My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 425

Chapter 425

“Why not?” he asked, his eyes tracking the way my lower lip trembled.

“Because…” I swallowed hard, “Because it’s not. It’s over, Raphael. We literally just said it was completely over.”

“I don’t care what we just said,” he rasped, his voice dropping an octave.

He looked like an animal that was watching its prey try to climb out of its cage, his large hand gripping the top of the steering wheel so hard that it groaned under his power.

“You want to end it? Fine. You want me to ignore you for the rest of my life? Fine. You want to pretend I don’t exist after next month? I will let you walk out of this garage and I will never touch you again. But you have to kiss me first,” he said but it sounded more like a threat, “You put your lips on mine. You finish this. Do that, and you can walk away.”

“Raphael… no,” I whispered, my voice shaking so badly the words were barely a breath in the air, “.I… I can’t do that.”

I forced myself to stand tall, gathering every single ounce of courage I had left inside my chest to put an end to this right now. I wasn’t going to let him pull me back under. I needed to walk away, I needed to protect my heart, and I needed to finally move past him for good.

I couldn’t look at him for another second. The way his dark eyes were burning into mine, demanding that kiss. It was a trap, and I knew if I leaned back into that car, if I let his lips touch mine just one last time, my heart would completely shatter into pieces. I would never be able to walk away.

I needed to protect myself.

With every single bit of strength I had left in my shaking body, I gripped the edge of the car door and slammed it shut, cutting off the view of his face.

I turned around instantly, my bare feet slapping against the floor. I kept my eyes glued to the wooden door at the far end of the garage, the door that led into the hallways of the main estate.

I had only taken five fast steps when a loud sound echoed through the hollow space behind me.

My fingers finally hit the cold metal of the door handle. I twisted it down with a desperate yank and threw my weight forward, bursting through the frame and into the main house. The warm air of the estate hit my face, but it didn’t do anything to calm the wild fire of panic burning in my chest.

1 didn’t stop to shut the door behind me. I just ran.

My bare feet made soft, frantic slapping sounds against the smooth marble floors of the hallway. Ahead of me, the massive, curved grand staircase rose up into the second floor. Safety was up there. My bedroom was up there. If I could just reach the steps, I could lock myself away from him.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, my hand flying out to grab the thick wooden banister. I planted my bare foo onto the very first step, ready to sprint upward.

I never made it to the second one.

A hand shot out from behind me and wrapped around my upper arm. The grip was so tight it instantly pinched my skin. Before a single cry could even leave my throat, Raphael used his strength to yank me backward. He spun my entire body around so fast the room blurred.