My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 419

Chapter 419

The silence behind me stretched for one painful second too long.

Then, softer this time, “What happened?”

I almost laughed at the question.

What happened?

Everything.

That was the problem.

I shook my head quickly before he could see my face properly again.

“Nothing happened.”

I pressed my lips together harder. His footsteps came closer again, slower this time like he was trying not to scare

“Gianna.”

There was something careful in his voice now. That almost made it worse. Because this was exactly how it always happened with him.

Cold one second.

Gentle the next.

Enough softness to keep me attached.

Enough distance to keep me hurting.

I swallowed hard and kept staring straight ahead.

Then, “You were crying.”

Embarrassment hit me instantly.

I rubbed angrily at my face again even though I knew it was pointless now, “I’m tired.”

“That’s not why you were crying.”

I closed my eyes for one second.

God, why did he always notice things like that?

I took a slow breath before finally turning around to face him, Raphael stood only a few feet away now. Damp hair still messy from the shower. His expression tight in that way it always became when he was trying to understand something emotional and failing at it.

“I’m okay,” I said quietly.

Raphael frowned immediately, “No, you’re not. Is it about what Vincenzo said—”

Something sharp twisted inside my chest at how fast he answered. I looked away from him before my face betrayed me again.

“You should focus on your work,” I muttered softly. “That Whitmore or whatever.”

“Gianna.”

“I mean it.”

I could feel him still watching me. Trying to solve me the same way he solved computer systems and security problems but feelings did not work like that.

People did not work like that.

And suddenly I felt so tired of standing here hoping he would eventually understand something he already admitted he could not feel.

The control room suddenly felt suffocating now. Too many monitors. Too many memories from tonight. Too much blood still burned into my brain.

Raphael watched me carefully for another second before speaking softer this time, “Okay.”

That was it. There was no argument. There was no pressure. He reached for his phone instead and dialed someone immediately. His voice turned colder the second the call connected.

“Bring my car around the back exit.”

A pause.

“No. The rear gate.”

Another pause.

“And clear the route before I leave.”

Then he hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. The room went quiet again after that.

I stayed standing near the monitors while Raphael leaned back lightly against the desk across from me. His eyes stayed on my face the entire time like he was still trying to figure out what exactly had broken inside me tonight.

The worst part was that I did not even fully know myself.

Raphael rubbed one hand slowly across the back of his neck before speaking again, “There’s something I need to say too.”

My stomach tightened immediately. I looked up at him carefully.

“But you go first,” he said.

I hesitated instantly because now that the moment was actually here, I suddenly did not know how to say any of it out loud.

How was I supposed to explain this mess inside my head without sounding pathetic?