My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316

“Don’t,” I snapped, as I finally lifted my head. I didn’t care that my face was wet with tears. I didn’t care that I looked crazy, “Just leave me alone. Get the fuck out of my room!”

Raphael didn’t even flinch at my tone, as if he fully expected it. He just took one slow step forward, his large body taking up too much space. “Gianna, we need to talk about-”

“I don’t need to talk to you about anything!” I screamed, stepping back until my spine hit the clothing racks.

I wanted him to get mad. I wanted him to yell back at me, to call me names, but he just stood there, his dark eyes watching me with this calmness that made me want to rip my own hair out.

“You must be having the absolute time of your life right now,” I taunted, a bitter, broken laugh ripping from my throat. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, glaring at his perfect chest, at his perfect, unblemished skin. I bet you’re just loving this. You’re probably patting yourself on the back, telling yourself that you were right about me all along. You finally have proof of what a total freak I am.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking,” he muttered, his jaw tightening just a little bit, “I never—”

“Oh, really?” I mocked, cutting him off before he could try to fix it. My voice rose higher, dripping with pure venom as I threw every single ounce of my frustration at him. “Come on, Raphael! You can say it! You’re probably laughing your head off inside. It all makes perfect sense to you now, doesn’t it?”

I took a sharp, gasping breath, my chest burning as the old humiliation from the office rushed back to the surface, choking me.

“Does it make you feel good about yourself?” I snarled, leaning forward, my eyes narrowing as I dragged his own past actions out into the light. “Remember all those times you stood over my desk at the office? Remember how you yelled at me because I wasn’t good enough for you, or for your stupid office? It made you feel so big and powerful, didn’t it? Screaming at the stupid girl who couldn’t even put the files in the right order.”

I shook my head, my lips curling inward to hide how badly they were shaking, though my chin was still trembling violently.

“You’re just so perfect, aren’t you?” I whispered, “You never make a mistake. You never mess up. You’re this big, successful businessman in your own right. You didn’t even need your family’s backing to build a whole empire on your own. And look at me. I’m nothing. I’m a complete mess on the floor, and you get to stand there and watch me get my toys taken away by my mommy. Go ahead and laugh, Raphael! Tell me how pathetic I look! Tell me I’m useless! Tell me I am a worthless void! That’s your favorite thing to do anyway, isn’t it?!”

I was breathing so hard my shoulders were heaving, my fists clenched so tight my fingernails were cutting deep crescents into my palms. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to push him so far away that he would never be able to look at me, let alone look at me with pity.

“I never in my entire life called you a worthless void… or anything close to it,” his voice cut through, so incredibly soft that it only pissed me off more, “Yes, I yelled at you, Gianna. But I have yelled at hundreds of employees, too. I wasn’t singling you out. We can talk about this…”

Raphael stayed perfectly still, but I saw the small muscle in his jaw jump again. He didn’t look away from my face, not even when a heavy tear slid off my chin and hit the carpet between our feet.

“I didn’t know,” he said, “Gianna, I really didn’t know anything about you, you can’t blame me for something I didn’t even know. I’m sorry for-”

“Oh, you’re sorry?! So now you feel bad for the poor little disabled girl?” I mocked, “Is that what this is? You’re

1/2

+15 Benve

going to be nice to me now because you found out about this? I don’t want your kindness, Raphael. I don’t want your pity. It makes me sick.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify