Alle Kapitel von Veiled Deception: Kapitel 31 – Kapitel 40

The house had gotten quieter while I was reading.Not the peaceful, comforting kind of quiet either—the kind that tucks you in and whispers go to sleep like a normal person.No.This was the suspicious kind.The kind that made every small movement feel like a crime. Pages turning too loudly. Chair creaking like it was about to expose me. My own breathing suddenly very… noticeable.Which made sense.It was late.Very late.The kind of late where responsible, well-adjusted people were asleep, dreaming about productivity and hydration.

I told myself I was going to sleep.That was the plan.Close the manuscript. Turn off the light. Pretend I had never just read three chapters of a dead woman describing Damien like he was some kind of attentive romantic hero.Very doable.Very responsible.I closed the manuscript.Then immediately opened it again.Because now I needed to know what happened next.And more importantly—What the hell went wrong?I turned the page.Katherine’s Manuscript — Chapter 4Marriage settled around us faster than I expected.Not dramatically.Just quietly.The way habits form.I learned Damien preferred his coffee black.He learned I had a terrible habit of reading while walking.“You’re going to walk into something eventually,” he warned one afternoon as I wandered into the sitting room with a book open in front of my face.“I’ve managed so far.”“That’s because I keep moving the furniture.”I lowered the book.“You do not.”Damien leaned back in his chair.“I absolutely do.”I stared at him for

I told myself I should sleep.That was a very reasonable thought considering it was well past midnight and I had already read more of Katherine’s autobiography than any sane person probably should.But the problem with stories—especially unfinished ones—is that they refuse to leave your brain alone.I stared at the manuscript sitting on the desk.Then at the door.Then back at the manuscript.Somewhere in this house Damien was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that his entire romantic history was currently being reviewed by the woman he had practically kidnapped into marriage.The thought made me snort quietly.“Your life choices are questionable, Hailey.”Still.My hand reached for the pages again.Because if Katherine’s story explained anything about the man I was living with, I wanted to know.I flipped to the next chapter.Katherine’s Manuscript — Chapter 6There is a moment in every marriage where the quiet routine suddenly changes.Sometimes it is something small.A disagr

I was just about to turn the page when I heard it.A sound.Soft.But too deliberate to be nothing.I paused, my finger still resting on the edge of the paper.The room was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of silence that makes even your own breathing sound suspicious.Then it came again.A creak.Not inside my room.Outside.In the hallway.I slowly lowered the manuscript.“…okay.”That wasn’t normal.The house had been silent for the past hour. Completely still. Like everything had gone to sleep—including the walls.Which meant one of two things.Either Damien was awake.Or someone else was walking around his house.Neither option made me feel better.I closed the manuscript carefully, sliding the pages together and placing them back into the drawer beside the bed. My movements were slower than usual, like making too much noise might somehow make things wo

I didn’t sleep.Not properly.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photographs.Two girls.Same smile.Same face.Frozen in frames like nothing had ever gone wrong.By the time morning came, I had already decided one thing.I wasn’t asking Damien about them again.Not directly.Because last night told me everything I needed to know.He wouldn’t answer.At least not in a way that made anything clearer.So if I wanted answers—I’d have to find them somewhere else.I was halfway through getting dressed when there was a knock on my door.Soft.Precise.“Come in,” I called.The door opened, and Damien stepped inside like he already owned the room.Which, technically—He did.His gaze moved over me briefly, taking in the half-finished state of my outfit.“You’re up early.”“I didn’t sleep.”“I noticed.”That