My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 59

The volume of his voice triggered something deep and dark inside me. The conference room started to blur.

Read it, Gianna! Read it, goddamn it!

His voice screamed in my head, overlapping with Raphael’s. I could almost feel the sting of the wooden ruler hovering over my knuckles, waiting for me to fail again.

“Look at the letters! Why are you so lazy? Just fucking read, it's not that hard!”

"I... I knew the answer," I whispered, but I wasn't in the office anymore. I was seven years old, sitting in a dark room, staring at letters that were dancing and mocking me.

"Knowing it doesn't matter if you can't say it!" Raphael stated.

I gasped, my whole body jerking back.

ZAP.

I felt the current go through my body from my fingertips until I was screaming.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my hands shaking so hard I had to grip the back of my chair to stay upright.

"Gianna?" his voice dropped.

It wasn't soft, but the screaming had stopped.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I just stood there, trapped in a memory of a man telling me I was broken until I believed him.

The other employees were staring now, not at the table, but at me.

Raphael looked at the others, his jaw tight. "Everyone out," he ordered.

They didn't wait. They gathered their things and hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with the man who had just crushed what was left of my pride.

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