The Demon's Bride - Chapter 71: Stockings-III

An unknown parcel arrives to Yoshio, a 30-years old NEET. The content is a game disk titled “The Village of Fate.” A beautiful CG game with real-life images gets started.

I came home from college expecting to deal with my emotionally unavailable father, an empty fridge, and a summer full of boredom.What I didn’t expect was to walk into the kitchen and find a barefoot, stunning woman in my dad’s shirt stirring eggs like she owned the place.Spoiler: She does.Her name is Elena, and apparently, she’s my brand-new stepmother—seven years older than me, way too cheerful, and totally off-limits.But try telling that to my brain when she’s bending over to grab orange juice or accidentally falling on top of me in the laundry room. Try telling that to my heart when she’s laughing at my jokes, defending me at dinner, or wearing my hoodie because “it smells like comfort.”My dad doesn’t see her. Not really.But I do.And that’s the problem.Now I’m stuck in a house full of tension, sarcasm, and slow-burn chaos.She’s married to my father.I’m supposed to be focusing on my future.But somehow, I’m falling for the one woman I absolutely, definitely, 100% should not be falling for.Oops.

“Why does no one remember the true world?!”

Alicia Fonell thought marriage would save her—but life with Travis Blackwood is nothing but bruises, betrayal, and silence. Trapped in a family built on greed and lies, she has only one goal: escape.Then Malachi Blackwood returns. Her husband’s older brother. Dark, dangerous, and untouchable. He swore he’d never come back to Silver Lake, but secrets and revenge drag him home.The closer Alicia gets to him, the harder it becomes to resist. Forbidden touches. Stolen glances. A temptation she knows could destroy them both.Trigger / Content WarningThis story contains a morally grey male lead whose choices, actions, and desires are not always healthy or “right.” Malachi is obsessive, controlling, and dangerously possessive. If you’re looking for a gentle love story, this may not be for you.But if you crave intensity, forbidden passion, and a hero who walks the line between love and ruin—welcome.