Page 61 of Deceit & Desire

I can’t help but feel that this is the beginning of something beautiful, something that could change my life… maybe forever.

But I can’t let anyone know about us, not yet. Not even Zoe. I need to keep this a secret, at least for now. I don’t want to risk losing him or causing any trouble for him at work. And God only knows how Michael would react if he knew. I know this is wrong, but I can’t help how Ifeel.

I just hope that one day, we can be together openly, withoutfearor hesitation.

Until then, I’ll cherish this moment and hold onto the hope that we’ll have many more like it.

Yours,

His,

Missy

The cheery tone of her words clashed with the undercurrent of manipulation and obsession woven into her thoughts. My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat as the image of sixteen-year-old Missy played in my mind, her bright blue eyes and confident smirk hiding something far darker than I’d ever realized.

The lipstick kiss pressed onto the page felt grotesque, a mocking echo of the girl I’d thought I’d known. My grip on the diary tightened, my knuckles whitening as I forced myself to read on,taking in a note stuck between the pages.

Missy,

Kissing you was the best mistake I’ve ever made, but it was still exactly that… a mistake. It can’t happen again, no matter how good it was, how much I want it to.

Stop creeping around the bunkhouse… please. You make it impossible for me to say no to you even though I know I should.

The hastily scribbled note stuck between the pages made my pulse spike. My chest tightened, the words sinking like lead in my stomach.

A mistake.

Whoever wrote this had known it was wrong, but they’d still let it happen. It was impossible not to wonder who this man was, how he’d gotten tangled in Missy’s web.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the storm of emotions swirling through me: anger at Missy’s recklessness, horror at what she’d done, and a creeping sense of pity that she’d been so lost in her own world that she couldn’t see how dangerous her choices had become.

When I opened my eyes, the next entry slammed into me like a punch to the gut.

Dear Diary,

I changed his mind when I told him he could take my v-card, and nobody would ever have to know. I told him it could be our little secret, and he folded like a house of cards.

I froze, the words stabbing into me like jagged glass. My stomach twisted violently, my breath coming in shallow gasps as I forced myself to keep reading.

Holy fucking shit, was he worth the wait, and worth giving up my v-card for, too. It was everything I ever dreamed fucking my older brother’s hot best friend would be like, and more.

“Jesus Christ,” I whispered, my voice hoarse as nausea surged up my throat. I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth, the raw, graphic description making my skin crawl. This wasn’t the girl I’d grown up with. This wasn’t the friend I’d shared secrets with or the person I’d fought with on that horrible day. This was someone I didn’t recognize, someone whose actions and desires were as foreign to me as a stranger’s.

The next lines made my blood run cold.

He doesn’t know it yet, but one day… he’s gonna marry me. Michael might be mad about it at first, but eventually he’ll suck it up and get over it. I just have to wait until I’m 18 and it’s legal for us to be together, then find a way to convince Cody that we can take our relationship public.

I’ll do whatever I have to… use whoever I have to… hurt whoever I have to… I’m going to make this happen. I’m in love with him, I’ve been in love with him for years, and I think he’s starting to love me too, even if he’s not ready to admit it out loud.

He keeps saying he doesn’t want to hurt Michael, doesn’t want to damage their friendship by being in an actual relationship with me that people are aware of when we can keep having fun just like we are and keep this secret all to ourselves.

My hands shook so violently the pages blurred in front of me. This wasn’t love—it was obsession. A calculated, relentless pursuit of a man who clearly didn’t want anything more than a secret fling with her. My heart twisted painfully, the truth dawning on me with a clarity that made my breath hitch.

Missy wasn’t just reckless—she was dangerous… but so was her killer.

I gripped the diary tighter, my nails biting into the worn cover. She’d been willing to hurt anyone who stood in her way, anyone who threatened her fantasy. Was that why she’d kissed Roman in front of me? To use him? To push Cody into action?

When I finally read her closing line, a cold wave of dread washed over me.

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