{"id":37,"date":"2026-01-21T12:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/?p=37"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:46:07","slug":"how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-10\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY STEP MOTHER Episode 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The hospital lights buzzed faintly above us as the night settled in.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The parking lot was almost empty now \u2014 only a few cars scattered beneath the dim yellow streetlamps. Somewhere inside, machines hummed steadily, guarding fragile lives between breaths.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara stood beside me, her arms folded loosely across her chest, not in defense this time, but as if she were trying to hold herself together. Her eyes drifted between the glowing windows of the hospital and the dark stretch of road ahead.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The wind carried the smell of rain.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Neither of us spoke at first.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then she exhaled slowly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cDo you remember,\u201d she began softly, \u201cthe first time we stood like this?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I turned to her.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her gaze lingered on the horizon, not on me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were younger,\u201d she continued. \u201cCareless. Convinced that love was enough to survive anything.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A faint, bitter smile touched her lips.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were wrong.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My chest tightened at the memory \u2014 not just of us, but of everything that had followed: my father\u2019s rage, the shattered home, the shame, the exile that had ripped me away from everything I once knew.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI remember,\u201d I said quietly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She finally looked at me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her eyes were different now \u2014 deeper, older, bruised by time and responsibility.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cKamsi changed me,\u201d she admitted. \u201cAfter everything fell apart\u2026 he was the only thing that kept me breathing.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her voice trembled slightly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd today\u2026 when I saw him lying on that bed\u2026\u201d She swallowed hard. \u201cI realized how fragile everything is.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I said nothing, but I understood.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She turned fully toward me now.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cChinedu,\u201d she said softly, but firmly, \u201cif we do this again \u2014 if we even consider stepping toward each other \u2014 it cannot be reckless. It cannot be secret. It cannot be driven by loneliness or nostalgia.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her words cut, but they were fair.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI know,\u201d I replied.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She studied my face carefully. \u201cDo you?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I met her gaze.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Silence hung between us \u2014 heavy, electric, uncertain.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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From inside the hospital, a distant voice called out a name over the intercom.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Life continued.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But our moment felt suspended, as though the world had paused just for us.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Finally, she spoke again.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cKamsi asked for you,\u201d she said quietly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The weight of that settled deep in my chest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know anything,\u201d I said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd yet,\u201d she replied, \u201che trusted you immediately.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I ran a hand over my face slowly. \u201cThat scares me.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her brows knit together. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cBecause I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m ready for that kind of responsibility,\u201d I admitted. \u201cTo be someone he looks up to\u2026 someone he needs.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She softened then.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cChinedu,\u201d she said gently, \u201cyou already showed up when it mattered. That says more than you think.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I swallowed, feeling a strange mix of pride and fear.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A car passed slowly along the road, headlights sweeping across us briefly before disappearing into the night.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara inhaled deeply.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI should go back inside,\u201d she said at last. \u201cThey\u2019ll need me.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I nodded. \u201cI\u2019ll wait.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her eyes flickered with something unreadable. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI know,\u201d I said simply. \u201cBut I will.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For a moment, she just looked at me \u2014 really looked \u2014 as if trying to memorize my face, or decide whether I was a risk or a refuge.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then she stepped closer.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Not too close.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Just enough that I could feel the warmth of her presence.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cChinedu,\u201d she whispered, \u201cif we stop running\u2026 there will be consequences.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m aware.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She searched my eyes. \u201cAre you prepared for that?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I thought of my father. Of our broken past. Of Kamsi asleep in that hospital bed. Of the years that had shaped us into the people we were now.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Slowly, I nodded.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her breath hitched almost imperceptibly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For a heartbeat, the air between us seemed to shift \u2014 not into passion, but into something deeper, more terrifying, more binding.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Decision.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She turned away first.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ll see you inside,\u201d she said quietly, already walking toward the sliding glass doors.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I watched her go.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As she disappeared through them, I leaned back against my car, staring up at the dark sky. Thunder rolled faintly in the distance.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My phone buzzed in my pocket.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I pulled it out.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A new message.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara: \u201cIf you leave tonight, I will understand.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My chest tightened.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I stared at the words for a long moment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then, slowly, I typed back.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Chinedu: \u201cI\u2019m not leaving.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A few seconds passed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Three dots appeared.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then disappeared.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then appeared again.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Finally, her reply came.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara: \u201cThen everything changes from here.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I slipped the phone back into my pocket, heart pounding.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rain began to fall \u2014 light at first, then steady.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I pushed off my car and walked toward the hospital entrance, each step feeling heavier, more certain, more dangerous.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As the automatic doors slid open, warm air washed over me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The smell of antiseptic.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The quiet urgency of the corridors.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Somewhere down the hall, Kamsi was waiting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And somewhere between the past and the future, Amara and I were standing on the edge of a choice that could either heal us\u2026 or destroy us completely.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I took one last breath.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then I stepped inside.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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TO BE CONTINUED\u2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 10 The hospital lights buzzed faintly above us as the night settled in. The parking lot was almost empty […]<\/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-37","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\/37","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=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}