The Vows We Fake
'"Tell me what you want, Amara,” Zane said, voice like silk over fire. His lips were a whisper from mine. I could feel the tension in his body. The restraint. The raw, maddening awareness. He dragged a finger down my cheek. “To be touched? Or to be remembered?”
I stared at him. “Neither. I just want you gone.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said, leaning in just a fraction closer.
“I do,” I lied.
His breath fanned my lips. His nose grazed mine. I felt every inch of my body coil, traitorous and trembling. I wanted him to kiss me. But it would be wrong. He was engaged to someone else.'
***
He is the bridegroom. She is the wedding planner. He doesn’t seem to remember her. Or so he says.
Five years ago, wedding planner Amara Ibe was madly in love with her fiancé, Zane Blackwood. Until she exposed a massive corruption scandal that was tied to Zane’s father’s company, to which Zane was the primary heir. Her whistleblower tip destroyed Zane’s career, or so she thought.
Now Zane is back, bigger and better than ever, and about to marry someone else in the wedding of the century. The catch? Amara has been hired to plan the wedding. And Zane doesn’t seem to remember her.
Behind the luxury wedding, perfect vows and Zane’s strangely elusive fiancée, nothing is what it seems. Everyone has secrets, and Amara gradually realizes that everything the couple sells out to the public is a lie.
And loving this man could destroy her… again.
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Chapter: Chapter 148: TrustZane’s hand was warm against my ankle, his thumb tracing slow, soothing circles over my skin as he massaged my foot like it was something fragile and priceless. I leaned back into the couch, undone by the simple act of being cared for. No billionaire arrogance nor brutal edge. Just him, kneeling in front of me, rolling up the hem of my leggings and working at the tight knots in my arches with quiet concentration. “Zane,” I whispered, half-embarrassed, half-dizzy from the tenderness of it, “you don’t have to do that.” He looked up, his smirk soft instead of sharp. “Yes, I do. You’re carrying my child. The least I can do is spoil you a little.” The word child still jolted me every time. It was like electricity under my skin, too big, too dangerous. But on his lips, it felt like home. I watched him, the way his dark lashes cast shadows against his cheekbones, the way his hair fell into his eyes as he bent over my foot. This wasn’t the same man who once left me bleeding with questions
Last Updated: 2025-10-31
Chapter: Chapter 147: The Suspect ListZane and I sat in the dim quiet of his study, the glow from the city seeping in through the tall windows. He had his sleeves rolled up, his tie abandoned on the desk, his jaw tight with that sharp, calculating look he wore when things were spiraling out of control. But I wasn’t calm like him. I was restless, pacing the room, my arms folded over my chest, my thoughts clawing at every corner of my mind. “There has to be someone,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “Someone inside. Someone feeding information. Maybe one of the staff.” Zane’s gaze snapped to mine. He leaned back in the chair, his hand curling into a fist on the desk. “No,” he said flatly. “I trust my staff.” I stopped pacing. “Zane, come on. No one is above suspicion. Not when pictures of me inside your penthouse are showing up online. Someone had access. Someone who comes and goes…” “Amara,” he cut me off, his voice firm, brooking no argument. “They’ve been with me for years. I handpicked every single one of t
Last Updated: 2025-10-29
Chapter: Chapter 146: The InsiderThe glow of the phone screen felt like a knife against my eyes. My thumb scrolled without permission, the feed unfolding in slow, brutal clarity. It wasn’t pictures of me. Not directly. But the dread that settled in my chest was heavier than if it had been. The photos were of the doctor, taken as he walked out of Zane’s building, briefcase in one hand, expression calm and unsuspecting. The angles were crisp, too professional to be a casual passerby’s snap. They followed him from the elevator bank, through the lobby, to the waiting car outside. And then, like vultures circling a carcass, the press had pounced. “Who is this mystery man leaving Blackwood Tower?” “Sources confirm he’s not a lawyer or business partner but a physician.” “Exclusive: identified as Dr. Leonard Alcott, renowned gynecologist.” The word blared at me, searing itself into my skull. Gynecologist. And then came the speculations, each headline more savage than the last: “Is Sera hiding a secret pregnancy compl
Last Updated: 2025-10-24
Chapter: Chapter 145: A VerdictThe doctor’s words fell over me like a verdict. “Ms. Ibe,” he said gently, though his tone held no room for argument, “you need to rest. Not just the occasional nap or lying down when you’re dizzy. I mean strict bed rest. Do you understand?” His hand was warm against my wrist as he checked my pulse, the cuff of the blood pressure monitor still squeezing faintly around my arm. My heart thudded too quickly, too loud, as if it were trying to escape the cage of my chest. I hated how small I felt sitting there in Zane’s oversized T-shirt, my hair tangled from sleep and nausea churning like sea waves in my stomach. I hated feeling weak, fragile. I wasn’t supposed to be this woman, not after everything I had endured. But my body had betrayed me, and now even the doctor looked at me as if I might break apart in front of him. “No stress,” he continued firmly, adjusting his glasses. “No unnecessary worries. And above all, no overexertion. Stress is not just unhelpful. It is dangerous for bo
Last Updated: 2025-10-19
Chapter: Chapter 144: The CounterstrikeThe phone hadn’t stopped ringing all morning. I sat curled up on the sofa, a blanket tight around me, listening to Zane’s voice rise and fall as he paced the length of the penthouse, his phone pressed to his ear. His tie was loose, his hair a mess, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might crack. And then I heard Catherine hrieking so loud I heard it even though he wasn’t on speaker. “You ungrateful bastard!” she was screaming. “You dare destroy me like this? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to the family name?” Zane pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes flashing. “What I’ve done? Catherine, you’re the one parading lies in front of the world. Don’t you dare talk to me about family names when you sold yours for power decades ago.” I flinched at the venom in her tone, a sound like nails clawing glass. “You think this little stunt will make you king? You’ve embarrassed us. You’ve embarrassed me. You’ve ruined any chance for the Blackwood legacy to continue without shame. And
Last Updated: 2025-10-18
Chapter: Chapter 143: The Empire BurnsThe email sat open in front of me, glowing like a live bomb. I’d read it once, twice, three times, the words searing themselves into my brain until I almost couldn’t breathe. DNA paternity results: Subject A (infant) is 99.98% match with Subject B (Julian Moreau). No genetic match with Subject C (Zane Blackwood). I let out an ugly, strangled laugh. As if I hadn’t already known. As if I hadn’t suspected all along. Sera’s secrets had always dripped with the sour scent of desperation. She’d clung to Zane like a drowning woman, but her nights were spent tangled up with Julian. I had seen the hunger in her eyes when Julian’s name came up, the subtle curl of her mouth. Still, the cold certainty of proof sank into my bones like ice water. This was it. No more speculation. No more rumors. This baby, Catherine’s golden heir, the child the press was already painting as the future of Blackwood bloodlines… wasn’t Zane’s. It was Julian’s. I shut the laptop with a snap and pressed my palms to
Last Updated: 2025-10-16
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