My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 565

Chapter 565

They were such small changes that most people would never notice them but I did. Somewhere along the way, I had learned how to read the man everyone else thought had no expressions at all.

Slowly, I lifted my hand and rested it over the left side of his chest, right over his heart. It beat steadily beneath my palm.

“Raphael…” my voice came out softer than I expected, “Before everything…” I shook my head a little, “My idea of love was… broken. Distorted. And I’m not just talking about romantic love. I mean every kind of love.”

I looked into his eyes. The waves rolled gently onto the shore behind us.

My chin trembled, “I thought love was something you earned. I thought you had to deserve it every single day. If you made a mistake…” I looked toward the lake, “…people loved you less. If you disappointed them, they walked away. If you weren’t useful anymore, they stopped choosing you.”

I took a slow breath, the lake was suddenly blurring in my vision but I couldn’t gather the strength to look at him

“I thought that was normal. I thought families were supposed to hurt each other. I thought parents were supposed to make you feel guilty for existing,” my throat tightened, “And with Leone, I thought someone choosing me was enough.”

I finally looked into his eyes and noticed the frown that appeared when he saw the tears in my eyes.

“I didn’t ask whether he made me feel safe. I didn’t ask whether he made me feel seen. I didn’t even ask whether I could be completely myself around him,” I laughed quietly, “I was just grateful somebody wanted me.”

My thumb brushed absentmindedly over Raphael’s chest.

“That’s how low the bar was. That’s what I thought love was.”

I glanced down at the blanket, a small smile finding its way onto my face.

“Then, when I was sixteen… my mom got custody of me,” I laughed softly, though it caught in my throat, “And she just… loved me.”

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