Page 4 of A Smile Full of Lies (Secrets of Stonewood #1)

Chapter

Three

ROS

Much later that night, I sat alone on the couch with my laptop, the only light in the room coming from the soft glow of the screen.

My fingers hovered over the trackpad, my pulse throbbing at my throat and temples as I opened the private browser I only ever used when I couldn’t sleep.

The kind that didn’t remember passwords and didn’t leave a history behind.

I pulled up a forum I’d stumbled across a few months ago — one of those off-the-beaten-path spaces where anonymity still meant something.

It wasn’t flashy. Just text on a dark background.

Threads layered in endless replies. Users hidden behind throwaway names and profile blanks.

No photos, no location tags, no social ties.

Just random usernames and confessions. They were all raw, unfiltered, and often unsettlingly honest. It felt private in a way bigger platforms didn’t, like whispering secrets in a crowded room where no one could see your face.

I hesitated for a long moment, my thumb brushing the edge of the trackpad.

I’d made a throwaway account weeks ago under a burner email, but I’d never posted.

Mostly, I just lurked and read what other people posted.

Watching strangers crack open their darkest thoughts and spill them into the void like blood into water was strangely alluring.

My fingers moved before I could second-guess myself, logging in under the name GraveyardGirl93 .

My profile was blank. No bio. No post history. Just a username I picked half as a joke and half because I was spiraling that night and didn’t care if it sounded cringe.

A thread title near the top of the page snagged my attention:

[Serious] What’s a fantasy you’d never say out loud?

There were thousands of comments already.

Its thumbs-up numbers were still climbing.

The top replies were bold, broken, some barely coherent.

People talking about being used, owned, watched, and more.

Some of it would definitely be classified as sick by polite society, especially in a small town like Stonewood, Alabama.

I stared at the cursor blinking in the reply box for a long time, my stomach twisting.

Even anonymously, saying what I was thinking after Knox’s visit this afternoon felt like a line I shouldn’t cross. Some part of me felt like saying it — posting it — would drag something out of me I wasn’t sure I could ever put back into Pandora’s Box.

But it was all anonymous. It wasn’t like anyone would know it was me.

I wasn’t signed in under my real name. My VPN was on. There was no profile picture and there were no identifying details in my bio. Even if someone replied, it wasn’t like they could ever find me.

My breath came fast and shallow as I typed, the keys loud in the quiet room.

GraveyardGirl93: I think I want to be chased.

I hit post before I could stop myself. My heart immediately lodged in my throat.

It sat there for maybe thirty seconds — long enough for me to regret everything — before someone DMed me in response to what I’d posted.

StrayDog777

How would you want to be caught?

A hot shiver rolled down my spine. My thighs pressed together, but it didn’t stop the ache blooming low and deep inside me. My hands trembled as I typed my response, tension burning beneath my skin.

GraveyardGirl93

I want to be pinned down and overpowered. Caught in the dark with his breath in my ear, his hands tight on my wrists, and his teeth on my throat. I can almost feel his body pressing me into the ground while I struggle, even though we both know I don’t really want to get away.

My chest heaved. My fingers hovered over the keys, shaking as adrenaline flooded my system.

StrayDog777

And then?

GraveyardGirl93

He’d make me beg, drag it out until I’m a mindless wreck. I want him to use his strength to hold me down and force me to take it — every inch of him — until I’m broken and begging for more.

My thighs clenched. My breath hitched.

StrayDog777

Who is he? Someone you know? Or a stranger?

My heart slammed against my ribs. My fingers curled against the keys, and I chewed on my bottom lip as I replied.

GraveyardGirl93

I don’t know… but I think he has blue eyes.

I stared at the screen for what felt like forever, stunned by the admission I’d just made. Heat suffused my chest, then crawled up my neck and flamed in my cheeks. I slammed the laptop shut, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

Knox’s eyes flashed through my mind — that perfect, piercing blue that never stopped seeing me, even when I wished he would. My mouth went dry.

I shouldn’t want him like this.

What the hell was wrong with me? I knew it was fucked up, but I couldn’t stop craving it.

I didn’t know what scared me more, the thought of being caught, or the part of me that wanted to be.