Obey me, Stepmom (VERSION 2)

Chapter 24

DISCLAIMER: DETAILED SMUT AHEAD.

AUTHOR'S POV

Y/n's breath was still unsteady as Ran held her close, neither of them speaking for what felt like an eternity.

 The warmth of his embrace, the familiar scent of him, brought back a flood of memories—both good and bad. 

She wanted to stay in that moment, but the weight of everything that had happened between them pressed down on her, forcing her to confront the truth.

She gently pulled away, just enough to look up at him. Ran's eyes were filled with something she hadn't expected—regret, maybe even a touch of desperation. 

But she couldn't let herself be swayed by that. Not yet.

"I can't keep doing this, Ran," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "This whole situation... it's too much. I'm done."

Ran's grip on her arms tightened for a moment before he released her, taking a step back to give her space. He ran a hand through his hair, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low but sincere. "I never wanted to hurt you, Y/n. I never saw you as some... object, or a pawn in all of this."

Y/n crossed her arms, trying to hold onto the anger that had been burning inside her, but it was already starting to fade. 

"Then what was I? You used me, Ran. You pulled me into your mess, and I got burned because of it."

Ran shook his head, his eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat. "I didn't use you. I tried to stay away, tried to forget about you, but I couldn't. Seeing you again after all this time... it messed with my head. I told myself I had to keep my distance, but my heart wouldn't let me."

Y/n felt her resolve crumbling. She had spent so much time being angry, but now, hearing the raw honesty in his voice, she couldn't hold onto that anger anymore. 

Instead, all she felt was the familiar ache that had settled in her chest when they had disappeared from each other's lives.

"Ran..." she started, but her voice caught in her throat. 

She missed him. 

She had missed him so much and hearing him say that he had tried to stay away, that he had felt the same pull, made the pain of their separation resurface with a vengeance.

He took a step closer, his hand gently cupping her cheek. "I never stopped thinking about you, Y/n. I tried to move on, to focus on anything else, but nothing worked. You've always been there, in the back of my mind, in every decision I made. And when I saw you again... I couldn't just stand by and let you slip away."

The tears that had been building in Y/n's eyes finally spilled over, and she reached up to cover his hand with hers. "I missed you too," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "I tried to bury it, but it's always been there, this... emptiness."

Ran leaned in, his forehead resting against hers. "I'm sorry for everything. For making you feel like you were just a part of my game. You're not. You never were."

Y/n's breath hitched as the distance between them closed, and all the walls she had built up around herself crumbled. 

She could see the sincerity in his eyes, the same pain she felt mirrored in his gaze. Without thinking, she closed the gap, pressing her lips against his.