026 part of me wanted to see if the past was still alive. And another part of me wanted proof that it was dead.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd what did you find?\u201d she asked softly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My heart tightened. \u201cIt\u2019s still alive.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Her breath hitched.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
We stared at each other, the truth hanging between us like an open flame.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Then she laughed quietly\u2014but there was no humor in it. \u201cWe are dangerous to each other, Chinedu.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI know.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She leaned back in her chair, running a hand over her face. \u201cAfter I left Umuofia, I promised myself three things: never to return, never to speak your name, and never to love again.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I swallowed. \u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She met my eyes directly. \u201cNow I have broken all three in one afternoon.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
My chest ached.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Before I could respond, Kamsi\u2019s voice called from the hallway. \u201cAunty, I\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Amara stood immediately. \u201cI\u2019ll make something.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
As she walked past me, her shoulder brushed mine. The contact was brief\u2014but it burned.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I remained seated, listening to the sounds of her moving around the kitchen, plates clinking, oil sizzling lightly. Normal life. Real life.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
A life that had no space for forbidden feelings.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Minutes later, she returned with a small plate and took it to Kamsi\u2019s room. I heard her speaking softly to him, laughing gently when he said something funny.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
For the first time since I stepped into her apartment, I felt like an intruder.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
When she came back, she didn\u2019t sit.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She stood near the window, her back partly to me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cI think you should go,\u201d she said quietly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The words hurt more than I expected.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cNow?\u201d I asked.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I stood slowly. \u201cWill I see you again?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She turned, eyes glistening but steady. \u201cThat depends on whether you want peace\u2026 or fire.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
My lips tightened. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in fire before.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cAnd did it heal you?\u201d she asked gently.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
No.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I walked toward the door. She followed, stopping a few steps behind me. I placed my hand on the handle but didn\u2019t turn it yet.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cAmara,\u201d I said without looking back. \u201cIf I leave now\u2026 will you regret seeing me?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Silence.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Then, softly: \u201cI already do.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
My chest tightened painfully.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I opened the door.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Cool night air rushed in, city sounds flooding back\u2014cars, distant music, laughter from somewhere down the street.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I stepped outside.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Before I closed the door completely, I looked back.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She was still standing there, framed by warm light, beautiful and heartbreaking, just like the first day I noticed her all those years ago.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Our eyes met.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
No words.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Just everything we could not say.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I shut the door.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
As I walked down the stairs, my heart pounded\u2014not with relief, but with a terrible, undeniable certainty:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Leaving her was the right choice.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
And the hardest thing I had ever done.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
But even as I reached the street, my phone vibrated in my pocket.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I pulled it out.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
A new message.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Unknown number.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I opened it.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cI watched you leave. I wish I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
My breath left me in a shaky exhale.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I looked up at her apartment window.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
A silhouette stood there.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Watching.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Waiting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
And in that moment, I knew something dangerous and inevitable:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
We were trying to end this.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
But the story wasn\u2019t done with us yet.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
TO BE CONTINUED…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 8 The air in the room felt different after Kamsi walked in. Not softer. Not calmer. Just heavier. Real. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}