Mag-log inAnastasia Blomqvist isn’t the typical billionaire heiress and everyone loves reminding her. She’s not glamorous like her sisters; she runs the beauty empire from a desk while they chase the spotlight. No parties, no men, just work… and her cat. But when her family won’t stop meddling in her love life, Anastasia decides to handle it like a real businesswoman. By hiring the perfect fake boyfriend. Bram Kent. Ex-hockey star, devastatingly handsome, extremely charming and newly broke. The deal is simple: family dinners, public appearances and no real feelings. Until Bram starts going off script. Flirting harder and getting closer than anticipated. He starts changing her life without meaning to. And somewhere between the act and the attraction, Anastasia starts to wonder: Are we still pretending?
view moreLyra’s pov
“By the power vested in me, I hereby reject you as my mate from this moment onwards.” Xander snapped angrily.
The room was filled with a lot of people talking, whispering to themselves as they looked at me with disgust on their faces.— my twin sister,my parents, the whole pack and the elders.
My senses became clearer and I could feel the warmth of the blanket over my body. I was half naked- with just my underwear. I blinked rapidly in confusion while trying to recognize my surroundings.
Why am I in bed when I was supposed to be at my mating ceremony? I wondered as i looked around.
The weight of confusion hit me more as I felt a movement beside me. My heart raced, I looked over as fear gripped my soul like a cold wave. A stranger was next to me with his chest bare and caught under the sheets.
“What!…Who is this? And what am I doing in bed with this man?” I questioned with my voice below whispers,clutching the blanket tightly around my trembling body.
“Quit the pretense Lyra!” Nyla, my twin sister yelled,her voice dripping with disdain as she moved closer to me.
“I knew this was going to happen, I knew you will ruin this day, now you’ve brought shame not only to yourself, but the entire family.” She paused her eyes gleamed in satisfaction and a slight smirk was placed on her lips.
“I’ve always known you have a secret lover for a very long time now, but you still went through with the mating ceremony with Xander for your selfish reasons.”
My face felt hot as panic grew inside me, her words pierced through me. “What the hell are you saying Nyla! That’s not true! I don’t even know him—I don’t know how I got here!” My voice cracked under the weight of my panic.
“I have no boyfriend!” I cried, my voice trembling. “I—I don’t even know this man! Please, believe me!” I replied,my glazed fixed on Xander.
“Then who is he, Lyra?” Xander demanded, his voice cold and filled with fury. His piercing gaze shifted to the man beside me, who remained silent, looking between us with wide eyes.
“I don’t know him,” I whispered. “I can’t remember how I got here. I… I was at the ceremony, I had a drink, and then… I fell. That’s all I remember!”
“Really?” Nyla scoffed, her tone mocking. “What a convenient excuse. Get drunk, get in bed with your boyfriend, and blame it on the innocent cocktail. How predictable.”
“Stop Nyla, just stop!!” I retorted, looking at her furiously.
“Enough!” Xander shouted while making both of us quiet. “This isn't just a minor mistake and it’s an unforgivable one. I thought I knew you, Lyra. I didn’t know you were so unfaithful and a Liar!”
I felt my cheeks getting hot with shame filling me up. The man next to me quietly pulled the sheets up as he looked back and forth between us.
But before I could even start to explain xander’s anger filled the room. The friendly look I have Always seen on his face vanished. He walked toward us with his fists tight and I felt a wave of fear over me.
“Move away from her, You b*stard son of a b*tch.” Xander growled while grabbing the stranger by his arm and lifting him.
“What is going on, man?” the man said while struggling in Jaxon's stronghold, but his words hardly mattered as my life fell apart.
As Xander's fist hit the man's jaw the loud noise shook me. “Xander stop!” I begged with fear rising in my throat as I jumped out of bed as I put my clothes on. My bare feet touched the cold floor and everything in me wanted to step in. “Please, let's try to find the truth!”
But Xander was furious while throwing punches and shouting sharp words. “You think you can just walk into this house?” Another hard hit and the man slid down the wall. “And sleep with my mate?”
“Don tell me to stop Lyra! Trying to defend your boyfriend huh?” He turned to me as his breath deepened.
My heart dropped even more while feeling heavy from what was happening.
The room was suffocating, the whispers and murmurs around us growing louder. I glanced desperately toward my parents, hoping for some kind of support, but their expressions mirrored Xander’s disappointment.
“Mom, Dad,” I pleaded, my voice breaking. “You have to believe me.”
My mother shook her head slowly, her lips pressed into a thin line. My father stepped forward, his face flushed with anger.
“This is disgraceful, Lyra,” he said as he threw as slap on my face, his voice trembling. “You’ve brought shame to our family. Do you realize what this means for all of us? For the pack?”
“I didn’t do this,” I whispered, but my words felt hollow, even to myself.
Xander took a step back while letting the guards, who had quickly come in, hold the stranger. “Get him out and make sure he doesn't escape,” he ordered with his voice quiet but threatening while leaving me vulnerable after the chaos.
“That's enough!” the elder shouted like thunder breaking through the noise around us. “This shame can't be accepted. You have shamed yourself and the whole pack, Lyra. You are banned from our land starting now!.”
His words hit me hard like a punch. “No!” I shouted with my voice shaky as I stepped back while feeling empty inside where my life used to be. “You can't do this!”
“Once again, from this moment, I Xander Bennett hereby reject you Lyra Draven as my mate,” Xander’s voice echoed coldly, cutting through the tension in the room. His words were final, like a dagger driven straight into my heart.
“Take her out of my sight,” he ordered, turning his back to me. “I don’t want to see her face ever again.”
My knees wobbled as shame and confusion overtook me. “Xander, please, listen to me,” I begged, my voice cracking.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I swear, I didn’t do this!”
I cried, reaching out toward him, but two guards stepped forward, gripping my arms firmly.
Nyla’s smirk deepened as she watched the drama unfolding while I was being dragged away, she followed me out.
Bram moves back to take his clothes off completely and then it's my turn to look completely starstruck because he was right. He is bigger than last time and it takes my breath away, especially when he takes his boxers off and lets me see how much he wants me.And it's a lot. A big want. I missed it so fucking much.But when he comes back and settles on top of me, he still doesn't make the first move. It's like he's waiting for me to change my mind, like he's still expecting me to pull away at the last second and rebuild that careful distance I've been maintaining for a while, but I won't. So, slowly, he allows his hands slide along my sides, moving hi hands up to my bare tits with a scared look in his face. He looks like he's reacquainting himself with something he hasn't touched in too long, like he's reminding himself I'm actually here and not something he imagined back into existence, and I feel it in the way his grip shifts, in the way he exhales like he's been holding his breat
➿➿➿➿We don't say much on the way back to my place, and I tell myself it's because we're both tired, because the night has already held too many emotions to neatly process, because silence is easier than saying the wrong thing again, but the truth is that the quiet between us feels alive, like it's watching, waiting, stretching thinner and tighter with every passing second until it hums under my skin.By the time I unlock the door and step inside, I can feel him behind me. Every nerve in my body is very aware of the space he occupies, and I set my keys down more carefully than necessary just to give myself a second to breathe.I turn slowly. He's already looking at me intensely, like he's trying to read something written under my skin, like he's waiting for me to decide what this is going to be.And for once, I don't hesitate."You're being very quiet," I say, stepping closer, tilting my head just enough to study him, letting a faint, controlled smile touch my lips."Trying not to mes
{ Anastasia }I smile and squeeze his hand, but then I realize there's something else I have to say before we try to move forward. "There's... something else I never told you," I say, and that alone is enough to change his expression, the lightness fading into something more attentive, more careful."Okay," he says, leaning in just a little. "What is it?"I hesitate, because saying it out loud still feels strange, like giving it shape makes it heavier, but I push through anyway."My ex," I start, keeping my voice steady even though I can feel the tension creeping into my shoulders. "Isaac. He wasn't just... a bad boyfriend or emotionally unavailable or whatever people like to call it when they don't want to say the truth."Bram doesn't interrupt. "He was abusive. Emotionally, then psychologically and then... physically," I continue, more directly now, because there is no point softening it. Bram freezes in front of me, "He wasn't like that since the beginning and it wasn't all the t
{ Abraham }She won't come.I tell myself that from the moment I step into the restaurant, like setting expectations low will somehow soften the impact when I inevitably end up sitting here alone, pretending I came for the ambiance and not because I am pathetically hopeful, but the truth is there is still a small, stubborn spark in my chest that refuses to go out, the kind of blind hope that has no business existing after everything that has happened, and yet here I am, dressed nicer than usual, sitting in a high tea place surrounded by elegant older people who look like they belong here in a way I absolutely do not.And a couple.A very, very happy couple.A couple that just got engaged right in front of my eyes at the exact table I wanted, the one I specifically requested after watching too many videos online of "most romantic places in Vancouver," the one with the perfect view of the city and just enough privacy to make it feel like something out of a movie, except now it is covere
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