Expecting my Billionaire Stepbrother's Baby (a Stepbrother Romance Novel) Read Free

to Drake’s, then to my dad’s. I didn’t want Drake to hear how my shitty life had turned from bad to worse. I couldn’t bear the pity from someone who’d struck it rich a months after he’d begun university. He was a savvy tech genius, and a few successful apps later, like magic, he was a rolling in it. After that, he hadn’t even graduated, and yet I slogged my way through, paid my own way, and what did I get for my trouble? A useless English degree and a job as a minimum-wage waitress.
    And now I don’t even have that.
    My dad and Drake crowded around me; there was no dodging their questions now.
    “Vi?” my dad said again. “What’s going on? Tell me, please. We’re your family.”
    Drake nodded, and I had the rising urge to slap the concerned look off his face, but luckily Leah’s weight in my arms prevented me from doing anything stupid.
    I bowed my head and sighed; I couldn’t look them in the eyes. But this was what I came here for, my last refuge.
    “Look, I just need somewhere to stay for a while, ‘til I get back up on my feet,” I said, hoping they wouldn’t press the matter any further.
    “Why now, Vi?” Drake asked, but his question came off as more of a demand. My dad glared at him.
    “I think what Drake means to say is of course you can stay. But I need to know you’re not in any trouble.”
    “I tried, OK?” I said, struggling to keep my voice even.
    “What do you mean?” my dad started.
    Eugh, I thought. I might as well tell them - I would be forever badgered if I didn’t. Leah gurgled in her sleep, and I instinctively rocked her to and fro.
    “My life is in shambles, is that what you want to hear? I lost my crappy job that was barely paying my bills, and then I got evicted. So I have nowhere else to go, and I have no money to my name. I took out a loan, but that didn’t last. And, well, let’s just say I haven’t been able to pay them back…”
    “Oh, Vi. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We could’ve helped,” my dad said as he crouched down to look at me.
    “I didn’t want his help. I wanted to get by on my own,” I muttered.
    “What the hell do you have against me, Viola? What’s wrong with my money?” Drake interrupted, surprising us all. Leah’s eyes sprang open, and her face crunched up, ready to start wailing again.
    “Shh,” I soothed the baby in my arms then glared up at her father.
    “Every time I’ve offered to help you, you’ve thrown it back at me! Why, Viola?” Drake said, getting louder and angrier with each word.
    “I don’t want your money,” I spat. How could I tell him I wanted so much more from him?
    “You have got to be kidding me! You’ve got a nerve. You come back here, tail between your legs and then say you don’t want my money or my help? Then what the hell do you want?”
    “Will you be quiet? You’re scaring Leah,” I said, looking down at her. Her eyes welled, on the brink of tears, and I could feel my own doing the same.
    “What’s all this racket?” Barbara hissed as she came speedily out of nowhere. “We have guests!”
    Drake shook his head. “I’m done. I’m just done with her,” he said and walked away.
    “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Barbara demanded.
    “I’m homeless and I lost my job. Happy now?” I replied. She might as well know - everyone else within hearing distance of our conversation was already privy to the information.
    “Oh, you poor thing,” Barbara said and surprised me with a half hug. “I wish you could’ve come to us sooner. We worry about you, you know? But we thought it best to leave you be, to get on with your life. Find your own way.”
    I nodded then shrugged. What else could I say? I felt guilty enough already.
    Barbara stood back up, and I went back to paying attention to Leah. I couldn’t look anyone in the eye anyway. At least Leah didn’t judge me. Her bright grey eyes were wide open, and her pudgy hand reached for my finger. Her tiny fingers wrapped