“I picked up a side gig on one of those anonymous listening apps—ten dollars a session, hearing strangers pour out their sins.
One evening, I heard a voice I recognized.
He said: “”The person I owe the most in this life is my first love.””
“”She suffered through everything with me. By seventeen her body was already falling apart.””
“”Then she fell into the river trying to save me. She survived, but she was left permanently paralyzed in both legs.””
“”We’ve been married ten years now. We’re poor, but we’re happy.””
He took a deep, shaking breath.
“”But I can’t tell her—our marriage certificate is forged. The poverty is a lie.””
“”While she’s worrying about rent in a crumbling walk-up in the Bronx, my real wife is at our estate on Long Island complaining that the chef’s black truffle steak is too rich.””
“”While she’s too scared to have a baby because we can’t afford it, my son was born with a silver spoon in his mouth—trust funds in his name before he was a month old.””
His voice was trembling. So was my heart.
I confirmed who he was—Dante Moretti. The husband who’d struggled through ten years of hardship by my side.
But a moment later, my pulse steadied.
Because I “My husband was away on business, and I was frantic — my milk had come in and the ducts were blocked. Of all the moments for it to happen, that was when my stepfather showed up to see the baby.
I had no other choice. Cheeks burning, I had to ask him to help me clear it.
Then, right in the middle of it, my husband called on video.
Terrified he’d get the wrong idea, I bit my lip and tried to make small talk.
Until my stepfather’s hand slipped under the hem of my dress…”had a secret of my own. One I’d kept from him for a decade.”
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 09 Ethan slipped the scarf off my eyes. The sunlight stung. I blinked. He walked over to a vintage turntable and, unhurried, set a record on it. The low, tender voice of a female singer drifted through the study. Ethan turned and crooked a finger at me — come
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 09 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 08 After brunch, Mason nodded off on the living room couch with Liam in his arms. Between his job and the jet lag, he could pass out anywhere. I was just about to slip away. But at the doorway of the living room, Ethan called my name with a
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 08 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 07 Mason’s tenderness left me at a loss, and something like guilt began to creep in beneath it. I must have been silent too long, because Mason noticed something was off. “Sophia? What’s wrong, baby?” In the end, I chose to bury it. I pulled a thin, uneven smile
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 07 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 06 Those large hands settled onto my shoulders. A thin sheen of oil sank into my burning skin. “Poor little thing. So blocked up.” Ethan pressed with practiced ease, murmuring low and teasing. “Hasn’t Mason been taking good care of you, sweetheart?” I wanted to smack him. But Ethan
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 06 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 05 Hearing Mason’s question, my mind went completely blank. Did he know? About Ethan coming over that day to massage me? I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. Was Mason about to lay everything on the table? But nothing had actually happened between me and my stepfather — he shouldn’t
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 05 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 04 I went rigid with tension, my hand snapping down instinctively onto his forearm, trying to stop him. But his strength was steady, unhurried, unyielding. His hot palm slid smoothly onto my belly. On the other end of the phone, Mason was still talking, oblivious. But my mind was
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 04 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 03 The sensation shot straight to the crown of my head. Deep in my belly, an unfamiliar heat rose. My legs pressed tighter together. The moment I heard the low moan escape my throat, my face burned scarlet. Ethan’s hand froze. After a beat of silence, he cleared his
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 03 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 02 The smile on Ethan’s face stayed warm. He raised a hand and brushed back the strands of hair falling across my shoulder. His fingertip grazed the curve of my ear, and a shiver ran through me. “Motherhood is something to be proud of, Sophia.” “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 02 Read Post »
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 01 My husband was away on business, and I was frantic — my milk had come in and the ducts were blocked. Of all the moments for it to happen, that was when my stepfather showed up to see the baby. I had no other choice. Cheeks burning, I
Daddy Helps When Husband’s Away Chapter 01 Read Post »
