My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 585

Chapter 585

Gianna laughed, suddenly shy beneath all the attention, “It wasn’t perfect.”

“Oh, listen to Miss Perfection.”

Denise pointed toward the chrome pole standing near the corner of the room, “What about that?”

Gianna followed her finger, “The pole?”

Tasha nodded, “You think you can climb it?”

Gianna looked at it for a moment before shrugging, “I don’t know.”

“Only one way to find out,” Denise added.

The girls stepped back, clearing a space around it. Gianna walked over slowly, studying it the way she would have studied a new piece of equipment in a ballet studio.

She wrapped one hand around the cool metal, then the other. Without thinking too much about it, she pushed off the floor, her body lifted smoothly.

A small gasp rippled through the room.

Her core tightened instinctively as she lifted herself higher. One leg hooked around the pole while the other stretched outward, toes perfectly pointed. Every movement came from years of ballet training, balance, control, and careful lines.

She spun once, gracefully and then again and again, her hair flying behind her. The crystals on her costume scattered little flashes of light around the room.

Morgan’s mouth fell open, “Okay…”

Emma blinked, “…That was unfair. I think ballet cheated.”

Gianna laughed as she slid back to the floor.

“No,” Jasmine said, shaking her head, “Ballet prepared her.”

The girls surrounded her again, talking over one another until Denise finally laughed, “Alright. Give the poor girl a chance to breathe,” Denise held out both arms, “Come here, sweetheart.”

Gianna smiled and wandered over.

Without hesitation, Denise guided her down until she was sitting sideways on her lap. She gently brushed a loose curl away from Gianna’s face before gently adjusting the tiny patch of cloth covering Gianna’s breast, pulling the fabric straight so it sat perfectly, “There.”

Gianna smiled, “Thank you.”

Denise looked at her for a long moment, “You’ve become part of this house.”

Gianna’s expression softened, “It feels like home.”

Denise nodded, “It could stay that way.”

Gianna blinked, “I’ve never really thought about that.”

“I figured,” Denise chuckled, “You’ve spent your whole life letting other people decide who you should be. Your father. That fiancé. Everyone.”

Gianna nodded slowly.

“There are many ways to build an independent life,” Denise continued, “Whatever path you choose, don’t let anyone convince you that your gifts should stay hidden because they’re afraid of them.”

She gently brushed a strand of hair behind Gianna’s ear.

“Here, the girls earn their own money. Nobody tells them when they can eat, where they can go, or what they can buy. They pay their own bills. They take care of each other.”

Gianna thought about those words, about never asking anyone for permission again, about earning enough to stand on her own, about finding her mother and, one day, bringing her somewhere safe.

Maybe…

Maybe there really was a future waiting for her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said quietly.

Denise smiled, “That’s all I’m asking,” then she nodded toward the pole with a playful grin, “In the meantime…” she pointed across the room, “Go see if you can make that piece of steel look elegant again.”

Gianna burst into laughter, “I think I can manage that.”