My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 508

Chapter 508

Gianna loves me, the thought should’ve felt victorious instead it felt strangely hollow.

Because what exactly was I supposed to do with that information?

Nothing.

Absolutely fucking nothing.

A few days ago I would’ve spent hours trying to calculate possibilities, variables, outcomes. Now… her mother was dying.

Everything else had become insignificant.

Including me.

Especially me.

I slowly removed my glasses and rubbed a hand across my face.

The image of her standing there crying while talking about Hazel refused to leave my head. It kept replaying over and over like corrupted code stuck in a loop.

I swallowed hard.

The truth was simple.

If Gianna needed me tomorrow, I would go.

If she needed me next week, I would go.

If she hated me for the next ten years and called me every name she could think of, I would still answer if she called, not because I was noble, not because I was selfless but because I couldn’t stop myself.

And right now she didn’t need somebody in love with her.

She needed a friend.

She needed somebody to protect her family.

She needed somebody to quietly remove threats before they ever reached her.

And that, at least, was something I knew how to do.

The bookshelf against the left wall had one hundred and thirty-two books. The plant beside the window needed water. The clock on the wall ran four seconds ahead.

I knew that because I had been coming here long enough to memorize everything, none of that information was useful.

I knew it anyway.

Doctor Walker sat across from me in the same chair he always used.

I sat in mine, hands folded, back straight, leg still. The session had been going for twelve minutes and twenty-one seconds.

“How is Gianna?”

My jaw tightened immediately, “Her mother is dying.”

Walker nodded slowly, “I know.”

I stared at the bookshelf, “The situation is progressing exactly as expected.”

“Expected by whom?”

“The doctors.”

“And how is Gianna handling it?”

Because I wanted something from her, something she could not currently give.

I looked at Walker, “Because it would be selfish.”

Walker tilted his head slightly, “That’s a strong word.”

“It is accurate.”

He tapped his pen once, “Explain.”

I exhaled slowly, “She has approximately one hundred immediate concerns. Her mother, her sister. School and Ballet.”

I looked down at my hands.

“If I tell her…” I stopped, “If I tell her, then she has to deal with that too. And she shouldn’t have to.”

Walker studied me, “You think she loves you.”

I nodded, “Yes.”

The answer came immediately.

Walker noticed, “And?”

I stared at the clock, “That changes nothing.”

“Why not?”

“Because timing matters.”

Walker nodded slightly, “Go on.”

I leaned back in my chair, “If somebody is drowning, you don’t hand them another object to carry.”