Chapter 29 How Are My Step-kids?
Ian
My footsteps felt heavy as I walked down the hallway toward the guest room. I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me, the sound sharp in the quiet space.
Claire had to be lying.
She wouldn’t dare cheat on me. She wouldn’t. But the look in her eyes back there—it said otherwise. She hadn’t been bluffing. She’d been serious. Completely serious.
And those bruises on her neck… they looked too real. Like fingers. Like restraint. There was no way they were fake.
Did she like things like that?
And who the hell was the man she was sleeping with?
I needed to know—fast. She knew about my affair with Pattie, so why shouldn’t I know about hers?
I grabbed my phone and dialed one of our private investigators. The line barely rang before he picked up.
“I need information on the man my wife is seeing,” I said without giving him a chance to greet me.
“Understood, sir,” he replied.
I ended the call immediately.
She had to be doing it just to spite me. Claire wouldn’t risk the children. She wasn’t reckless. She was always careful—always thinking ahead. She wouldn’t dare go that far.
And yet… I knew she had.
I sat down heavily on the bed, my elbows resting on my knees, hands gripping my head. I hadn’t expected it to hurt this much—but it did. The idea of her cheating on me twisted something deep in my chest.
Yes, I was with Pattie. But that was different. I was a man. I wasn’t meant to be tied to one woman for life—certainly not to one aging body. A man was entitled to more. That was how the world worked.
Women were different. They were supposed to stay home, take care of the family, wait faithfully for their husbands. Not pry. Not rebel. Not step outside their place.
Everything changed the moment she found out about Pattie.
Before that, Claire had been perfect. The wife who held the family together. The woman who made everything look effortless.
But tonight, that Claire was gone.
The woman standing in front of me had been daring. Confident. Unfamiliar.
And that lingerie… I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. She’d bought that for someone else. A side piece. The thought made my jaw clench.
What could she possibly offer him? She was old. Past her prime. Unless—unless she was using her money. Young men these days would do anything for comfort, for security. And Claire had more than enough to fund someone’s lifestyle.
Yes. That had to be it.
I wanted to see his face.
Wanted to know exactly who the bastard was.
I’d find out everything about him—every detail.
And then I’d put an end to this madness.
Claire
The next day arrived with the house buzzing with life.
Ian behaved as though nothing had happened the night before, as if the tension and words we exchanged had never existed. I didn’t care. All I wanted was my twins back in my arms. I missed them more than I could put into words.
By noon, the car pulled into the driveway. The moment they stepped out, Max and Isabella were surrounded—Riette and Luppy rushing forward to greet them while Ian and I stood side by side, pretending for the sake of the children.
Luppy wrapped Max in a tight hug—he was always her favorite—while Riette went straight for Isabella, the sister who spoiled him endlessly.
Max caught my eyes and smiled, and my heart swelled. Seeing my children again filled me with a joy that drowned out everything else.
Isabella looked so much like her father—light brown hair, blue eyes, the shape of her face unmistakably his. The only thing she took from me were her lips. Max, on the other hand, was entirely mine. There wasn’t a single feature he shared with Ian.
Soon they all walked toward us, and I stepped down the stairs to meet them halfway. When it was finally my turn to hold them, I wrapped my arms around my family—the only people who truly belonged to me.
“This house looks exactly the same as when we left,” Isabella said as we stepped inside, glancing around.
“Are you sure you don’t see any changes?” Ian asked lightly.
She laughed. “No, none at all.” Then her gaze shifted to me. “Actually… maybe there is one. Mom, you’re glowing.”
I smiled as she came to hug me again.
“I was just about to say that,” Max added. “You look a little different, Mom. Did you change your diet?”
Before I could answer, Riette chimed in, “She did? Or maybe because I see her every day, I don’t notice the difference.” he says, eyeing me.
Isabella stepped back, studying me. “Did you change your perfume too? This one smells really nice.”
“Well yes, I did,” I said with a laugh, “but that’s enough talking.”
Luppy stepped forward cheerfully, cutting in. “Let’s head to the table. Your mother really tried today—with your favorite dish that she didn’t cook.”
We all burst into laughter.
This was how my home used to be. At moments like this, I would normally be in Ian’s arms while the kids settled down to eat, talking about how much they’d grown.
But some things can never return to what they once were.
“Dad, you look different too,” Max said suddenly. “Did you lose weight?”
“Oh really?” Ian replied with a laugh. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Why would he? When he’d been drowning himself in alcohol ever since Pattie left.
I followed Isabella toward the dining room.
“Seriously, Mom,” she said again, sounding surprised. “You look less stressed than before.”
I hadn’t noticed it myself, but maybe she was right. I wasn’t exhausting myself trying to hold the house together anymore. I wasn’t constantly worrying about Ian or questioning his actions. I was lighter—inside and out, and I've been constantly receiving a young man's sperm, so of course I'll change.
“I guess change happens,” I said softly.
She smiled at me. “It’s a good thing.”
And I returned her smile.
We ate together as a family that day, laughter and questions filling the table as we caught up with the two who had just returned. Luppy was there too, as always—part of the family, even if we never said it out loud.
Before we realized it, noon melted into evening. Later, we gathered in the lounge at the back of the house, drinks and light snacks spread across the table.
Max sat with his father at the far end, chatting and sipping his drink, with Riette too. He had abandoned Luppy, his favorite person, to go sit with the boys, while the women settled together, glasses in hand.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you and Dad have been acting strange around each other,” Isabella said suddenly, turning her gaze on me.
I smiled faintly. “What makes you think that, Isabella? You don’t expect us to be entwined together all the time, do you?”
She burst out laughing.
“Well, it’s not like you two haven’t done that before,” she said, her eyes narrowing playfully. “There is something, isn’t there?”
Luppy cleared her throat quickly. “There’s nothing, Isa. You read too much into things,” she said, stepping in just in time.
Thank God she was here.
Isabella turned to her with a grin. “And you—are you getting fat or what?”
A sharp slap landed on Isabella’s head, and I chuckled.
“Don’t you ever call a Filipino woman fat, pasaway ka talaga ng bata .” Luppy said and Isabella replied “Hindi ha" don't be surprised she understands her Nanny, she literally raised them by speaking Filipino to them.
"I'm just saying what I suspect," she said, eyes scanning my face again, searching for something I wasn’t giving away. I had nothing to show, but then my phone chimed. Reaching for it, I saw a message from Liam: “How are my stepkids?”
I nearly choked on my drink, eyes widening.
“Are you alright?” Isabella asked.
“Yeah… just a message from a client,” I replied, forcing my voice to sound casual.
Another ping. Another message from Liam: “You looked genuinely happy today.”
Instinctively, I glanced around. We hadn’t met today—so how did he even know I looked happy? My fingers moved quickly across the screen: “Were you spying on me?”
He didn’t reply immediately.
I glanced over at Isabella, who was now absorbed in her own phone, completely unaware of the tension beside her.
Finally, Liam’s reply appeared: “I was just curious since you told me about it. I have to admit, I got a little jealous seeing you standing there with your husband.”
I could practically hear it in his words.
I set my phone down on the table, face down, and didn’t notice when a small smile crept onto my lips.
When my eyes lifted again, I realized Ian was watching me. His gaze met mine for just a moment before he quickly looked away.