My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 357

Chapter 357

“There is no plan,” I said, “And you need to lower your fucking voice before I lower it for you.”

“I won’t lower shit, Raph,” Adriano hissed back, “You are acting like a fool. You are risking everything we have built. This whole thing cannot happen. Have you even spent one single second thinking about how this would impact dad’s marriage with Hazel? She’s fucking dying.”

“What the fuck do you think is actually happening here, Adriano?” I asked, “This isn’t some long-term romance, alright? Gianna and I both know exactly what this is. We both know the risks we are taking. We are not in love.”

I paused, letting the words sink into his stupid mind.

“This isn’t anything like what you had for Maddie,” I stated, “Don’t you dare mistake it for that. I met Gianna way/ before she ever became our stepsister. I knew the exact second I laid eyes on her that I wanted her. It is just my fucking bad luck that she turned out to be Hazel’s daughter. But even if she wasn’t, this isn’t anything deeper than just a simple arrangement between two people. Alright?”

I rubbed a hand across my jaw, thinking back to our deal.

“Today, tomorrow, next week, we will end it, and we will both do it mutually,” I continued, “If she decides she wants to go out and marry some other man tomorrow, I will happily let her go. And she will do the exact same thing for me when the time comes. No one else has to know a single thing about it. It stays in this room.”

Adriano stood perfectly still, his eyes boring into mine as he listened to my words. He could see that I meant every single word.

Slowly, Adriano let out a long, hissing breath through his teeth. He shook his head, a tired look washing over his face.

Adriano stared at me, “That is fucked up, Raph.”

“You want to talk about what’s fucked up, Adriano?” I murmured, “Fucked up is lying about who you really are just to trap a girl into a marriage. Fucked up is hiding your dark side and playing pretend to keep someone bound to you. That is not what is happening here.”

I paused, watching the way his eyes flashed with fury.

“Gianna and I are two people who are completely honest with one another,” I continued, “She knows exactly what I am, and I know exactly what she wants. There are no lies between us. So leave us alone. You didn’t see anything tonight, Adriano.”

He gave me a slow, reluctant nod, finally absorbing my words, but he didn’t back down completely.

“And what if she catches feelings?” he asked, “What if she falls for you, Raph?”

I shook my head instantly, a confident smirk touching my lips.

“She won’t,” I said, completely sure of myself as I leaned back against the motorcycle, “She loves someone else. She still loves her ex. She was actually the one who made that rule between us in the first place, and I trust her. She’s a woman of her word, and she has way too much pride to ruin it by falling for… someone like me.”

“Vincenzo will not tolerate this,” Adriano muttered, “If a single whisper of this gets out, if he even suspects what you are doing with her under this roof… For your own sake and hers, you need to end this shit sooner than later.”

I let out a laugh, “Vincenzo won’t know. That guy couldn’t even see Claire when she was standing right in front of his face in a wedding dress crying out for him. He was completely blind to it.”

1/2

+15 Bahus

I shrugged confidently.

“If he couldn’t see what was happening with the woman he loves right in his own space, how the hell is he going to notice anything between me and Gianna?” I asked, “He is too busy looking at the business. He isn’t looking at us. So stop worrying about Vince. He won’t find out unless you open your mouth.”

Adriano closed his eyes for a brief second, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he could physically wipe away the massive headache I was giving him.

“You are a goddamn idiot, Raph,” Adriano muttered.

He looked at me for a long time, measuring the hard lines of my face. He knew that look. He knew there was no changing my mind.

“Fine,” Adriano said, “But I’m only doing this to protect the family,” he warned, “Do not make me regret this. Because if this whole thing blows up in our faces, if Vincenzo finds out and goes on a rampage, he isn’t just going to kill you. He is going to kill me first for covering for your stupid ass.”

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