Page 43 of Sin and Deception

"Nerine," I said, my voice low and urgent. "We need your answer. Reveal everything. If those boys are truly ours, they will find them soon. And as we both know, they hold the key to striking at the Angelos family—a weapon our enemies would not hesitate to use against us."

“Why do you think I’ve kept them hidden?” she snapped, her eyes blazing with anger. “And what the hell doyou mean by ‘if the boys are truly ours’? Of course, they’re yours.”

“Nerine,” Theo said her name, soothing her in a way that contrasted with his usual tendency to ignite her anger. “We know they’re ours.”

It seemed as if I was the actor in that role as of late.

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling with the weight of her words. The tension in the room was palpable as Theo raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical. Nerine's voice quavered with anger and frustration as she spoke.

"I can assure you, they are under constant surveillance and protection," she said, her tone tight and controlled.

Theo scoffed, his jaw tightening.

"Like you were?" he asked, his sarcasm dripping with venom. “Solon didn’t do a great job of that. They couldn't even stop that damn book from being published, could they? It led us here. What makes you think..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Nerine exploded in anger. "Look, I get it, okay?" she shouted, her fists clenched at her sides. "That book is a disaster."

I glanced at her, surprised by the intensity of her outburst. I had assumed she had written the scandalous book that caused all this chaos, but apparently, I was mistaken. She looked just as upset about it as we were. I caught Theo's gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing.

"I can't help but wonder what your sisters and mother thought of the book," Theo said slyly, raising an eyebrow in contemplation. "Considering some parts were rather...scandalous. And that's saying a lot coming from a fucking sexual deviant like me."

Anger ignited in Nerine's eyes at his taunt.

"Yeah, I imagine they're all embarrassed," I agreed with a sigh. "Especially Fiona, at her age."

"Fiona!" Nerine practically growled her name with pure bitterness.

I waited a moment before speaking again, gently leaning toward Nerine.

"What's up with Fiona?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Fiona's the one who wrote the damn book!" Nerine cried out, her voice filled with rage and frustration. "I want to strangle her!"

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding..."

Theo let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

Nerine glared at us, shaking her head.

"Does this look like the face of someone who’s joking?" she asked, pointing at herself.

“Fiona genuinely believed that no one but herself would read it. How the heck it went viral is beyond me."

Even though the situation was serious, Theo and I couldn't help but laugh at Nerine's words. She looked at us as if we had completely lost our minds.

"What's so funny?" she asked incredulously.

"Can you believe this?" I said to Theo, still laughinguncontrollably. "She thought nobody would read it? That was some spicy stuff." I shook my head, chuckling.

"Do you remember that double penetration scene?" I asked, trying to catch my breath between fits of laughter.

"Oh my god, I can't believe Fiona wrote that!"

Once again, we broke into hysterical laughter, unable to control our amusement at the absurdity of it all.

"It's not funny," Nerine huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and scrunching her face into a pout. "She blew up our lives with this damn book! Why is that hilarious?"

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