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Chapter 1: Imaginary Boyfriend
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2026-03-09 21:24:59The moment my mother cleared her throat over Sunday lunch, I knew I was in trouble.
She had that look the one she used before announcing she'd enrolled me in "just a few" extracurricular piano lessons at age nine that turned into competitive recitals until I was seventeen. The same look she had the week she "accidentally" set me up on a date with the neighbor's cousin. "Darling," she began, and my stomach sank, "your father and I were thinking..." Here it comes. "...you're twenty-eight, you're doing so well at that little tech company of yours" "Mom, it's a top-five national firm." "Yes, yes, but what's success without someone to share it with?" Across the table, my brother smirked. He'd brought his girlfriend, who was currently charming my grandmother with stories about how they met in a bookstore. I stabbed a piece of chicken like it had personally offended me. "I'm... busy," I said. "You're lonely," Mom countered. "I'm fine." "You need a man." And that's when it happened the moment that will live in my personal Hall of Fame for Terrible Decisions. "I have one," I blurted. Silence. The clink of cutlery stopped. Four pairs of eyes locked on me. "You... what?" Mom asked. I nodded, somehow committing to the lie before my brain had caught up. "A boyfriend. He's uh wonderful. Great job. Very... supportive." Grandma leaned forward. "Does he have teeth?" "Of course he has teeth!" I snapped, too loudly. My father's eyes narrowed. "What's his name?" My mind went blank. "L –Leo." No, that was the name of my high school crush. "Liam."The name of my most hated competition rolled of my tongue. Too late And that was it. One little lie, tossed onto the table between the roast chicken and the mashed potatoes, snowballing faster than I could catch it. "Bring him to the reunion," Mom said, eyes sparkling. "Reunion?" "This Saturday. Everyone will be there." "Everyone?" My voice cracked. Grandma grinned. "Can't wait to meet the man who finally stole our Mia's heart." The rest of lunch was a blur. I nodded at questions about "Liam's" hobbies, mumbled something about him loving golden retrievers, and tried not to choke on my water when Dad asked what his parents did for a living. By the time dessert was served, my fake boyfriend had been given a promotion, a summer home, and an allergy to strawberries. When I finally escaped into my car, I slammed my forehead against the steering wheel. "Great, Mia. Just great." I had five days to conjure up a Liam out of thin air. And that's when my phone buzzed with a news alert. Local Tech Rival Secures Spot in National Expansion Pitch. I tapped the link. And there he was Liam Wolfe. My infuriating, smug, ridiculously good looking rival from a competing firm. The man who'd stolen my biggest client last year. My fake boyfriend had just gotten a face. Liam Wolfe the one man i do not want to think about right now.
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An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 58: Too late Jared.
Mia hadn’t planned on going to the gala.She was standing in her bedroom, halfway out of her dress, staring at herself in the mirror with a kind of detached exhaustion. The swelling of her belly was unmistakable now. Her body felt heavier, slower, like it belonged to someone else.After the photoshoot she had told Ava she’d stay home. She had told herself she didn’t have the strength for bright lights and fake smiles.Then her phone rang.Jared.She frowned, answering slowly. “Hey.”His voice came through tense, urgent, stripped of its usual calm. “Mia, I need you to come to the gala.”She straightened. “What? Jared, I’m not feeling great”“It’s important,” he cut in. “Really important. There’s something I have to tell you. You and Liam. In person.”Her pulse skipped. “Tell me what?”“I can’t say it over the phone.”That alone was enough to make her uneasy. “What is this about, Rose?”There was a pause. Just a fraction too long.“Yes,” he said carefully. “And Victor Grant.”Her stomac
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 57 — Leverage
Rose hated Victor’s house at night.In the daylight, it was all power and polish glass walls, marble floors, art that cost more than most people’s lives. But at night, when the lights dimmed and the city glittered below like a kingdom he believed he owned, the place felt like a cage.She stood near the window of his study, fingers curled around the edge of the desk, breathing carefully. Slowly. Steadily. As if one wrong breath might set him off.Victor Grant stood by the bar, his back to her, pouring himself a drink. The clink of ice against crystal sounded too loud in the silence.“You’re late,” he said calmly.“I had to be careful,” Rose replied. “I can’t be seen coming here too often.”Victor laughed softly. It wasn’t warm. It never was.“You live in the enemies house,” he said. “Don’t insult me by pretending discretion suddenly matters to you.”She didn’t answer.He turned then, glass in hand, eyes sharp and assessing as they dragged over her face, her body lingering, calculating.
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 56 — The Space Between
Mia realized it one morning when she reached across the bed and touched cold sheets.Liam hadn’t come back.She lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the city outside. Her body felt heavy, her limbs slow, like grief had finally settled into her bones instead of hovering over her head.She pushed herself up and padded into the hallway.The guest room door was ajar.Inside, Rose lay propped against pillows, a glass of water on the nightstand. Liam sat beside the bed, sleeves rolled up, rubbing slow circles into her back while she retched softly into a bowl.“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered weakly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”“It’s fine,” Liam murmured. “Breathe.”Mia stood there, unseen, watching.This wasn't just care.It was worse.It was romance.The kind of care that used to belong to her.Her stomach tightened not with jealousy, but with something quieter and more devastating: recognition.She turned away before they noticed her.Later that af
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 55 — The Quiet Shift
The change didn’t happen all at once.It came in small decisions Liam didn’t even remember making.He started waking earlier, slipping out of bed carefully so he wouldn’t disturb Mia. He told himself it was kindness. She needed rest. The pregnancy had been hard on her. Some mornings she barely slept at all.But Rose was already awake.She would be sitting at the kitchen counter, wrapped in a cardigan, tea untouched in front of her, eyes shadowed with fatigue.“You should be sleeping,” Liam would say.She’d smile faintly. “I tried.”Then she’d press a hand to her stomach not dramatically, just enough to be noticed.“I don’t know why I feel so weak lately,” she’d murmur. “The doctor said the first trimester can be… delicate.”Delicate.The word lodged itself somewhere deep in Liam’s mind.At first, he stayed only a few minutes. Asked if she needed anything. Made sure she ate. Told himself it was responsibility, nothing more.But minutes stretched.Rose spoke quietly, as if afraid of tak
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 54: Difficult to get rid of a Stray
Liam had always believed guilt was loud.He’d imagined it as something that screamed sleepless nights, shaking hands, obvious tells. But this guilt was quieter. Heavier. It sat in his chest and pressed down every time Mia smiled at him like she still trusted him.Like she still belonged to him.He watched her from the doorway as she slept, her breathing soft, one hand curled protectively over her stomach. The moonlight traced her face gently the woman he loved, the life he had sworn to protect.And yet.He turned away before the thought could finish itself.At the office the next morning, Liam moved on autopilot. Meetings blurred together. Numbers meant nothing. Every email felt like a static. He hadn’t realized how bad it was until Jared stopped talking mid-sentence.“Okay,” Jared said slowly. “That’s the third time you’ve stared through me today. Want to tell me what’s actually going on?”Liam blinked. “Sorry. Just didn’t sleep well.”Jared didn’t buy it. He leaned back in his chair
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 53 — Quiet Corners
The city looked different at night when you weren’t running from it.Mia sat in Ethan’s parked car, engine off, the streetlight above them flickering like it couldn’t decide whether to stay alive. Rain misted the windshield, soft and patient, as if even the storm was tired of being dramatic.Neither of them spoke for a while.Ethan leaned back in his seat, arms folded, eyes fixed on the dark outline of the building across the street. Mia sat with her hands clasped in her lap, thumb rubbing slow circles into her knuckle a nervous habit she hadn’t noticed herself developing.“Say it,” he finally said.She exhaled. “I’m scared.”He turned to her, fully this time. “Of what?”“Of being right,” she said quietly. “And of being wrong.”He didn’t interrupt.“If Victor is behind all of this,” she continued, voice low, “then my life didn’t fall apart by accident. It was dismantled. Carefully. And if I’m wrong…” Her lips trembled. “Then I’ve destroyed my own marriage by suspecting shadows.”Ethan
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 20: Walls and Windows
Morning came quickly as the rays of the Sun seeped in from the window blinds. I should’ve been restless. After what happened with Mia last night after the way I kissed her, after the way she’d pulled back I should’ve been pacing the floors, unable to sleep.Instead, I’d slept like a man who’d drop
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter Nineteen: The Wall Between.
The chandeliers glittered like frozen stars above us, their light spilling across the halls in a golden haze. Waiters in crisp uniforms glided between clusters of guests with champagne flutes balanced on silver trays, laughter bubbling as deals were whispered behind polished smiles.On my arm, Liam
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 18 : Brewing Trouble
I stirred the coffee in front of me more than I actually drank it. Daniel, of course, noticed.“You know, most people come to cafés for caffeine, not for arm workouts,” my brother said, flashing his signature grin as he plopped down across from me.I gave him a flat look. “Do you ever stop talking?
An Almost Honest Affair Chapter 18 : Brewing Trouble.
I stirred the coffee in front of me more than I actually drank it. Daniel, of course, noticed. “You know, most people come to cafés for caffeine, not for arm workouts,” my brother said, flashing his signature grin as he plopped down across from me. I gave him a flat look. “Do you ever stop talki
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