Page 7 of Sin and Deception

"Fiona!" I said with apprehension, knowing that whenever my youngest sister called, it was usually for some trouble. She was brilliant but also cunning, and I could never anticipate what she would say next.

"Nerine! You won’t believe what just happened!"

I could practically hear her bouncing with excitement on the other end. "I won’t? Then maybe you should tell me!"

"Okay, well..." she hesitated. "Before I share the details, I need you to promise not to get mad, okay?"

I furrowed my brow. "How can I promise that without knowing what you did?"

"Just promise!" she insisted urgently.

"Fine," I relented. "Is everyone okay, Fiona?"

"Yes, everyone is fine," she reassured me. "It's good news."

"Then why would I get mad?" I asked cautiously.

"Just listen; you'll see," she hushed me. "I wrote a book."

My jaw dropped. "A book? That's incredible! You've always loved writing."

"Well, that's the thing..." she said hesitantly. "You know how I'm always reading?"

"Yeah," I replied.

Fiona was an avid reader who became obsessed with the trending genres on social media, and romance topped her list.

"It's a dark mafia romance novel. It's titled Sin and Deception."

I blinked in disbelief and shook my head, uncertain if I had heard her correctly. "What kind of book?"

She laughed nervously. "They say to write what you know, right?"

"Dark romance? Mafia?" My stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"A dark romance involves power plays and possibly some bondage or something similar," she explained casually. "You know, dominating men who enjoy getting a little rough."

"Uh, okay, whatever," I replied, feeling increasingly uneasy.

Maybe I was overreacting. It was just fiction, right? But as she kept talking, my discomfort grew.

"Going back to writing what you know, what do you know about romance?" I asked pointedly. "Especially the type of relationship you described?"

"I know romance. I've dated. Maybe I don't have much experience, but I borrowed some plot points from others," she admitted sheepishly.

"From where?" I already felt a sinking sensation in my gut.

"From you," she confessed.

My heart skipped a beat. "You did what?"

"I only borrowed a few details," she reassured me. "And I'm telling you now because I don't quite know whathappened, but the book went viral. It's become an international sensation."

"Viral?" My heart raced with panic.

"Popular bloggers showcased it on the clock app or something, and sales have skyrocketed," she gushed with excitement. "It hasn't dropped out of the top 100 on popular platforms for the last two weeks, and it has thousands of reviews across all of them."

"You waited two weeks to tell me this?" My stomach churned with anxiety. "Fiona, how could you keep this from me?"

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