MARRYING MY STEP SISTERS GROOM

*Elizabeth Blackwood's POV*

I hummed softly as I cleaned James's study, running the dust cloth over the mahogany shelves and polished desk. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows, and I smiled, thinking about my husband coming home in a few hours.

Life was good. We'd been married just over a year, and our baby girl Helen was sleeping peacefully in her nursery down the hall. Six months old, with James's dark hair and my eyes-she was perfect.

As I wiped down the desk, my cloth caught on something. The locked drawer on the right side-the one James always kept secured-was slightly ajar.

I hesitated, my hand hovering over it. James kept business documents in there. But if the lock had come loose, I should close it properly.

I pulled the drawer open just enough to push it shut, and that's when I saw it.

A hidden envelope. Manila, thick with contents, tucked beneath a stack of folders.

Curiosity flickered through me. Maybe old family photos? James rarely talked about his past.

I glanced toward the door, then pulled out the envelope.

Inside were photographs.

The first one showed James holding a baby boy-maybe six or seven months old, with dark hair and bright eyes. James's face radiated pure joy, a smile I recognized well.

I smiled, confused. "A nephew he never mentioned?"

Then I saw the second photograph, and my smile died.

James stood beside a beautiful young woman with long dark hair, maybe in her mid-twenties. They stood close together, the baby boy held between them. She had her hand on his arm. His arm was around her waist.

They looked like a family.

My hands began to tremble.

I flipped through more photos, my heart pounding. James feeding the baby. The woman laughing beside him. The three of them at a park, sitting together on a blanket.

In every photo, they looked happy. Together. Intimate.

"No," I whispered, my chest tightening. "No, please..."