My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 430

Chapter 430

“Do you wish he loved you?”

A lump formed in my throat. I hugged Jules tighter, “So much,” I whispered, my voice cracked, “So much that it hurts.”

Jules immediately wrapped both arms around my neck. Holding me as tightly as she could like somehow she could fix it, like somehow a hug was enough to repair a broken heart

For a few seconds neither of us said anything. The crying had stopped. The panic had stopped. All that remained was exhaustion.

I rested my cheek against the top of her head and closed my eyes. After a while, I brushed my fingers through Jules’s hair, “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Jules immediately lifted her head, “Of course.”

The answer came so fast it almost made me laugh. She looked genuinely offended that I had even asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

I smiled weakly, “I don’t know.”

Jules scooted closer and wrapped her arms around my waist again, “You’re sad.”

The simple honesty nearly broke me all over again, “Yeah.”

“Then I’ll stay.”

I kissed the top of her head, “Thank you, bug.”

A few minutes later we crawled beneath the blankets together. Jules immediately claimed half the bed like she owned it.

I changed into pajamas while she disappeared beneath the comforter and emerged looking like an angry little burrito.

For the first time all night, I actually laughed. Jules smiled proudly at herself. Then she reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Darkness settled over the room. Only the faint glow of moonlight remained.

I listened to the sound of her breathing. The way children always seem to fall asleep no matter what happens around them. Eventually her grip on my shirt loosened then loosened again. A few minutes later I looked down, Jules was asleep.

One hand still clutching the blanket, her mouth slightly open, completely unaware of how much I envied her. I stayed still for another few minutes, making sure she was really asleep…Then I carefully reached toward my nightstand and grabbed my phone.

The screen lit up immediately.

A string of unread messages.

My stomach dropped before I even opened it.

Raphael.

For a long moment I simply stared at his name then I opened it.

Raphael:

Gianna, I’m sorry. What happened downstairs should not have happened. There isn’t a justification for it. You asked me to leave you alone and I ignored that. That was my mistake.

Raphael:

I spent the last hour trying to understand why I reacted the way I did. I don’t have an answer. I lost control of the situation for a few seconds and made it worse instead of better. I understand that now.

There was another pause before the next message appeared.

Raphael:

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