My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133

“Gianna…” Aileen started.

“Go,” I said, staring at the blank computer screen. “The meeting is starting. You’ll be late.”

I watched her walk away. I watched the glass doors of the conference room swing shut, sealing me out while everyone was in there. The office went quiet. It was just me and the hum of the air conditioning.

“You’re a stain on this name, Gianna! I can’t even put you in a room with people who matter. I’m humiliated to even admit you belong to me.”

“Stay in the back and keep that broken tongue behind your teeth. Don’t make a sound.”

“What did I do to deserve a burden like you? You humiliate me every time you try to speak. I built an empire of perfection, and somehow I ended up with… whatever the fuck you are.”

“It’s your mother’s fault! She’s the one who gave me a daughter with a rotted brain!”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the TENS unit. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold it. I didn’t slide it under my clothes this time. I just pressed the metal nodes against the back of my hand, right over the knuckles I had bruised earlier.

I turned the dial all the way to the right.

Zap.

My whole arm jerked, a white-hot flash of electricity tearing through my skin. But for the first time, the pain didn’t clear the fog. It didn’t make the world move in slow motion. It just hurt.

I stared at the closed doors of the meeting room, my eyes burning with tears I refused to let fall.

I stared at the very last ledger and started working, it will be done in an hour if I focused hard enough. I worked until they were all in the meeting, the silence and loneliness gave me more focus, and there was also my TENS.

“Gianna,” she said again, leaning in closer until I could hear the sadness in her own breath, “Are you crying?”

A sob escaped my throat before I could choke it back, a small, pathetic sound that filled the empty vault. I turned my head away, burying my face in my shoulder, my body finally giving in to the exhaustion and the hurt that had been building up for a week.

Aileen didn’t move her hand. Instead, her fingers slid up my arm, her touch light. She leaned in so close that I could feel the warmth of her breath against my damp cheek. The scent of her perfume, something soft and floral, filled my senses.

“Gianna, look at me,” she whispered.

I slowly turned my head, my vision still blurry. Her eyes were wide, filled with a look that wasn’t just pityanymore.

“He’s wrong,” she said, as she reached up with her other hand, her thumb gently brushing away a stray tear, “You aren’t an embarrassment. You’re the most incredible person in this entire building. I’ve watched you. I’ve seen how you work harder than anyone here, I have seen you push through everything when anyone else would have quit weeks ago. You’re perfect. You’re such a hard worker, I mean, it’s actually brilliant.”