My Mother's Husband Is My Sugar daddy

Chapter 17

Back to School

The long holiday had finally come to an end, and Adriana stood before her wardrobe in her sunlit bedroom, carefully selecting her outfit for her first day back at school. She chose a designer-fitted white blouse that hugged her form and a pleated black skirt that barely obeyed the school’s modesty rules. Her perfectly done lashes curled skyward as she admired her reflection, tilting her head slightly and smiling smugly.

“The queen of the college is back,” she whispered to herself.

Downstairs, Luci busied herself in the kitchen, already irritated. Adriana hadn’t said good morning or offered help. She had waltzed past, as usual, like she was royalty.

Francis who sat in the dining area working on his laptop, barely glanced up. He noticed Adriana’s outfit in his peripheral vision and quickly looked away, his jaw tightening. The last few weeks had been a roller coaster with her strange behaviour. He tried to excuse it as teenage rebellion, but lately, it was getting more intense, more calculated. The way she looked at him, the things she said, the way she would linger too close, it was unsettling.

When she finally left for school, Francis felt the air lighten. The house was quiet and peaceful. He sighed with relief and muttered to himself, “Thank God.” At the least, I would only be in the mornings and evenings that he would have to deal with her.

Back at school, Adriana’s return was nothing short of a spectacle. The halls buzzed as she walked through them, her presence announcing itself like a queen entering the court. Students turned, whispered, and stared. Her birthday had gone viral on social media, the expensive gifts, the cake, the glamorous photo shoots, it was all anyone could talk about.

“Oh my God, Adriana! You look so hot!” squealed Mimi, one of her loyal followers.

“I love your nails! And that necklace—Cartier, right?” chimed in Fola, another of the trio.

Adriana offered a nonchalant smile. “You know me, I don’t do cheap.”

They giggled, following her like disciples as she made her way to her locker. “You’re like a celebrity now. Queen of the College, for real!”

Adriana tilted her head high, soaking in the attention. It was addictive. The admiration, the envy, and the constant spotlight all gave her a sense of power.

“You girls are the only ones who get me,” she said as she applied lip gloss in front of her locker mirror. “People hate what they can’t be.”

That week, Francis had to travel for a business conference. He left on Wednesday morning, still feeling strange about Adriana’s behaviour. As he packed, Luci kissed him goodbye and promised to take care of everything at home.

But once Francis was gone, Adriana’s wild side broke free.

The school was just the start. After class, she went to parties and spent absurd amounts of money on Uber rides, designer drinks, flashy clothes, and whatever caught her fancy. She had access to Francis’s supplementary card, something he had given Luci but Adriana conveniently used. She knew the PIN. She had always known.

When Luci tried to confront her about coming home at 10:30 PM on a school night, Adriana rolled her eyes and brushed past.

“Don’t start acting like you care,” she hissed. “If I want to go out, I will.”

“Adriana, I’m your mother—”

“No. You’re just the woman who sleeps with Francis,” Adriana said with venom. “And poorly, I bet.”

Luci’s face paled, she was too stunned to speak.

Adriana slammed her door shut behind her, blasting music to drown out any further conversation.

“What?” Luci muttered to herself. She wondered what her daughter had turned into, lost as to what to do about it. She knew the teenage years come with so much difficulty, but this was another level of it.

On Friday, during lunch break, Adriana and her three followers sat at their usual spot, a round table beneath the shade of a flamboyant tree near the sports court.

“I swear I can’t hold back anymore,” Adriana said, nibbling on a strawberry from her overpriced fruit cup, “I dreamt about him again last night.”

“About who?” Mimi asked, popping gum loudly.

“Francis.”

Fola choked on her drink. “Your stepdad?”

Adriana smirked, unfazed. “He’s not really my dad. And I was grown when he came into the picture. He’s just… God, have you seen the way he looks in the morning? That chest, the way he smells—”

“Eww girl!” shrieked Mimi, half-laughing and half-horrified.

“I’m serious. I’m going to have him, I don’t care what anyone says.”

Teni, the most quiet but calculating of the trio, leaned in. “You’ve got the looks, the charm, and let’s face it, Luci is old news. Men like Francis always go for younger girls eventually.”

“But he’s married to your mom,” Fola said cautiously, her brows drawn in disapproval. “This is wrong, Adriana. Like… really dark.”

Adriana’s face twisted into something darker. “She doesn’t deserve him. She doesn’t even make him happy. He’s always stressed when she’s around. But when we talk, it’s different. He listens to me and he cares. I know he feels something.”

Teni sipped her smoothie slowly. “Then take what’s yours.”

“You’re all mad,” Fola muttered.

“You’re naive,” Adriana snapped. “People don’t get love by waiting, they take it. The only problem is, my mother is standing in the way.”

“Then take her out,” Teni said casually, wiping her glossed lips.

There was a moment of silence between them.

“Wait—what?” Mimi whispered.

Teni shrugged. “I didn’t say kill her. Just make her irrelevant, make her disappear emotionally, socially, whatever works. You’re the queen, everyone listens to you. You could ruin her image. Get Francis to see her as the villain.”

Adriana’s heart raced. The idea was intoxicating.

“I already make her look bad, Francis doesn’t believe a word she says anymore.”

“Then keep going,” Teni said. “You’re not a child, you know what you want. Make it happen.”

Fola stood up, disgusted. “I can’t be part of this. It’s sick.”

“Oh, go write a Bible verse,” Adriana snapped.

Fola walked away, shaking her head.

The three remaining girls stayed under the tree, a web of dark intentions slowly being woven around them.

Adriana leaned back, sunglasses shielding her eyes. “Let the games begin.”