My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 274

Chapter 274

But Claire was faster. She snatched the phone right out of his hand and beamed at the screen, “Alessia, darling! Don’t worry, our little robot has actually found a spark of humanity. He’s bringing a date to my gallery opening, A girl named Kylie from his college.”

The silence on the other end lasted for exactly one second before Alessia let out a gasp, “Really? A girl with a pulse? Tell me everything!”

“She’s… not a date. She’s just a plus-one,” Raphael snapped.

He slumped onto the sofa directly opposite me and Dante.

I felt a sudden, sharp pinch in my chest that had nothing to do with the conversation. A date. Or a plus-one. It didn’t matter what he called it. The thought of Raphael, his date and what he did to me in the office just this morning made my stomach turn into a cold knot.

Raphael’s eyes dropping to where Dante’s arm was draped heavily over my shoulders. His expression shifted instantly. The exhaustion from the phone call vanished, replaced by a stillness. He stared at the way Dante was grinning at me.

He didn’t look at Claire or the phone anymore. He just sat there, staring at us like an idiot in front of his entire family.

“Is she religious? Does she want a large family? Raphael, answer me!” Alessia’s voice was buzzing from the phone Claire was still waving around.

“Her name is Kylie Smith, and she probably wants a private island and a tax haven,” Silvio chimed in, leaning back with a grin that was pure evil.

Maddie leaned forward, “You know, Raphael, it’s not just women who have to worry about time. Men have biological clocks, too. You don’t want to be the grandfather at your own son’s football game, do you?”

“Exactly!” Claire added, pointing at him. “Right. In ten years, if you’re still alone in that lab, you’re just the weird uncle who talks to his toaster.”

Raphael snatched his phone back from Claire with a movement so fast it made her blink, “Aunt Alessia, listen to me very carefully. You and Rino are literally bringing a new life into this world while you’re in your forties. You are currently the poster children for ‘plenty of time.’ If you two can manage a nursery, I’m fairly certain my sperm isn’t going to expire by next Tuesday.”

Silvio let out a choked, wet sound as his drink went down the wrong pipe, and Maddie looked a little stunned by the bluntness.

I tilted my head, “And why on earth would I do that, Dante? What’s in it for me besides a death threat?”

“Because,” Dante said, his eyes darkening with a wicked intent, “I need to make someone’s life miserable. I need to make her jealous.”

Raphael shifted, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the edge of his phone, “You’re going to use your own stepsister to make your ex-girlfriend jealous?” he asked, “That’s a new low, even for you.”

“She doesn’t know she’s my stepsister, does she?” Dante countered, leaning closer to me, ignoring the frost emanating from the opposite couch, “She just sees a gorgeous girl on my arm.”

Silvio shook his head, looking at me with a mix of pity and amusement, “You don’t want any part of this, G. His girlfriend is married. It’s a messy, trashy soap opera that ends in a public scandal.”

Dante waved a dismissive hand, “I’m not trying to win her back. I just want her to think I’m thriving without her. It’s about the optics, Silvio.”

I looked up at Dante, my eyes dancing with amusement. “Are you, though? thriving?”