My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 474

Chapter 474

“Jules.”

“What?”

My little sister glared at Raphael and then looked back at me, “If she murdered somebody, I want details.”

Mom laughed softly and the sound pulled my attention toward her. She sat at the table with her tea in both hands, smiling at Jules with so much affection it made my chest ache.

“You watch too many crime shows, my darling,” mom laughed.

“They’re educational. They teach me things, right, Dante?” she turned to him with a wide grin.

Dante nodded proudly, “Absolutely, J-Bug.”

Then Mom looked at me, the smile on her face softened immediately, “Ginny. What is it?”

I looked down at my hands, then back at her and then down again.

Coward.

Just say it.

Mom furrowed her eyebrows in an affectionate way, “Whatever it is, sweetheart, you can tell me.”

My eyes moved around the table.

Claire.

Maddie.

Adriano.

Silvio.

Luca.

Dante.

Vincenzo.

Salvatore.

Then Raphael.

His gaze met mine immediately. Something inside my chest twisted painfully. Because after today…

Brother.

The word slammed into me again.

Brother.

I took a breath and somehow found enough courage to speak, “I’m moving out.”

Adriano muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “Well, there it is.”

But I couldn’t look at any of them. I was watching my mother, only my mother.

And the entire table went silent around us. The smile disappeared from mom’s face so quickly it startled me. 1 frowned, “Mom?”

Her eyes were locked on me, wide, almost frightened. The color drained from her face. The teacup in her hand trembled.

“Mom?”

His hand moved to her face, “Look at me.”

She wouldn’t, she couldn’t seem to. Her eyes stayed locked on me like she was trying to memorize every inch of my face like she was scared I would disappear if she blinked.

“She can’t leave, Salvatore, she can’t.”

I knelt beside her chair. My confusion was rapidly turning into fear, “Mom, what’s happening?”

She grabbed both my hands, “You stay. You stay here.”

“Mom-”

“You stay with… me.”

Absolutely none of it made sense. I looked around the table and nobody looked comfortable anymore.

Salvatore closed his eyes briefly as if he was fighting something, then he opened them again and immediately focused entirely on his wife. He reached up and brushed her hair away from her face, “You need to breathe.”

Mom’s eyes immediately filled with fresh tears, “She can’t leave.”

“I know.”

His thumb brushed beneath her eye, wiping away another tear before it could fall.

Something cold settled deep inside my stomach. I looked around the table, nobody looked surprised, nobody looked confused, nobody looked shocked and suddenly it felt like everyone knew something I didn’t.

I pulled my hands away from Mom’s gently, “Why? Why can’t I leave?”

Mom’s face crumpled.

My confusion immediately turned into frustration, I stood up, “This isn’t fair. I’ve done everything right. I listened to every word you say. I asked respectfully. I explained why. I’m not running away. I’m not disappearing.”