My Alpha Stepbrother's Dirty Secret novel Chapter 188

CHAPTER 79

ANNA’S POV

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the bright hospital lights as I tried to figure out where I was. My head felt heavy, my body sore all over, and when my vision cleared, I saw Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa all gathered around me. And then…

“Big bro… you came back!” I breathed out, my voice shaky but full of happiness, because I hadn’t seen him in so many years, not since the day he left for school.

The last memory I could piece together was Mom trying to call him with the big news that I’d been admitted into his school, her voice full of excitement while I could barely stay still from how happy I was. But his calls hadn’t gone through, and I had thought maybe he was just too busy with the company in Nivelle that Mom said he was running now. And yet, here he was, right here, holding my hand so tenderly, almost too intimately.

“Huh?” Ryan’s eyes widened at my words, shock flashing across his face as if he hadn’t expected me to call him that. His hand was still wrapped around mine, warm and steady, but my heart skipped uncomfortably and I quickly pulled away, glancing around to be sure Mom and Dad hadn’t noticed. When I looked back at him, his eyes were still on me, strange, intense, far too heavy for the way a brother should be looking at his sister.

I tried to sit up, but the sharp pain that shot through my body made me cry out, “Ouch!” My hand instinctively reached up to my head, and that’s when I felt the bandage wrapped tightly around it. I froze, realizing not only was my head bandaged but my whole body ached terribly, like I had been hit by something hard.

“What happened to me?” I asked weakly, still trying to process why I was in a hospital bed.

“Baby…” Ryan’s voice was soft but strange, sending shivers down my spine. Baby? Since when did he start calling me that? The last time I remembered, before he left for school, he always called me Anna. Just Anna. Nothing more. And wasn’t he supposed to have just returned? When had we gotten so close that he suddenly used endearments like baby?

I frowned, feeling conscious under his gaze, but before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed the back of my hand. My eyes widened in shock as I pulled my hand away immediately.

“Ryan, what are you doing?” I whispered, panicked, though I was more confused than angry. Was he… confused? Had he misunderstood something?

Then it hit me, the confession! The kiss! That one mistake I made before he left for school five years ago. I had confessed to him about my feelings, and in my excitement, I had kissed him. It had been wrong, forbidden, something I thought he’d never take seriously, but what if he had taken it as a go–ahead all this time? What if he thought that was what I wanted? But… We hadn’t even spoken about it, hadn’t even addressed what happened, and here he was, acting like we were something more.

“My princess, how are you feeling?” Mom asked, her tone filled with concern.

“Mom…” I whispered, turning to her for some sort of explanation.

“Are you in pain?” Dad added, his voice gentle but worried.

Grandma and Grandpa leaned closer, their faces etched with deep concern. “Do you feel weak, Anna? Do you want water? Tell us what you need,” Grandma said quickly.

I blinked at them, my chest tightening. They all looked so worried, but I didn’t understand why. I tried to push myself up again, but the pain was too much, and I let out another sharp cry, clutching at my side.

“What happened to me? Why is there bandages all over my body?” I asked, my voice shaking.

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