My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 637

Chapter 637

My heartbeat slowed, “I can

He sighed, “You can.”

“I don’t want to.”

His answer came so gently that somehow it hurt more, “I know you don’t but sometimes the hardest decisions are the ones we

make because they’re right, not because they make us happy.”

Something twisted painfully inside my chest.

Why was everyone asking me to let him go?

Did everyone see something I couldn’t? Or… was I the only person selfish enough to keep holding on?

I shook my head, “I love him. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love him. You think this is just some childish crush? It’s not.”

His eyes searched mine, “Love doesn’t erase reality.”

I frowned, “What reality?”

He rested both hands on his knees, “Raphael wasn’t raised to simply live. He was raised to carry. And that kind of life… doesn’t

allow weakness.”

Weakness.

I hated that word. I had spent my whole life trying to prove I wasn’t. Something inside me flinched.

He noticed, “I don’t mean weakness of character. I’ve never questioned your heart. You are kind. You love people who don’t deserve it. You would give away your last piece of bread if someone looked hungry. Those are beautiful qualities but not what this family needs.”

“You think I can’t handle his life,” I asked incredously, “I was raised in a house like this-”

“I know you better than you think I do, Gianna,” he cut me off, “I know about the self-harm.”

I froze.

He swallowed.

“But I will never stand in front of your mother’s grave knowing I stayed silent while I watched the daughter she trusted me with walk into a life I believe will destroy her.”

My hands slowly curled into fists. At first, I thought I was going to cry. Instead, something hot spread through my chest.

Anger.

Not at him but at fate, at whatever cruel force kept deciding what I was allowed to love.

I looked up, “You know what hurts the most? You all keep telling me what I’m not, you tell me I’m too weak, too slow but none of you ever ask Raphael what he wants. You’ve all decided for him and you call that protecting him.”

My breathing broke.

“But he keeps choosing me and if the man carrying the weight of your whole family still looks at me,” my voice became almost a whisper, “Why can’t any of you?”

He leaned forward, something harsh flashed into his eyes, “If Raphael came to me tomorrow and told me he wanted to walk into a burning building with no way out…” his eyes stayed locked on mine, “I’d try to stop him.”

I breathed out in disbelief, “That’s not the same.”