My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 704

Chapter 704

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, “I… don’t think I understand.”

Viviane let out a laugh, “The men who’d negotiate with the devil before admitting they’re in love.”

A small smile found its way onto my face. I remembered how impossible Raphael had been in the beginning. How he’d insisted he didn’t want me while looking at me like I was driving him insane.

The man had fought his feelings with the same determination he fought everyone else. Looking back now, it was almost funny.

“When a man like that spends an entire evening looking at one woman instead of everything else…” she said with a knowing smile, “…trust me, every woman in the room notices.”

My brows slowly pulled together.

I had always thought…

I had been so sure…

He’d been watching her.

Viviane tilted her head, studying me for a moment, “What?”

I looked down at my hands, “It’s just…” I hesitated before forcing the words out, “He’s… remarkable.”

She waited.

“He’s one of those people who seems good at everything,” a small smile touched my lips despite the ache in my chest, “He’s smart. Disciplined. He notices things no one else does.”

I swallowed.

“Sometimes I think…” My fingers tightened together. “Sometimes I think a man like him deserves someone who can keep up with him.”

Viviane’s brows lifted.

“…Someone like you,” I finished.

For one long second, she simply stared at me. Then she reached over and gently squeezed my forearm,” Is that what you’ve been thinking?”

Heat crept into my cheeks the moment I realized I’d said far more than I meant to. My lips parted, “I…”

She shook her head, still smiling, “Raphael and I have had exactly three conversations. Two of them were about cybersecurity. The third conversation,” she continued, “was him asking whether I thought a certain encryption system could be broken.”

“And?”

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“I told him yes.”

“And then?”

“He nodded… and walked away.”

I blinked, “That was it?”

Viviane laughed, “That was the entire conversation. Honestly, if people hadn’t introduced us, I don’t think either of us would even know the other’s last name. Every time we speak, it’s because he’s trying to come up with some impossible cybersecurity scenario to prove he could stop someone like me before they outsmarted him.”

She sighed dramatically.

“I think he’s still personally offended that I managed to beat Alessandro once,” her shoulders lifted in a small shrug, “The poor man treats it like an unsolved crime. I keep telling him I didn’t beat Alessandro because he’s stupid. I beat him because I got lucky and found one tiny weakness before he found mine.

He refuses to believe me.”

That earned another laugh from me, the sound faded almost as quickly as it came, “I always thought…” I admitted quietly, “He… admired you.”

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