My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 457

Chapter 457

My pulse picked up, the study doors came into view and Vincenzo pushed them open then immediately stopped. I nearly walked into his back.

Adriano was sprawled across Vincenzo’s chair like he paid the mortgage. His feet were resting on Vincenzo’s desk. His expensive black shoes planted directly on the wood.

Vincenzo’s eye twitched. Without saying a word, he walked around the desk. He grabbed both of Adriano’s ankles and shoved hard.

Adriano’s feet slammed off the desk, “Ow.”

“You have your own space.”

“I know.”

“Use it.”

Adriano stretched lazily, “No.”

Vincenzo looked like he was reconsidering murder. Adriano noticed immediately which only encouraged him.

“You know,” Adriano said thoughtfully, looking around, “I think I understand why your blood pressure is so high.

“My blood pressure isn’t high.”

“You organize paperclips by size.”

“Because that’s how organization works.”

Adriano pointed toward a perfectly aligned pen holder, “You adjusted that three millimeters while you were talking.”

“It was crooked.”

“It wasn’t.”

“It was.”

Adriano turned toward me, “See what I deal with?”

Vincenzo pinched the bridge of his nose, “I genuinely don’t understand how we came from the same parents.”

Adriano grinned, “Genetics are fascinating.”

“They failed.”

“They succeeded.”

Raphael quietly closed the study door behind us and Adriano leaned back in the chair.

Vincenzo gestured toward one of the chairs, “Sit down, Gianna.”

I sat immediately. Adriano glanced between all of us. His eyebrows slowly climbed, “Oh.”

Vincenzo moved around the desk and stopped beside my chair instead of sitting down. One hand rested against the edge of the desk while he looked down at me. I suddenly felt about twelve years old.

“Gianna.”

My shoulders immediately straightened, “Yeah?”

His voice softened slightly, “You’re not in trouble.”

I didn’t believe him, apparently my face said exactly that because a small smile touched his mouth.

“You look terrified. I’m not accusing you of anything but I need the truth.”

“Do I have to?”

Adriano leaned forward immediately, “Oh, absolutely.”

“Why are you here?” Raphael asked him.

“Entertainment,” Adriano answered.

“Information,” Vincenzo corrected.

“Entertainment,” Adriano repeated.

Vincenzo ignored him, “Who contacted who first?”

I stared at the ceiling, maybe if I pretended to die, this conversation would end.

“I texted him first.”

“Okay… why? There had to be a reason.”

I stared down at my hands, “There was.”

Vincenzo’s voice remained gentle, “What was it?”

And somehow that question felt a lot harder to answer than anything that had come before it. I swallowed and picked at the edge of my sleeve.

“Leone was my fiancé once,” I said softly. “Before that, he was my best friend. We grew up together. He was part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was promised to him the day I was born. He was there for sixteen years, “I continued, “And one day I just… missed him.”

I hated how small the words sounded out loud.

“It wasn’t anything more than that. I was thinking about the past and I reached out,” I shrugged weakly, “It was stupid.”