What We Pretended To Be
Maria Walker has spent her entire life under the weight of expectations in a world where reputation trumps happiness. As the daughter of the respected Walker family, every choice—including her relationship with kind, loyal Noah Bennett—is judged by high society, who see him as far beneath her standing.
Daniel Rothfield faces a different pressure. The powerful, emotionally guarded CEO of Rothfield Holdings has avoided relationships since a devastating breakup left him unwilling to risk love again. Yet his parents and business partners insist a man of his status needs to project stability—and a serious relationship is the perfect image.
When Maria and Daniel unexpectedly arrive together at a prestigious charity auction, a fleeting moment ignites rampant speculation. Within hours, social media explodes with rumors that the billionaire CEO and the Walker heiress are secretly dating.
Rather than deny it, Daniel proposes a solution: pretend the rumors are true.
A fake relationship solves both dilemmas. Maria’s parents would stop pressuring her about Noah, while Daniel’s family and associates would see him finally settling down. It’s meant to be simple, temporary, and strictly controlled.
Rules are set:
No real feelings.
No crossing boundaries.
No forgetting it’s just an act.
But pretending to be in love proves far more complicated than planned.
As they appear together at events, family gatherings, and public functions, undeniable chemistry emerges—shifting from performance to something dangerously authentic.
Meanwhile, Noah grapples with quiet jealousy fueled by headlines and photos, Daniel’s past resurfaces to threaten the facade, and their carefully built lie begins to crumble.
In a society that measures love by status and appearances, Maria and Daniel face an undeniable truth: the relationship they pretended to have may be the most real thing either of them has ever felt.
قراءة
Chapter: EpilogueMaria:Three months after our daughter, Amerie, was born, I finally understood why parents turned into those people who shoved baby pictures at strangers. It wasn’t even about showing her off. It was more like trying to keep up with her. Every day she looked a little different. Every day she figured something out. A new sound, a new expression, a new way of staring at the world like she was already forming opinions about it. It felt unfair, honestly. I had spent years building something steady, something predictable, and she came along and quietly rearranged everything without asking.Daniel took it further. Of course he did.I found him by the paddock, holding Amerie against his chest like she belonged there, like she had always belonged there. He was talking to her in that low, serious tone he used when he was pretending something was very important. She stared up at him like she understood every word.I stepped closer, folding my arms. “What are you two discussing?”He glanced at m
آخر تحديث: 2026-06-23
Chapter: Chapter 132Maria: I had reached the stage of pregnancy where everyone around me seemed to believe my body was now a community project. Victoria had called three times that week to ask if I was resting enough. My mother had called four times to make sure I was eating properly. Ada somehow managed to do both, often in the same conversation. At this point, I was convinced motherhood came with an invisible board of directors. Most evenings, I ended up in the reading nook beside the window without really deciding to. Daniel had built it overlooking the farm, and somewhere along the way it had become my favorite place in the house. From there, I could see the property stretching into the distance, the steady progress on the animal shelter, and the life that seemed to be growing around me faster than I could keep up with. A stack of books sat beside my chair. Shelter blueprints were tucked underneath them. Construction photos were scattered across the table. Outside, workers moved between partiall
آخر تحديث: 2026-06-19
Chapter: Chapter 131Maria:The first thing that surprised me was how unimpressive the land looked.After months of sketches, meetings, spreadsheets, permits, contractor discussions, fundraising plans, and enough paperwork to make me question every life choice that had led me there, I had expected something more dramatic. There was a visible sign that all those late nights and endless revisions had transformed an idea into reality.Instead, reality looked suspiciously ordinary.Several acres of dirt stretched beneath a clear morning sky. A temporary site office sat near the entrance. Survey stakes dotted the ground. Construction equipment waited in neat rows. Three men were already arguing over measurements with the intensity of people negotiating a peace treaty rather than discussing concrete details.I stood beside Daniel at the edge of the property and took it all in.“Well.”Daniel glanced at me. “Well?”“I think I expected it to look more impressive.”“It will.”I laughed because that answer was pure
آخر تحديث: 2026-06-01
Chapter: Chapter 130: Lily And MarcusLily:The worst thing about hope is how sneaky it is. You can spend months shoving it into a corner, convincing yourself you’ve made peace with reality, and then it strolls back in like it owns the place.I’d spent three months preparing for every possible version of Marcus’s answer.If he wanted friendship, I could do friendship.If he needed distance, I’d survive that too.If he decided there was nothing left between us, I’d figure out how to keep moving.None of those plans survived the moment he smiled at me across Maria’s picnic table.Three months of emotional self-improvement collapsed in an instant. It was honestly embarrassing.Around us, the picnic carried on at full volume. People laughed. Someone dropped a plate. Maria’s mother and Victoria had somehow launched into a serious discussion about baby names despite the fact that Maria had barely announced her pregnancy.Charles had appointed himself honorary grandfather before anyone could stop him.Daniel looked increasingly
آخر تحديث: 2026-05-31
Chapter: Chapter 129Maria: The housewarming picnic was Lily’s idea. Of course it was. Three days after Daniel and I moved into the farmhouse, she showed up at my clinic carrying a notebook, two iced coffees, and the determined look she got whenever she decided other people’s lives needed improving. I should have known I was doomed the second she opened the notebook. By the end of lunch, she’d planned an entire event. By the time the day arrived, the farm looked like it belonged in one of those expensive lifestyle magazines people left on coffee tables and never actually read. Long wooden tables sat beneath strings of lights, cream blankets were spread across the grass, fresh flowers appeared on every available surface, and someone had tied ribbons to the stable doors. Lily. There wasn’t even a mystery there. Nobody else would look at a horse stable and think, You know what this needs? Decorative ribbon. The afternoon sun washed everything in gold as guests started arriving down the driveway. I stayed
آخر تحديث: 2026-05-31
Chapter: Chapter 128Maria: The first thing I noticed was how exhausted I was. Not the usual kind of tired that came with moving into a new house, running a clinic, and planning a shelter. This felt different. It sat deep in me, stubborn and heavy, as my body had quietly decided it was done cooperating. At first, I ignored it. Then I blamed the move to the farm, then the unpacking, then Daniel. That last one wasn’t remotely fair, but I was running out of suspects. Three days after we moved into the farmhouse, I found myself standing in front of the refrigerator staring at a carton of eggs. The sight of them made my stomach twist, which was ridiculous because the day before, I’d wanted eggs badly enough to consider making them twice. I closed the refrigerator, opened it again, looked at the eggs, and closed it. “You’re losing an argument with breakfast.” I glanced over my shoulder. Daniel stood in the doorway with a mug of coffee in one hand, hair still damp from his shower, sleeves rolled neatly to hi
آخر تحديث: 2026-05-30
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival
Sports journalism student Iris Bennett’s life unravels when she catches her famous hockey-star boyfriend, Mason Hart, kissing another woman after a championship victory. A video capturing her reaction goes viral, turning her heartbreak into a nationwide spectacle.
After refusing to reconcile with Mason, Iris suddenly loses the scholarship that has funded her education for years. Convinced the decision is connected to Mason’s powerful father, she takes on multiple jobs to stay enrolled, including an internship with the rival university’s hockey media department.
Things become even more complicated when Mercer Athletics offers her a modeling contract. The company’s most recognizable ambassador is Dean Mercer, captain of the rival hockey team and heir to one of the most influential sports dynasties in the country.
As Iris and Dean are repeatedly thrown together through work and hockey-related commitments, a cautious friendship begins to form. Over time, that friendship grows into something deeper. While Iris fights to rebuild her reputation and uncover the truth behind her scholarship revocation, Dean struggles under mounting pressure from his father to embrace a future that no longer feels entirely his own.
When long-standing tensions between the Hart and Mercer families resurface, Iris and Dean find themselves caught in a battle fueled by money, influence, loyalty, and public image.
Together, they must decide whether love is worth the risk of standing up to the powerful people determined to shape their futures for them.
قراءة
Chapter: CHAPTER 70: The Mercer Way I woke before Dean without meaning to. The room had already begun its slow shift toward morning, light pressing through the curtains in a thin, washed strip that made everything feel briefly suspended, like the day was still deciding what it wanted from us. Dean lay beside me, one arm tucked under the pillow, the rest of him unguarded in a way I doubted many people ever saw. There was nothing performed in him here. No control, no awareness of being watched. Just sleep smoothing out every edge. I stayed still longer than I should have, caught between the comfort of it and the awareness of what waited outside the apartment. Sponsors, cameras, Arthur Mercer. It all felt like it belonged to a different life when he looked like this. His eyes opened before I could convince myself to move. "You've been staring," he said, voice rough with sleep but already amused. "I have not." "I can literally see you doing it." "I was thinking," I said, which only made his mouth curve further. "Tha
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-26
Chapter: Chapter 69: Familiar Ground By the end of the second day, the campaign had settled into that stretched-out exhaustion where no one quite stopped moving, but everything slowed just enough to feel it. Volunteers folded banners with stiff hands, students rushed to upload interviews before the light disappeared, and athletes lingered to sign one more stick, pose for one more photo. Melissa caught me just as I was slipping away, already holding tomorrow's schedule like she knew I wouldn't argue. I answered on autopilot, my attention drifting elsewhere. When she let me go, I almost turned toward the hockey station out of habit. I stopped myself. If I meant anything I'd been telling myself all day, I couldn't keep waiting for Dean to close the distance. That had been easy before. It had also been part of the problem. I headed for the parking lot instead. His SUV sat where he'd left it that morning. I leaned against the passenger door, trying to look like I belonged there instead of someone who'd shown up without
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-25
Chapter: Chapter 68: Finding Our Way Back I stood in front of my wardrobe longer than necessary, staring at two identical campaign polos as if one of them might offer better judgment than the other. It didn’t. They were the same shirt, same fabric, same logo, same everything. I grabbed the one on the left to end the pointless debate and got dressed, already aware that the real decision waiting for me had nothing to do with clothing. Mason’s voice had followed me home the night before and refused to leave. It lingered through my shower, through the quiet of my room, through the kind of sleep that never quite settles into rest. I didn’t believe what he said. That wasn’t the issue. The problem was that I had listened, really listened, and then walked away without giving Dean the same chance. After everything we had been through, that didn’t sit right. By the time I climbed onto the Mercer Athletics bus the next morning, I had already made up my mind. I was going to talk to Dean. Riverside Community Park looked less like a ch
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-24
Chapter: Chapter 67: Out Of Frame Melissa had kept her promise. The problem was she’d solved the wrong one. I stared at the updated campaign schedule while everyone else loaded equipment onto the buses. Instead of spending the next three days attached to Mercer Athletics and Easton’s media team, I’d been reassigned as Campaign Media Director. It sounded impressive, and judging by the amount of responsibility suddenly sitting on my shoulders, it probably was. I was no longer covering one university. I was overseeing media operations for the entire outreach campaign, coordinating student journalists, photographers and videographers from every participating school, making sure sponsors received the visibility they’d paid for and that nothing slipped through the cracks. Mercer Athletics would still represent Easton. Hart Athletics would represent Northbridge. Around them were half a dozen other universities with their own sponsors, athletes and media teams, all squeezed into the same three-day event. Since Northbridge
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-23
Chapter: Chapter 66: Three Days I had spent the better part of the morning pretending the campaign didn’t exist. Unfortunately, Mercer Athletics had other ideas. By ten o’clock, my room looked less like a dorm and more like a temporary equipment room. Hoodies were folded across my bed waiting to be packed, campaign folders had taken over my desk, and my phone refused to stay quiet for more than five minutes. One email wanted me to approve tomorrow’s launch captions. Another asked me to confirm I’d be available for interviews before the first outreach event. A third reminded me to bring my camera, as though I hadn’t built half my life around the thing already. I was wrestling the last folder into my overstuffed tote when Ava wandered in, helped herself to the kettle chips she’d clearly stolen from my cupboard, and looked around the room like she was taking in the aftermath of a natural disaster. “Your life is genuinely my favourite K-drama,” she announced. “Every season finale somehow becomes the pilot episode fo
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 65: The Things We Tell Ourselves The door had barely clicked shut before the apartment felt too quiet. I stood there longer than I should have, staring at the empty doorway as though Dean might suddenly come back and tell me we’d both overreacted. It was a pointless thought. Dean wasn’t impulsive. He didn’t walk away from conversations only to change his mind five minutes later. If he’d left, it was because he’d already made peace with the decision. Eventually I crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed. My textbooks were still scattered across my desk, a hoodie still hung off the back of my chair like it had claimed permanent residence there, and my favorite mug sat beside the tin of hot chocolate I’d been promising to wash for days. The room hadn’t changed at all. I had. We hadn’t fought. Nobody had shouted. Dean hadn’t questioned my honesty, and I hadn’t lied to keep him from leaving. He’d asked me for certainty, and I’d discovered, at the worst possible moment, that I didn’t have it. Maybe this really wa
آخر تحديث: 2026-07-21
Second Choice: Wife by contract
Solene Wilkins agreed to a marriage she never thought she’d feel, bound not by love but by obligation. Ethan Cole, heir to a vast family empire, married her to satisfy familial alliances, but his heart still belongs to the woman who once walked away—Celeste.
From the start, Solene knew she was stepping into a life shadowed by someone else’s love. Yet, despite knowing the truth, she falls for his quiet moments, his unguarded gestures, the man he shows her in fleeting glimpses. A husband who doesn’t yet realize that she is more than a placeholder.
When Celeste unexpectedly returns, Solene is forced to confront a reality she’s been silently surviving: Ethan is torn between the past and the present, and she might never be more than the wife he agreed to marry. But as cracks in their marriage deepen, and secrets and desires intertwine, Solene must decide whether she will fight for a love that might never fully be hers or protect her heart from being shattered all over again.
قراءة
Chapter: EpilogueSix months later:“Ethan, don’t touch that.”“I’m not touching it.”“You’re about to.”“I’m standing.”I turn from the counter and look at him.He’s standing exactly where he shouldn’t be. Too close to the stove. Too interested in something that does not concern him.“Move,” I say.“I live here.”“That doesn’t mean you supervise.”He smiles, but he moves anyway.Good.The kitchen is warm. Not from anything special. Just… used. Lived in. The scent of garlic and herbs lingers in the air, mixing with the faint salt breeze drifting in from the open patio doors. There’s something on the stove, something in the oven, and something I’m probably forgetting.Sunny runs past us, nails clicking against the floor, then slides slightly and keeps going like nothing happened.Ethan watches him.“That dog has no balance.”“He has confidence,” I say.“That’s worse.”I check the pot, stir once, then step back.“Set the table,” I tell him.He doesn’t argue.That’s how I know we’ve grown.A few minutes l
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
Chapter: Chapter 140I wake up before anyone calls my name.Not because I’m anxious. Not because something is pulling me out of sleep.Just… awake.The room is quiet in that early kind of way where the day hasn’t fully started yet. No movement outside the door. No voices. No rushing. Just stillness.I lie there for a moment, staring at the ceiling.Today.The word feels simple. It should feel heavier. Bigger. Like something I need to prepare for.It doesn’t.It just settles.I sit up slowly, letting my feet touch the floor. The air feels cool against my skin. Grounding. Real.For a second, I don’t move.I just sit there and let myself feel it.Not excitement. Not nerves.Something steadier.The dress is exactly where it was left last night.I walk over to it, fingers brushing lightly over the fabric. It feels softer than I expected. Less intimidating.This is not my first wedding.That thought comes, and for a brief moment, I pause.Not in discomfort. Not in regret.Just acknowledgment.The first time was
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
Chapter: Chapter 139The first thing my mother does when she sees my hand is grab it.Not gently. Not carefully. She just takes it like she has every right to, like she has been waiting for this moment and is done pretending she hasn’t.“Let me see.”I laugh, but it comes out softer than I expect.She turns my hand toward the light, angling it slightly, her thumb brushing over my fingers as she studies the ring like she is trying to understand something beyond what it looks like.“It’s beautiful,” she says.“It is.”I’m not even looking at the ring anymore. I’m looking at her.Her face. The way her expression shifts slowly. Pride first. Then something quieter. Something that looks a lot like relief.“You look different,” she says.I tilt my head slightly. “Different how?”“Happier,” she replies.She says it like she is still testing it. Like she wants to believe it fully but is giving herself a second to be sure.I don’t rush to answer.I just nod.Because I am.Not in a loud, overwhelming way. Not in a w
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
Chapter: Chapter 138Mara’s voice is still in my head the next day.Not loud. Just… there.Are we getting an actual wedding this time?She said it like a joke. Like something to laugh about over drinks and forget on the drive home. But it stayed. Followed me into sleep. Sat with me while I opened the café in the morning. Slipped into quiet moments when I wasn’t doing anything important.An actual wedding.I don’t know why that feels different now.Maybe because this time, it wouldn’t be about fixing anything. Not proving a point. Not surviving something.Just choosing.My phone lights up while I’m wiping down the counter.Ethan.I don’t open it immediately.I finish what I’m doing. Rinse my hands. Dry them. Then I pick up the phone.Ethan: Are you free?I stare at it for a second longer than necessary.Me: Depends.The reply comes quickly.Ethan: On what?I lean against the counter.Me: Where you’re taking me.There’s a pause. Not long. Just enough for me to picture him reading it.Ethan: You’ll like it.
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
Chapter: Chapter 137The house won’t leave my head.Not in a dramatic way. It’s not consuming me or anything like that. It just keeps showing up in small flashes. The kitchen mostly. The light in that space. The way it didn’t feel like a display, like something waiting to be admired and left alone. It felt… usable.Which is a strange thing to fixate on.But I do.“Okay, I’m about to drag it out of you.”Mara drops into the chair across from me like she’s been rehearsing this moment all day.I blink, coming back properly.“Drag what out of me?”She leans forward, elbows on the table, eyes sharp.“What happened.”“Nothing happened.”She stares at me.Long enough that I feel like I should add something.“We saw the house,” I say.“And?”“It’s nice.”She freezes.Actually freezes.Then slowly leans back like she needs space from me.“Nice.”I nod.“Yes.”⸻lMara presses her lips together like she’s trying not to say something offensive.“You disappeared for hours. Came back looking like you’ve just… I don’t e
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
Chapter: Chapter 136It starts with my phone refusing to be quiet.Not one notification. Not two. It keeps going like something is trying to get my attention and won’t take no for an answer.I’m at the counter, pretending to focus on something small and unnecessary, wiping a spot that doesn’t exist anymore. My hands are busy, which usually helps. Keeps my thoughts from wandering too far.The phone buzzes again.Then again.I ignore it.Mara doesn’t.“You’re not going to check that?”“I will.”“You’ve said that three times.”“I mean it this time.”She doesn’t respond, which usually means she’s watching me instead.The phone buzzes again.I exhale, drop the cloth, and reach for it.The screen lights up with stacked notifications. Too many for something normal. Too many for something small.I open one.A headline.I don’t react immediately. I just read it.Then I read it again, slower this time.“Ethan Cole Expands to Miami, Establishing Independent Venture Beyond Family Holdings.”I blink.Scroll.Another h
آخر تحديث: 2026-03-29
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