I'm The Stepmom Not The Saint
The warm, lively atmosphere at the dining table shattered the moment Leo said the word, “Mom.”
His girlfriend’s eyes raked over me, sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, her brow furrowed in a tight knot. She turned to my son, her voice laced with venom. "So this is the 'sweet stepmom' you told me about? The one you're so close with?"
She made a small, contemptuous sound.
“A young widow and a boy turning into a man, all alone in a big house,” she continued, each word a deliberate sting. “It’s a tinderbox waiting for a match, isn’t it?”
Leo and I froze, the words hanging in the air between us like poison.
But then she just waved a dismissive hand, her face morphing into a mask of magnanimity.
“Whatever. It’s not a big deal,” she announced. “I get it. This whole taboo stepmom thing is a popular fantasy, right? We’ll just… turn the page.”
1
Leo had told me he was bringing his girlfriend, Krystal, home to meet me. They’d been together for two years, and marriage was on the horizon.
That day, I had the house staff polish every surface until it gleamed and arranged for a lavish dinner to be catered from a Michelin-starred restaurant.
“We’re home!”
I heard Leo’s cheerful voice from the second-floor landing. As I descended the staircase, I saw him sorting through a small mountain of luggage. Standing beside him, engrossed in her phone, was a petite, pretty girl.
“This is my girlfriend, Krystal.”
Krystal finally looked up from her screen, her gaze sweeping over me for a fraction of a second before being drawn to the soaring ceilings and expensive decor of the foyer. She said nothing.
She was the woman Leo loved, and this was her first time in our home. I took a deep breath, forced a smile, and stepped forward to greet her.
By lunch, I was trying to bridge the awkward silence. I used the serving utensils to place a delicate piece of Chilean Sea Bass on her plate.
“This is the restaurant’s signature dish,” I said warmly. “It’s exquisite. Even their regulars have to order it weeks in advance. You have to try it.”
Leo chimed in, oblivious. “Yeah! The sea bass is the best thing they make. It’s Mom’s favorite. You’ll love it!”
The effect was instantaneous. Krystal, who had been smiling just a moment before, went rigid. Her face darkened, her knuckles white around her fork.
“Leo, what did you just call her? She’s too young to be your mother.”
Leo blinked. “Didn’t I tell you? My parents passed away when I was young. My stepmom, Ava, raised me. It’s always just been the two of us.”
Krystal’s face was a storm cloud. Her eyes darted between me and Leo as if she were connecting invisible, sordid dots. Finally, while Leo and I were still trying to understand what was happening, she slammed her fork down on the table.
“If I had known you had a 'stepmom' like this,” she spat, “why would I have even come here?!”
Leo and I just stared at each other, speechless.
She shoved her plate away. It didn't break, but rice and fish flew across the table, splattering my face and my silk blouse.
“The sea bass? What exactly were you trying to say with this dish, Ava?” she sneered. “A little reminder that even though Leo and I are in love, his taste is still your taste? That you’re the queen of this castle?”
“You look like you’re in your thirties. How much older are you than him, really? A widow who never remarried, choosing instead to stay here and raise this handsome young man? Don’t insult my intelligence. I know exactly what kind of arrangement you two have.”
What in God's name was she talking about?
Leo finally snapped out of his stupor. “Krystal, what is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? Ava is my mother! Our relationship is completely platonic! I love her like my own mom!” he insisted. “And you know how I feel about you!”
I sighed, about to murmur some platitude to smooth things over.
But Krystal violently pushed Leo away. She glared at me, her eyes burning with a hatred so intense it was as if I’d stolen him from her right then and there.
“Relax. Both of you,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m not an idiot. I’ll keep your dirty little secret.” Then her eyes welled up with crocodile tears. “Ava, you’re still a beautiful woman, and I know it hasn’t been easy raising Leo all these years.”
“But you can’t use that as leverage to emotionally blackmail my boyfriend! I won’t allow it!”
In all my years, I had never encountered a creature so thoroughly delusional. If this lunch continued, I was certain my composure would crack. It was better to let Leo handle it. Young couples fight; they would sort it out.
“I’m full,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “You two eat. Your room is on the second floor. It’s been prepared.”
I turned to leave.
“Oh, finally found your sense of shame?” Krystal’s voice followed me, sharp and ugly. “What kind of ‘stepmom’ raises a boy in every sense of the word, huh?”
“What are you even imagining? Nothing ever happened!” Leo’s voice rose, pulling her back into an argument that quickly escalated into a full-blown shouting match.
I closed my bedroom door, and the world finally went quiet.
I didn’t see either of them until dinner. When I came down to the dining room, the table was set, but Leo was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't answering my texts.
I figured they’d gone out somewhere to cool off. But as I turned, a figure emerged from the shadows. Krystal was standing right behind me like a ghost.
I gasped, stifling a scream.
“Krystal? Are you eating alone? Where’s Leo?”
A triumphant smirk played on her lips. She deliberately bumped my shoulder as she passed me and sank into a chair. “Seeing me here by myself must be breaking your heart, huh, Ava? So sad and angry?”
My gaze drifted to the tureen of hot soup on the table. I felt a sudden, childish urge to see if dumping it over her head might shock her back to reality.
She jutted her chin out, arrogant. “I knew you wouldn’t give up so easily after lunch. But I didn’t think you’d be so desperate you’d change your outfit just for dinner.”
“Hoping to lure him into your room tonight? Dream on,” she hissed. “We were very… busy this afternoon. He’s exhausted. You probably won’t see him until tomorrow. So you changed for nothing, you old hag.”
I was speechless. She had apparently forgotten that she was the one who had flung food all over me. And my current outfit—tailored trousers and a long-sleeved cashmere sweater—was modest enough for a trip to the grocery store. Seductive it was not.
She, on the other hand, was poured into a spaghetti-strap top and shorts so small they were more of a suggestion. Her skin was a canvas of angry red marks. For a second, I thought she'd been beaten.
I gathered my patience, what little of it remained, and issued a final warning. “Krystal, I don’t know what kind of twisted script you're reading from, but Leo and I are mother and son. Period. If you continue to sling this filth, I don’t care if you become his wife—you will be out of this house.”
I wasn’t joking. It was clear that being gracious with her was pointless; it only invited more aggression.
My words seemed to puncture her bravado. “Who the hell are you to tell me to get out?” she shrieked. “This is my man’s house!”
“You’re just a bitter old woman who’s losing her mind! Don’t think you can control Leo just because he has a soft spot for you. You’re the one who should get out!” she yelled. “You’re lucky you live here. Back where I’m from, they’d have dealt with a woman like you a long time ago!”
I smiled at her, a slow, cold smile. “If there were even a hint of what you’re imagining between Leo and me,” I said softly, “do you really think there would have been any room for you?”
With that, I calmly sat down and began to eat my dinner.
Krystal stared at me, so enraged she was sputtering.
“You’re not eating?” I asked casually. “Well, in that case, you’re free to go ask him right now. Ask him who should be the one to leave.”
Her eyes practically bulged out of her head. Finally, she threw down her napkin in defeat. “You just wait! He’d have to be blind to choose you over me!”
She stormed away, her retreat looking more like a panicked flight.
I almost laughed out loud as I enjoyed the sumptuous dinner in blessed solitude.
Less than an hour later, the sound of their fighting was loud enough to penetrate my bedroom walls.
“Leo! Who do you really love? If you love me, you’ll kick your stepmom out!”
“There is no way she and I can live under the same roof!”
I found Leo in the grand foyer, rubbing his forehead in frustration, dark circles already forming under his eyes.
Krystal was clinging to his arm, relentless. “Didn’t you tell me yourself that your dad was perfectly healthy before he married her? How did he just drop dead three years into the marriage? You two, all alone together? Ha! I think you were just lucky you survived this black widow!”
“Are you going to kick her out, or do you want to end up like your dad?”
Leo lowered his hand, his brow furrowed, his expression wavering.
I descended the stairs. Our eyes met across the cavernous space. Neither of us spoke.
Krystal’s face twisted with even more jealousy. “See! Look at the two of you! Don’t tell me you’re just mother and son!”
“This afternoon, I asked you if I made you feel better than your stepmom does, and you said yes!” she screamed at him. “How would you know what’s ‘better’ if you’ve never been with her?”
Leo’s jaw dropped. He stammered, “I—I didn’t even understand what you were asking! How could I possibly compare you two in that way? Krystal, don’t misunderstand!”
He shot a panicked look at me. “Ava, you can’t misunderstand, either. I truly don’t have any other… feelings…”
Before he could finish, Krystal let out a choked sob, smashed a porcelain vase on the hall table, and ran out into the night.
“Krystal!”
Leo looked from her to me and back again, swore under his breath, and chased after her.
I lowered my gaze, the curtain falling on a ridiculous, exhausting drama. I had a company to run in the morning. I needed to sleep.
But when I woke up the next morning, I found my house filled with a crowd of strangers.
As soon as I appeared on the landing, a stout, round woman bustled forward and grabbed my arm to help me down the stairs. “So this must be Leo’s stepmom!” she gushed. “You’ve kept yourself so well! You look like you’re in your twenties, even prettier than our Krystal!”
Given Krystal’s behavior yesterday, I expected her to erupt. Instead, she stood silently by the sofa, unnervingly quiet.
I pulled my arm away and stood my ground on the stairs. “And you are?”
“Oh, where are my manners! Honey, I’m Krystal’s mother. Name’s Brenda. You can just call me Brenda.” She beamed, trying to project an image of rustic warmth, but her eyes glittered with shrewd calculation. “Krystal told us she was coming home with her boyfriend to meet the family. This is a big deal! Of course we had to come along for the ride!”
I rested my hand on the banister, looking down at this troupe, and waited for the next act to begin.
It wasn't long. A strange man detached himself from the group and sidled up to me, a leering grin on his face.
I recoiled, but he stuck to me like glue, even reaching out as if to embrace me.
“Sir, I suggest you step away from me,” I said, my voice ice. “Or I will call the police and report you for harassment.”
He acted as if he hadn't heard me, his hands still reaching. Just as I was about to kick him where it counted, Brenda scurried over and grabbed his arm.
“Don’t you worry now, honey. This is my brother, Mitch. It seems he’s fallen for you at first sight!”
The man, Mitch, muttered, “So pretty… why can’t I touch? When we’re married, I’ll touch all I want.”
My face hardened. “Does your brother need to see a doctor?”
Krystal suddenly found her voice. “Don’t you say that! My uncle is perfectly smart!”
Mitch’s eyes roamed over my body, his face twitching. “You… you better listen,” he mumbled, his voice thick and garbled. “Or… husband’s gonna have to teach you a lesson…”
“You’ve been a widow for years, haven’t you?” Krystal said, her chin high. “This is my uncle’s first marriage. You should be grateful!”
“Once you’re family, I’ll forget all about your disgusting little affair with Leo. But if you don’t play along, I’ll post everything online and make you two a trending topic,” she threatened. “Leo will be a social pariah, and you can kiss your precious career goodbye.”
Leo sat on the sofa through it all, his head bowed, saying nothing, as if he were a mere spectator at this circus. When he felt my eyes on him, he didn't even flinch. It was clear he intended to sit back and watch this absurd shakedown play out.
My disappointment in him was a physical blow. After his father died, I had poured everything into this boy. I treated him as my own flesh and blood, nurturing him, guiding him, giving him every advantage.
Brenda smiled her folksy, menacing smile. “It’s how the world works, honey. A woman’s gotta get married! Besides,” she added with a wink, “a stepmom and her grown stepson living under the same roof… tsk, tsk. It doesn’t look good, does it?”
Mitch continued to undress me with his eyes, a line of saliva glistening at the corner of his mouth.
I looked down at their greedy, vicious faces, and a slow smile spread across my own.
Brenda, in her mountain of garbage, had managed to say one true thing. I couldn’t live with Leo anymore.
“You’re right,” I said. “It’s time for a change.”
No one expected me to cave so easily. Krystal, who had a whole speech ready, was left speechless.
Brenda was overjoyed. She slapped her thigh and shoved her brother toward me. “Mitch, you’ve got yourself a wife! Go on, give her a hug!”
She was beaming. “Quick, quick, someone take a picture for social media! Our Mitch has a wife!” she crowed to the rest of her clan. Then she turned back to me. “See? It’s better this way. What kind of life is there for a widow? You need a man.”
“And if it weren’t for Krystal, for making you family, we wouldn’t even consider a woman like you. Bad luck, you are, sending your first husband to an early grave.”
“From now on, you serve my brother well. Give me three healthy nephews, and our family won’t treat you badly.”
“First,” I said calmly, “there’s something I have to do.”
Their expressions immediately soured, afraid I was about to back out.
“I am still Leo’s stepmother, the lady of this house. To marry your brother just like this… it’s not right.”
“First, I need to inform my late husband. And I need to formally sever my maternal ties with Leo. Only then can I move on with a clean slate. Don’t you agree?”
Brenda stared at me, her eyes narrowed with suspicion, but she couldn’t find a flaw in my logic. She reluctantly nodded.
Krystal looked satisfied. The venom was gone from her face as she ran over to loop her arm through Leo’s. What a perfect, loving little couple they made.
I led the procession to the study on the ground floor, where a portrait of my late husband, Arthur, hung in a place of honor. His black-and-white image looked down on us all.
Leo dutifully knelt.
I lit a stick of incense. Through the fragrant smoke, I felt a sting in my eyes. “Arthur,” I said softly, “you see what’s happening in our home.”
“It’s been so many years since you’ve been gone. I raised Leo, and now he’s a man, ready to start his own family.”
“So today, in front of you, Leo and I are severing our ties. From this day forward, we are strangers.”
Leo repeated the vow, his voice flat, and bowed his head to the floor three times.
I took a deep, steadying breath, a profound sense of peace settling over me. Then I pointed to the front door.
“There,” I announced. “You are all witnesses. Leo and I have no relationship.”
“Now, all of you, please take your things and get out of my house.”
First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "254581" to read the entire book.
MotoNovel
Novellia
Bookworm« Previous Post
The Traitor's Bite
Next Post »
Shotgun Wedding to the Cop