Too Pretty to Be Your Backup novel Chapter 65

Amanda never planned on having dinner with Travis anyway, so when he left with Leila, she just walked off on her own.

She was on her way home, minding her own business, when she spotted a pharmacy and paused outside. After a second’s thought, she went in.

“Hi, can I get a box of birth control pills?” she asked the cashier.

Truth was, Amanda had zero interest in sleeping with Travis. But with him, you never knew when he’d lose it. Last night was so bad he’d even brought out a ball gag, like something straight out of a porno. Who knew what stunt he’d pull next? Better to be safe than sorry. The last thing she wanted was to leave this place with more baggage—like a baby.

The pharmacist, masked and efficient, handed over a box. Amanda paid, stuffed the box in her bag, and headed for the door, not realizing someone familiar was watching her from across the store.

Just as she was about to step outside, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned and found herself face-to-face with a smug grin.

“Stocking up on birth control? What, Travis won’t let you have his baby?” the girl teased.

Amanda’s eyebrows arched in surprise. Peyton.

She's Leila’s half-sister.

Peyton’s mom was Leila’s stepmother, but Peyton was actually two months older than Leila. A stepmom who’d waited years to finally marry into the family was never going to be kind to her predecessor’s kids. Poor Leila—her health had never recovered from all the years her stepmother made her life hell.

And in families like theirs, where there’s a stepmom, a horrible dad usually follows.

Jonah didn’t come to play nice. He demanded five hundred million in cash, every bit of real estate his mother had left, and a full half of the profits from the Hill family deal. It was daylight robbery.

Robert had no choice but to agree. Backed into a corner, he gave Jonah everything.

People still talk about it in town that how Jonah, with Travis' support, turned his life around in one bold move. After that, men who’d dumped their first wives for younger women started thinking twice about treating their own kids badly. No one wanted to end up like Robert.

Robert only had himself to blame. If he hadn’t been so heartless, Jonah wouldn’t have gone after him so hard once he got the chance. It’s true what they say—never burn your bridges.

Robert and Leila’s stepmother had left nothing but scorched earth behind, and it came back to bite them.

And Peyton? As the daughter of the woman who broke up the family, she wasn’t about to play nice either. From her perspective, the money, the real estate, the jewelry—everything Jonah took—should have been hers.