Nothing But Pretend
Three years into her marriage, Claire finally asks for a divorce.
She admits it—she got the better end of the deal. From nothing to something, she's the one who leveled up.
And that's exactly why Ethan has been cold, distant, almost wishing she'd just walk away.
She's human, not iron. This loveless marriage has left her drained, and the idea of ending it should feel freeing—but then he starts showing up.
Every day, sharp, confident, strutting around like he owns the place. Clattering in the kitchen, attempting to cook. Even bringing home a Samoyed puppy she's always adored.
Claire watches, equal parts exasperated and fascinated. Every time the divorce seems inevitable, he finds an excuse—sick, busy, a last-minute trip.
Everyone assumes his heart belongs to someone else. But all along, it's been hers.
A stubborn, prideful man, completely undone by the one woman he can't let go.
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Chapter: Chapter 41 - A Lifetime ChaseThe euphoria of revenge fades quickly, replaced by the stinging reality of family.When Claire finally told her mother about the divorce, she expected anger. She didn't expect the venom."You've been married for three years! Why divorce now?" Her mother's voice had screeched over the phone, sharp enough to cut glass. "Ethan is rich, handsome, and decent. You threw away a golden ticket because you're spoiled!""I was unhappy!" Claire had screamed back, tears hot in her eyes. "Don't you care about my happiness?""Happiness? You married him for his face and his money! You chose this! You are just ungrateful!"The call ended with a slam.Claire sits in the dim light of the hotel bar, the bitter words echoing in her mind. Ungrateful. Spoiled.She grips her wine glass. Maybe her mother is right. Maybe she is just a vain woman who wanted a shiny trophy and then threw it away when it got too heavy.The alcohol burns her throat, but it doesn't numb the pain. Just as she reaches for the bottle
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 40 - She Is The PrizeTen days pass in a blink.Ethan is finally discharged from the hospital. As his health improves, the barrage of frantic, obsessive text messages begins to slow down.The man who used to send [Babe, look at me] every ten minutes now sends concise, robotic reports.[Breakfast finished. Taking medication now.] [Meeting with the board. Will be late.] [Goodnight, Miss Reed.]It is polite. It is distant. It is...normal.Claire sits in her office, staring at her silent phone. She tells herself she is relieved. The "madness period" is over. The stray dog has wandered off, back to his high-rise tower and his trillion-dollar empire.The farce is over. They are returning to their own lanes.But why does the silence feel so loud?She taps her fingernail against the screen. She remembers his feverish eyes. She remembers him barking for her without hesitation. She remembers the weight of his head on her stomach.Now, he has vanished."Good," Claire whispers to the empty room, tossing her phone onto
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 39 - Bark For MeClaire is stuffed.She leans back against the velvet sofa, letting out a soft, satisfied sigh. "Did you eat?" Claire asks lazily, finally noticing his intense gaze.Ethan's eyes light up instantly, like a switch has been flipped. "Are you worried about me?"Claire rolls her eyes. "I'm just asking. Don't be narcissistic."Ethan's smile dims slightly, but he doesn't look away. "I sent you messages," he says, his voice lowering into a husky register. "Did you see them?""I saw them," Claire admits, pulling out her phone and scrolling idly. "You talk too much."Ethan frowns. His brows knit together in a look of genuine grievance. "But I was restraining myself. I wanted to send a hundred more.""Don't look for excuses." Claire sneers playfully, enjoying the upper hand. "If you annoy me, I'll block you. If you don't want to be blocked, be obedient."Ethan purses his lips. He falls silent, looking at her with large, dark, wet eyes. He looks like a mute child who has been scolded.Claire cros
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 38 - Beg Me, Mr. LoweThe VIP suite at the hospital is larger than most apartments.Claire leans back on that sofa, scrolling through her phone, her legs crossed comfortably. The room is quiet, save for the hum of the air purifier. But the air feels heavy, charged with a sticky, palpable tension.She can feel it.Across the room, Ethan is watching her. He isn't reading. He isn't sleeping. He is just staring. His dark eyes trace every movement of her fingers, every shift of her hair, greedily drinking her in like a man dying of thirst.At 11:30 PM, Claire stands up."Where are you going?" Ethan's voice cuts through the silence instantly—low, tight, and laced with panic. He sits up straighter, his knuckles gripping the white sheets.Claire doesn't look back. She keeps walking toward the ensuite bathroom, her tone indifferent. "Shower."Ethan lets out a long exhale, his shoulders dropping. "Oh. Okay." It sounds like a sigh of relief. As if he was terrified she would vanish into thin air the moment she stood u
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 37 - The Stray Dog on a LeashClaire used to think Ethan Lowe was a block of ice. She never knew that beneath the ice lived a shameless, obsessive beast."Does the outside world know you act like this?" Claire gasps, trying to pry his iron arms from her waist. "Like a clingy child?""I don't care," Ethan mumbles, burying his face deeper into the fabric of her shirt, inhaling her scent like a drug."Hey," Claire warns, grabbing her phone. "I'm recording a video. If I post this, your reputation as the cold CEO is ruined."Ethan finally lifts his head. He doesn't hide. He looks straight into the camera lens, his eyes dark and heavy with feverish desire."Record it," he rasps, a smirk playing on his pale lips. "Let the whole world know I'm with you. Let them know you are my wife."Claire's heart skips a beat. He is insane."I need to remarry someday!" she snaps, panicking. "If people see my ex-husband clinging to me like an octopus, who will dare to marry me?""No one," Ethan growls, his grip tightening painfully. "Yo
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 36 - On His Knees for HerEthan walks into the VIP ward, expecting a quiet lecture.Whoosh.A hardback book flies through the air, slamming into his chest with a dull thud."Get out!"Ethan, usually the picture of untouchable grace, steps back instinctively. His polished leather sole slips on a stray grape that had been thrown earlier.Crash.Ethan Lowe, the terrifying CEO of Lowe Group, loses his balance. He hits the floor hard, his custom-made Italian suit instantly stained with crushed fruit juice.For a heartbeat, there is silence. Ethan pushes himself up, his jaw clenched so hard a vein throbs in his temple. He feels ridiculous. Humiliated."Old man," he hisses, his voice low and dangerous. "Have you gone crazy?""You're the crazy one!" The old man gasps, pointing a trembling finger at him. "Claire told me everything! You let a woman like that go? You useless thing! You deserve to be alone! You deserve to suffer!"She told him.The words hit Ethan harder than the book. He stands up, brushing off his ruine
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter 48: JealousShe steps aside to let me through the door.Hilbert is in the doorway.He finds my hand without looking for it, and we walk past her together without ceremony."Your speech, Professor Hilbert," she says. "You haven't given it yet.""The other faculty can manage." He glances briefly at the bodies on the ground, registers them, says nothing about them.His thumb moves once across my knuckles. "We're leaving early."I feel her gaze on our backs all the way to the path.---His bathroom has exactly one mirror and very good lighting, which I appreciate.I'm out of the shower and into his white shirt before he's finished putting the gift bag on the bed, and when I turn around he goes very still in the way that means I've successfully recalibrated his evening.The shirt is doing what I bought it to do.Half-sheer, buttoned just enough to be technically compliant with the concept of coverage.I hold up a glass of ice water, take a slow sip, and watch him watch me."You like it," I say.He doe
Last Updated: 2026-03-31
Chapter: Chapter 47: The RomanticS has a small mole beside his throat.It's a very pretty detail on a very pretty person.I tap his cheek twice, light and proprietary. "You're genuinely attractive, you know."S stares at the sky and says nothing, which is the most dignified response available to him.I collect myself off the garden floor, and then I step over Roko on my way out and nudge him with my foot."Tonight stays in this garden. If it doesn't, the embarrassing story is yours to carry, not mine."I pause at the gate."Save up your credits. Come find me when you're ready to do this properly."I turn back one last time and make a heart with my fingers at all of them."Love ya."The walk back to the ballroom takes longer than it should.The succubus pheromones don't clear the way a smell clears. They dissipate from the inside out, leaving a warm residue that makes colors slightly brighter and thoughts slightly slower.I want something sweet. Something substantive.The refreshment table has those little strawberry
Last Updated: 2026-03-31
Chapter: Chapter 46: Surprise, DarlingI spend the first three songs eating cake near the refreshment table and waiting to be ambushed.A Goblin finds me during the fourth, approaching with the body language of a man walking toward something he isn't sure he should be walking toward.He's been somewhere else since the ball started, and now he's back, eyes darting.I finish the last strawberry on my plate."Rea," he says, too carefully, "can I talk to you? Privately. The back garden—""Sure." I dust off my hands. "Lead the way."He stares at me.I gesture forward pleasantly.---The garden is pretty at night, but the nearest ground lights conveniently dead.The kind of atmospheric corner someone selected deliberately.I can hear breathing before we reach it.They've positioned themselves with their backs to the entrance—facing the far side, presumably for dramatic reveal purposes—which means they don't notice when I circle wide and come at them from the other direction.I wait until Goblin's footsteps slow to a halt. Until
Last Updated: 2026-03-31
Chapter: Chapter 45: What the shirt stay Is ForThe stockings go on first.Dark, bow-trimmed, and nobody's business but mine.They sit well under the cloak, which is the point—practical coverage for the two sedative syringes and the suppression collars I've got strapped to my thigh.Functional and pretty.Two knocks at the door, then Liviel, "Roommate. Professor Hilbert is here for you."I open the door.Liviel is in a puff-skirted gown with her twin tails pinned up, which is a look.But I'm not looking at Liviel.Hilbert is standing in the corridor outside Room 306, and the lighting out there is doing something genuinely criminal.He always looks like this—the composed, unhurried beauty of something that grew rather than was made.But tonight there's a quality to it that's harder to look away from. His gold hair catches the hall light and holds it. His clothes fit the way clothes fit on people who have never had to think about whether they fit.He sees me and goes very still for exactly one second.Then he extends his hand.I walk
Last Updated: 2026-03-30
Chapter: Chapter 44: Type II SedativeThe ten-thousand-meter warm-up lap has barely started when someone falls into step behind me."Grim Reaper, are you going to the ball? Do you have a partner?"The question lands like a stone in still water.I keep my pace steady. "Of course I'm going. Good for business. And yes, I have a partner.""Is it Professor Hilbert?" The voice tips into excitement. "I heard he never dances at these things—""You'll get to find out," I say.Someone else cuts in from my left, joking, "What about me? You take bookings, right? Could you put me on your dance card?"I glance back at him. "How many credits?"He hesitates. "...Two?"I face forward again."Five?""Physical contact is priced separately," I call back, and accelerate.Behind me, Medusa passes the boy at a clipping pace. "Five credits. Who do you think you're dealing with.""I wasn't talking to you—""She beat me," Medusa says, without breaking stride. "Insult her price and you're insulting my loss record. Think about that."Ahead, Liviel i
Last Updated: 2026-03-30
Chapter: Chapter 43: Drug ToleranceI spend the night in Hilbert's bed, and technically speaking, I'm on my best behavior.I make him a solemn, wide-eyed promise to be a "good student," then immediately proceed to use his chest as a pillow.I burrow into his side, hooking a leg over his hip to anchor myself, and fall asleep with a speed that is frankly insulting to his internal turmoil.When I wake up, I feel spectacular.I am glowing, refreshed, and fueled by the divine energy humming through the house.Hilbert, on the other hand, looks like he's just survived a war of attrition.He's composed after all, but there are faint, bruised shadows under his eyes that weren't there yesterday.His hair is a fraction less than perfect, a few strands falling over his forehead in a way that makes him look devastatingly human.I find both of these things deeply satisfying.He's a mature man who previously had no use for "needs" of the flesh, and yet he spent the night acting as a human weighted blanket because he refused to move me
Last Updated: 2026-03-30
On Thin Ice With You
An ocean between them didn't kill what they had. It just put it on ice.
The first time Mia Conti saw Elias Weston, she didn't even know his name. He was just the stranger at the airport who lifted her suitcase without a word.
She never expected to see him again—until she walked into the Toronto Raiders' locker room as their new medical intern. Face-to-face with the league's most untouchable, arrogant superstar, Mia realized her "helpful stranger" was actually her biggest professional nightmare.
A fiery romance ignites between them, but keeping it alive across oceans and time zones is a different game.
As the Chief Sports Medicine Specialist for the Winter Olympics, Mia is busier than ever. Her absence from his games has the media convinced their relationship is dead, painting Elias as a billionaire bachelor who has long moved on.
But the tabloids don't see what happens behind closed doors.
When Elias arrives in Milan, the world expects a hockey captain strictly focused on gold. Yet, the second they are alone, his hand closes around her waist with a grip of steel.
"Long time no see, Mia."
The flashbulbs are still going off, but all she can hear is his jagged whisper.
"I came back for you."
Elias Weston has never been afraid of thin ice. And this time, he's ready to let it all crack just to keep her.
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Chapter: Chapter 168 - ForeverThe scene shifts seamlessly to the winding mountain roads of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Outside the passenger window, the majestic, snow-draped peaks of the Dolomites slowly emerge from the morning mist, their jagged limestone ridges cutting through the sky.Mia sits in the passenger seat, subtly rubbing her stomach under her puffer jacket, her mind swirling with a mix of deep satisfaction and immediate regret.Lunch at a rustic mountainside trattoria had been her downfall. Confronted with authentic Milanese ossobuco and rich, creamy saffron risotto, she had completely thrown all dietary restraint to the wind.Now, she feels so stuffed she could practically roll out of the car."What route are we taking today?" Elias breaks her silent self-reproach, glancing at the navigation screen. "How's the difficulty?"Mia props her chin on her hand, casting him a sly look. "The standard tourist path is easy, but boring. Today, we're taking the actual alpine hiking trail.""So, it's going to be exhausting
Last Updated: 2026-05-22
Chapter: Chapter 167 - Milan TourDawn breaks over Milan, painting the cobblestones in soft, golden hues.Having strictly managed a certain alpha's boundless energy last night just so they could actually get out of bed, Mia drags a freshly showered Elias out the door.She bypasses the tourist-heavy Duomo, leading him directly into the Navigli district—a labyrinth of ancient canals and quiet, breathing streets she grew up in. The morning air is crisp, filled with locals walking dogs and carrying fresh groceries.Elias's towering frame looks almost comical as they squeeze into a tiny, unassuming corner cafe. The wooden bar is worn smooth by decades of ceramic cups. It's a local secret run by a mother and daughter. When the morning pastries run out, the doors lock.Mia drops his hand to order in rapid, fluent Milanese dialect, then turns back to her giant of a boyfriend. "Alright, time for a real Milanese breakfast."The owner slides a tiny cup of pitch-black liquid, a golden, flaky croissant, and a small dish of marinat
Last Updated: 2026-05-22
Chapter: Chapter 166 - Meeting with ColleaguesWith the Olympic gold safely secured, the roaring tension begins to settle. For Elias and the Raiders, the months of suffocating pressure finally dissolve. They are officially on vacation.Inside the Olympic Village, Elias wraps up a light core maintenance routine and steps out of the shower. He picks up his phone from the nightstand just as it lights up.[Mia]: The worker bee is officially on duty.A lazy, devastatingly handsome smile spreads across his face. He types back.[Elias]: Don't worry. I'm up early to keep you company.A mischievous glint in his eyes. [Elias]: Just making sure my stamina is up to par for tonight, babe. You seemed pretty obsessed with how my core felt under your hands yesterday. Gotta keep this body tight if I want to keep you helpless beneath me.Mia stares at her screen, her cheeks bursting into a furious, violent blush.[Mia]: ......"Mia, good morning!"Mia jumps as a fellow medical colleague suddenly calls out from behind her. With lightning speed, Mia
Last Updated: 2026-05-21
Chapter: Chapter 165 - How Far We Could GoTwo souls finally collide at the exact same starting line."I never actually thought we would last this long," Mia murmurs, her gaze drifting toward the floor-to-ceiling windows where a sparkling river of Milan's night lights stretches into the horizon.She rests her head back against his solid chest. "At the beginning, I just had a day-by-day mindset. I figured we would just see how far we could go before the distance broke us."Accepting his confession back then is a decision she made after intense deliberation, but she never dares to dream of a permanent forever.She turns around in his embrace. "Thank you for everything you've done. For giving me the courage to finally hand my future over to you. Trust is a terrifying thing, Elias."For a woman as fiercely independent as Mia, learning to rely on a man is the ultimate testament to his devotion.From the moment he ruthlessly uproots his life, shifting his corporate empire to Milan just to plant his roots where she stands, she feels
Last Updated: 2026-05-21
Chapter: Chapter 164 - Global DeclarationThe Raiders trickle back into the locker room, the euphoria of the final buzzer still vibrating in their veins.Elias quickly sheds his gear, slipping into his official team track jacket as he waits for the staff to usher them back out.The stadium operations are a well-oiled machine. Before Lucas and the others can fully settle into their victory gossip, the officials corral the team back to the ice.The Olympic anthem swells, wrapping the arena in a heavy, majestic echo.One by one, the athletes step onto the podium. As the team captain, Elias claims the dead center. When the Olympic committee member slips the heavy, solid gold medal around his neck, the icy, metallic weight grounds him.It's real. As the Canadian flag ascends toward the rafters and the national anthem plays, Elias stares ahead, his chest tight with a fierce, untamed pride.Following the ceremony, the gold medalists are herded into the mixed media zone. This is the moment Elias has been waiting for.The tunnel is a
Last Updated: 2026-05-20
Chapter: Chapter 163 - Shattered RumorsThe media is a beast with a thousand hungry mouths, and it is currently starving for a scandal.Publicists and clickbait tabloids are masters of the "calculated leap." They take a grain of truth—a long-distance relationship, a staggering wealth gap—and spin it into a web of inevitable heartbreak.To feed the frenzy, they manufacture narratives out of thin air.A five-minute polite conversation between Elias and a female business mogul at a charity gala is branded as "Elias Weston Moves On".A candid shot of Elias looking exhausted in the back of a towncar after a grueling day of corporate acquisitions is captioned as "Heartbreak in the Backseat: A Billionaire's Lonely Night".Elias's PR team, ever-watchful of the Weston Group's stock price, funnels these reports to him. Even if they didn't, Lucas and the rest of the Raiders are more than happy to shove the most ridiculous headlines in his face, laughing as they "mourn" his phantom breakup.Elias himself is baffled. He looks at the "ev
Last Updated: 2026-05-20
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