My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 721

Chapter 721

Gianna

My little brother never sat still.

He climbed everything, ran everywhere..He couldn’t stay in one place for longer than five minutes without getting bored.

“…Gio?”

The word barely escaped me when Perla finally looked up. The moment her eyes landed on me, she froze. Her entire body went completely still.

For one long moment, she simply stared, “Gianna?”

I looked from her, to back to Giovanni, then to the wheelchair again, nothing made sense.

I started walking toward them, “What… What happened?”

Neither of them answered. Perla’s eyes filled with tears almost instantly. She stepped toward me, lifting one trembling hand before gently placing it against my arm.

It was such a small touch, “You’re really here.”

My own hand moved without thinking. I wrapped my fingers around hers, “I’m here.”

The words had barely left my mouth when she suddenly pulled her hand away, not because she didn’t want me to touch her but because she looked terrified.

She looked past me toward the house, then back at me, “What are you doing here?”

“I-I just-”

She cut me off by grabbing both my shoulders, “Gianna… why are you back? What the hell is going on?”

I blinked at her, “Dad… Dad brought me back.”

Her entire expression changed, “He… brought you back?”

I nodded.

Perla shook her head immediately, “No. No, Hazel would never- How did Hazel let you leave with him?

Everything inside me stopped, the air refused to reach my lungs. Her fingers slowly slipped from my shoulders as I took one step backward. The tears I’d been holding back, I couldn’t stop them anymore.

I buried my face against his shoulder, “What happened? What happened to you?” my eyes squeezed shut, “How… how did this happen?”

“Because he was careless.”

The voice came from behind me. The deep, cold voice I’d know anywhere, and I stood back up like it was instinct.

“And weak.”

Every muscle in my body stiffened. I turned my head. Dad walked down the stone path with the same pace he always had, one hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers. In the other, he carried a glass of orange juice.

I looked back at Giovanni and the change in him was immediate. His smile disappeared, every bit of color drained from his face. His shoulders curled inward. His fingers tightened so hard around the blanket.

Then, his body started trembling, not violently, just enough for me to notice. Enough that I couldn’t ignore it. No, he wasn’t just trembling. He was bracing like he already knew what was coming. Something inside my stomach twisted painfully. I knew that look.

I’d worn it.

Dad stopped beside us. His hand settled gently against the middle of my back. His touch was warm, affectionate like it always was when he touched me.

He rubbed slow circles between my shoulder blades the way he used to whenever he thought I was overwhelmed.