My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 722

Chapter 772

“You said you were starving Lofdered the kitchen make everything you used to love,” he said, holding the glass out to me, ” Orange juice.”

My favorite.

Or at least… it used to be.

Now, my mind went straight to Mom’s strawberry milk. She always blended fresh strawberries with cold milk, a little honey, and just enough vanilla to make it taste like home.

I accepted it automatically. My fingers wrapped around the cold glass without thinking,

Dad sighed softly, “Your little brother was in a car accident six months ago,” his voice stayed even. He glanced briefly toward the wheelchair, “This is what happens when people refuse to listen. He thought he knew better. He didn’t.”

I slowly turned back toward Gio. He still hadn’t looked at Dad, not once. His eyes stayed fixed on the gravel beneath his wheelchair. His breathing was shallow. His shoulders were still shaking.

It wasn’t the wheelchair that made my heart break.

It was him.

The fear, the desperate need to become invisible, to be anywhere else. I knew exactly what that felt like.

Because six years ago…

That had been me.

Sitting at the dinner table, terrified to lift my head, terrified of saying the wrong thing, terrified of disappointing him.

Always chasing one sentence.

Good job, Gianna.

I’m proud of you.

You did well.

I had spent my entire childhood trying to earn words that never came.

But that had only happened because I was me. Gio would’ve never been treated that way. He was perfect. I was the daughter who always needed fixing.

My eyes lifted slowly. Dad wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking at Giovanni. There wasn’t anger on his face. That would’ve been easier to understand.

This was worse.

And all at once…

A memory came rushing back.

Perla standing in front of me, her own eyes full of tears. She had fixed my jacket, smoothed my hair, then cupped my face with both hands.

“You’re stronger than you think, Gianna, so be brave now.”

“I love you too… that’s exactly why I’m doing this.”

That woman…

The woman standing in front of me now with tears filling her eyes. Had been the reason I’d found the courage to run.

Dad was lying.

I didn’t know why but I knew he was lying about something and I found myself wondering…

How many other lies had I grown up believing?

And that thought made me look down at the glass in my hand. Bright orange, with tiny drops of condensation slid slowly down the side.