Their Pretty Little Stepmom

Chapter five

"I'm..." Sarah wiped her eyes frantically with the backs of her hands, her breath hitching. "I’m not... I’m fine."

"You are a poor liar," Bardulf said. He held her closer while the agony dried from her. His gaze roamed over her red-rimmed eyes and the way she was shivering in the thin sweater she’d thrown on in his arms. "Who did this?"

"It’s nothing, really. I just... I miss my home," she lied, her voice trembling. She couldn't tell him, fresh tears overcoming her again, his palm shooting out to catch her tears.

"The boys made you cry, didn't they?" He asked and she debated if she should actually say a thing or not. What if she said anything and her problem actually intensifies, who will save her?

"I will show you what actually happens when you cry for them like this," he said as his large, calloused thumb brushed a stray tear from her cheek. His touch was unexpectedly warm, sending a jolt of electricity through her that she didn't understand.

"I didn't buy you to watch you leak water like a broken pipe," he rumbled. His eyes narrowed, catching sight of the soot on her fingertips, the soot from when she had tried to reach into the fireplace for her mother's locket.

He took her hand, his grip firm but not crushing. He inspected the black ash on her skin. His jaw tightened, a muscle leaping in his cheek. He didn't say another word. He simply turned and began walking back toward the manor, dragging her gently but firmly behind him.

"Bardulf, wait! Where are we going?"

He didn't answer.

When they entered the grand foyer, the atmosphere was already thick with tension. Kael and Jeff were lounging on the leather sofas, tossing a silver coin back and forth, while Riven stood by the window, staring out at the lake. They looked up as their father entered, their expressions shifting from boredom to wary alertness.

"Father, when did you...when did you come back?"

Bardulf stopped in the center of the room. He didn't let go of Sarah’s hand.

"In here. Now," Bardulf commanded. The volume wasn't high, but they knew so much to respect even the littlest sounds that tore from their father.

The three sons stood up. They approached slowly, sensing the shift in the wind. Kael maintained his mask of arrogance, but Jeff’s smirk was beginning to falter.

"Is there a problem, Father?" Kael asked, his voice smooth. " When did you come? How was the trip?"

Bardulf pointed to the cold, white marble floor. "Kneel."

A stunned silence followed.

"Excuse me?" Jeff laughed nervously. "Dad, we aren't ten years old anymore. We were just having a bit of fun with..."

"I said," Bardulf’s voice dropped an octave, vibrating with a lethal promise, "Kneel. All of you."

The weight of his presence was suffocating. Slowly, with expressions ranging from shock to pure fury, the three grown men sank to their knees. Kael’s face was beet-red with humiliation; Jeff looked like he wanted to vomit; Riven kept his head down, his shoulders shaking with silent rage.

"It was just a locket, father." Riven started looking up, very shocked that he had to kneel without a tangible reason. "Very old and tacky."

"I clearly warned you all about her, didn't I?" His voice rang out, curt, crisp, and nothing more.

"Sarah," Bardulf said, finally looking at her. "Tell them what you were looking for in the fireplace."

Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. She looked down at the three men, men who were taller, stronger, and more experienced than her, now forced into a position of total submission because of her tears.

"It was just a locket," she whispered. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," Bardulf said. He looked back at his sons. "You think because I am silent, I am blind. You think because I have work, I do not see how you treat what belongs to me. This woman is my wife and you have insulted the name Voidmere. You have insulted me."

"It was a joke, Dad," Jeff hissed from the floor.

Bardulf reached out, landing a heavy blow to his face that made Sarah gasp as she thought Jeff would pass out because of the hit.

"Then the punchline is this," Bardulf replied coldly, reaching for a hand towel in his tracksuit. "You will stay on your knees until Sarah decides you have learned enough respect to stand."

"Bardulf, no," Sarah gasped, stepping forward. "They were just..." There's no way he's punishing his sons because of her.

"They are my blood," Bardulf corrected, "But you are my wife. There is a difference. They don't get to act anyhow they want around you, better still, putting tears on your face, I won't let that happen," he said visibly detached, "They're going to stay there, glued to the floor for three hours." He said and then walked off and Sarah was more stunned than the deafening suffocating silence that reigned between everybody.

They looked at her like they could swallow her whole and leave no crumbs.

"I'm actually getting punished because of that little..." Kael wanted to say before Jeff shoved him.

"Dad may still be watching,"

"But this is so new. Father won't hit us even if we stole his money, broke his car, or bullied a student at school. And here we're on the floor because his little wife shed a tear?"

"Absurd right?" Jeff asked, "Well, guess who's going to die by my hand?"

Two hours passed. Then three. Sarah couldn't take it. She watched from the mezzanine as Riven’s legs began to tremble. She saw the sweat bead on Kael’s forehead as he struggled to keep his back straight. This wasn't protection, it was a display of power that terrified her more than the boys' pranks ever could.

She ran down the stairs and threw herself between Bardulf who was in the study signing off documents, making calls with his glasses resting over his nose.

"Stop it! Please!" she cried, grabbing the edges of Bardulf’s book. "They have been kneeling the entire time."

He ignored her, " Please..."

Bardulf finally looked up. His gray eyes searched hers, deep and unreadable. He saw the genuine distress in her face, the way her hands were shaking. He closed the book with a heavy thud. He stood up and went out with Sarah trailing behind.

"Get up," he said to his sons.

The three men stumbled to their feet, their joints cracking. Kael didn't look at his father; he turned and stormed out of the house. Jeff followed, limping slightly, casting a look of pure, unadulterated hatred at Sarah.

But Riven stayed for a second. He looked at Sarah, his eyes searching hers. There was no mockery left in them, only a confusing, burning intensity. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just turned and disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

Bardulf stood up, towering over Sarah.

"They won't touch your things again," he said quietly.