Free STEPBROTHERS (3 Book Stepbrother Romance Collection) by Emilia Beaumont

Now I was the one leading the game, and the bitterness took over my body as I walked over to Monique, my hands tightening into fists.
    All the months, fuck, no - years of doing everything she said, obeying her on every step, were finally catching up to me. I was reaching my breaking point.
    “Why do you reek of another man’s cologne, Monique?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. She wouldn’t meet my eye, turning her back towards me, but I saw how tense her shoulders were.
    She was hiding something, and it fucking hurt knowing what it probably was, but until she admitted it out loud, I would not believe the worst of my wife.
    “I was at the work thing,” Monique said, clearing her throat as she plumped a pillow I’d messed up by lying on the couch. “Someone probably stood too close to me. You know how friendly the partners like to get.”
    “I’m sure they’re very friendly indeed,” I said sarcastically, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I strode over to her, placing my hands on her hips and gently made her turn around until we were face to face. Monique’s eyes were cast downward, but I tipped her chin back with my finger until she was forced to look at me.
    Those beautiful eyes, the very ones I fell in love with a long time ago. Surely there was still a way to make this work. I loved her, and she must have loved me if she wanted to have my baby so badly.
    I’d made a mistake, and perhaps so had she, but we could get past it. We could find our way back to each other, if only she would be truthful with me.
    “Tell me what happened, sweetheart,” I begged her softly, and for a moment, her eyes filled with remorse and guilt as we gazed at one another.
    But then, just like that, as if a light had been switched off, the moment passed, and venom filled those pretty eyes of hers. “Nothing to tell,” she said coldly, moving away from my touch before I could pull her back in my arms.
    “By the way, Dev,” she added, her voice syrupy sweet and dripping with fake kindness as she once again turned her back on me. “I know you’re not man enough to give me the child I want, but the least you could do is make sure our mule takes care of herself.”
    Her words were pure evil, and they fucking stung.
    I stared at her, my mouth gaping open, unable to believe she really said those hateful things to me. My jaw tensed up; my teeth ground together. I could’ve thrown our marriage away right there and then by saying something hateful right back, but before I had a chance to reply, she looked me right in the eye to deliver the final blow.
    “I hope our baby will be more like me than you,” she said matter-of-factly, like we were discussing a business transaction. “It would be bothersome to have to deal with your shortcomings in that way, too.”
    Who was this woman? I thought.
    My wife had her straight, sharp edges at times, but she was never this cruel or unpleasant. What kind of monster had Monique become? Did I do this to her?
    With that, she turned on her heel and walked right out of the room. I stared at her retreating figure, watching her go upstairs and into our bedroom.
    Robotically I headed towards the den. Her words were still ringing in my ears, but I attempted to block them from my thoughts. I tried to stay numb, as if it didn’t matter at all what she had said. As if she hadn’t just humiliated both Mila and me.
    I took it all, because I deserved it. I kissed my stepsister today, which proved just what a crappy husband I really was. But did Monique hate me so much that I’d somehow changed her over the course of the years? Made her become this nasty person that I did not want to be around?
    My mind heavy with liquor and regret, I set up my bed for the night. There was no way I could sleep in the same room as Monique, not after what had spilled from her vile mouth, even if I’d wanted to be close to her, which I didn’t. Regardless, I was sure she would have kicked me out had I