My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 746

Chapter 746

“What?”

Perla glanced toward the dining room doors, making sure Dad was really gone. She waited until the sound of his footsteps disappeared completely before looking back at me, “Why did you come back?”

The question caught me off guard, “I…”

She shook her head, “No, Gianna. I need the truth. Don’t even think about lying to me, or telling me you

missed him.”

I looked down at my hands. My fingers were twisting together without me noticing, “I can’t…” I lifted my shoulder, “I can’t spend the rest of my life wondering if he was right. What if I gave up too early? What if I ran because I couldn’t take it anymore… and that made me weak?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, disbelief kept her frozen in her seat.

I smiled bitterly, “What if I ran because I couldn’t take it anymore… and that made me weak? I keep asking myself the same question. What if there really was something at the end of all that pain?” I looked back up at her, “What if everything he did was supposed to make me into someone better? What if I walked away before I found out?”

Perla stared at me like she couldn’t believe i just said that, “Gianna…”

“I need to know. I need to know if all those years meant something…”

Perla looked at me with tears gathering in her eyes, “After everything Hazel did for you… After everything that woman sacrificed just to probably teach you that none of this was your fault… you came back here because you still believe him?”

“No,” I answered too quickly, then stopped, “I don’t know. I don’t know anymore.”

She pointed at me, “Look at yourself. You stand differently. You smile differently. You argue. You laugh. You don’t apologize every time you speak,” tears gathered in her eyes, “Do you know how impossible that would’ve been six years ago? Hazel gave that to you.”

Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.

“I need to know,” I whispered, my voice beginning to shake. “I need to know if everything he put me through was leading somewhere. Because if it wasn’t…” I swallowed hard. “Then all that pain was for nothing.”

I looked down at my hands.

“I love him so much it scares me.”

The confession came out so quietly I almost didn’t hear it myself.

“I don’t want people looking at us and thinking…” My throat tightened. “Raphael could’ve had anyone, and this is who he ended up with?’ I don’t want them whispering that he settled.”

My eyes burned.

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering if I’m just another weight on his shoulders. Another problem he has to solve. Another person he has to slow down for.”