a gentleman's mistress

XV. July 12th, 1989

Mira's POV:

I pace from one side of the room to the other. With the nails pinched between my lips, I stared at the book.

I can't believe I managed to steal it without any repercussions.

But is it stealing if Emmett doesn't know about the book?

The more concerned thought should be, what if he does know of the book?

I walked to the book and stared at the cover.

I kind of want to read it.

My eyes travel to the clock - 1:14 am.

Steadily, I reached for the book. "Please don't have some sort of magical spell attached to it." I don't know if spells exist, but the last thing I want is to be cursed.

I opened the first page, and when nothing happened, I grabbed it and started reading the book.

Although it wasn't a book, but a diary.

A juicy diary.

Before I knew it, it was daylight. I was on the bed with my eyes glued to the diary. When they knocked for breakfast, I ignored it. I also skipped lunch and ate the snack, which I hid inside the cabinet. Considering how they haven't broken the door down and arrested me, I assume Emmett does not know about the existence of the book.

And I have a plot armor.

When I finished the last page, I closed it. "Woah." Usually, it doesn't take me this long to read a book, but it took a while for my mind to understand the old English.

Long story short, Emmett isn't Asena's uncle but her father.

Asena's mother and Emmett aren't biological siblings. Asena's grandmother was pregnant with Asena's mother before marrying Emmett's father. Emmett is a child from his father's first marriage. The Celeste's family never knew Asena's grandmother wasn't pregnant before marrying into the house.

I held the diary to my chest and screamed with my mouth closed. For a few minutes on the bed, I flop like a fish to push out the rush.

Asena's mother was pregnant with Emmett's child before she ran away from the family.

Why?

It's because brother dearest got married to her best friend.

But, wait. Asena's mother knew Emmett is not her biological half-brother. But, does Emmett knows that?

"Ah, what a world!" I kicked my legs on the bed.

After the initial excitement blew over, I sighed, "Oh, Asena. You are the main character."

Now that I know Asena's family's dirty little secret, the real question is how I can give her a book that says her whole life is a lie.

I tap my nails against the book cover.

I tapped it for so long that I fell asleep.

Can you blame me?

I spend most mornings throwing up, then half the night in a dark forest and the other half reading a juicy story.

Maybe that last part is my fault.

And the first part.

The middle part is Asena's fault.

By the time I woke up, Dawn told me it was time to visit Asena.

"Did you even sleep last night?" Dawn asked me inside the car.

"Yeah."

Last night, I was stuck in a dream with the Archduke Lucianus.

It was my first seminar during my first year of college. I went with a few classmates I met in class. We had a guest speaker, and somehow, it was Lucianus.