My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 734

Chapter 734

Gianna

+15 Bonus

The screen rang three times, then it connected. I smiled automatically and it disappeared just as fast.

My breath caught, “Raphael?”

He was sitting somewhere dark with dirty concrete walls. A single light hanging above him.

His white dress shirt was rolled to his elbows, the sleeves stained with dark red. Tiny flecks of blood dotted one side of his face. It was fresh.

He was breathing harder than normal, not exhausted, just controlled like someone forcing himself to calm down.

“Raph…”

My eyes searched the screen. His jaw. His neck. His hands. Looking for injuries, looking for something that told me the blood belonged to him.

He didn’t answer me, didn’t even say a single word. Instead, he lifted one hand and slowly dragged it

down his face.

The blood smeared across his cheek, some of it caught against the edge of his light stubble. He leaned back into the chair without breaking eye contact.

The silence made my stomach twist, “Raphael…” my voice came out smaller than I wanted, “Where are you?”

He just stared at me, saying nothing at all. Cold panic rushed through my veins. My stomach twisted into a tight, heavy knot, and my hands started to shake.

“What happened?”

I sat up straighter on the bed without even realizing it.

“Are you hurt?”

He kept staring, not at my face anymore, but at me. His eyes traveled over the screen slowly, taking in everything.

The tank top, the necklace around my neck, the thin tank top stretched tight across my chest and the little underwear I wore, showing off the bare skin of my legs.

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

For a second, I’d almost forgotten what I was wearing.

1/3

+15 Bonus

“I…” I looked down at myself before meeting his eyes again, “I was just-”

The words died because he still hadn’t said anything. My heartbeat sped up.

“Raphael,” I swallowed, “Please. Say something.”

Another long second passed, then slowly his eyes finally lifted to mine.

He drew one slow breath through his nose. A low, rough sound escaped him, it was not quite a sigh, it wasn’t even a growl either, “Are you okay?”

Everything inside me stopped. That… That was the first thing he asked, not why I’d left, not why I’d gone with my father, not whether I had betrayed him.

Just…

Are you okay?

My chest tightened so hard it hurt.

I nodded before realizing he probably couldn’t tell, “I’m…” My voice cracked, “I don’t know.”

His expression didn’t change. He kept watching me the same way he always did like he was checking for things no one else could see.

My eyes drifted back to the blood on his face, my stomach turned, “That’s not yours, right?”

His jaw flexed. For a long moment, I thought he was going to avoid the question again..Instead, he spoke quietly, “It’s not mine.”

The knot in my chest loosened just enough for me to breathe again. I closed my eyes for a second,”

Thank God.”

Then, I remembered what I was wearing..My eyes dropped to the screen again.

The tank top.

The bare skin.

The stupid idea I’d had five minutes ago. My face burned. God. What was wrong with me?

He was sitting somewhere covered in blood, looking like he’d walked straight out of a war, and I’d actually thought distracting him would fix everything.

Heat rushed into my cheeks, “I…” I reached for the blanket at the end of the bed. “Hang on.”

I pulled it toward me, trying to throw it over my lap.

“Don’t.”

My hands stopped. I looked back at the screen.

2/3

+15 Bonus

His eyes were still fixed on me, “Don’t cover up.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify