All Chapters of Pretend to be mine : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

80 Chapters

Diana

Diana and Lucia’s friendship was the stuff of legends. They'd met in school, bonding over late-night pizza and study sessions. Diana had been immediately drawn to Lucia’s sharp wit and determination, while Lucia admired Diana’s quick thinking and creative approach to problem-solving. As they navigated the challenges of school together, their friendship deepened. They became each other's sounding board, offering advice and support through thick and thin. After graduation, Despite her demanding career, Diana always made time for Lucia. The two friends would meet for brunch every Sunday, discussing everything from their love lives to their latest career triumphs. Diana’s own love life was a bit of a rollercoaster. She'd had her share of high-profile romances, but nothing seemed to stick. Lucia often joked that Diana was too intimidating for most men, and that she needed someone who could keep up with her sharp tongue and quick wit. When she wasn't working or dating, Diana love

Last Updated : 2025-01-16

Complicated emotions

Lucia got to work the next morning groggy but blissful. In the middle of the night she’d woken up to him kissing the back of her neck and turned to give him access to the rest of her body. This time it was slower, gentler, quieter, but the fireworks had gone off just the same. He’d refused to let her drive him to the airport that morning. He’d insisted it was too early and she should get some of the sleep that he’d robbed her of. She hadn’t gotten any of that sleep—she’d jumped in the shower as soon as they’d kissed good-bye at her front door—but she’d loved him for saying so. She sank into her desk chair and barely managed to avoid spilling her coffee as that thought sank in. Loved him? Wait, no, that’s not what she’d meant. She couldn’t feel that way about him. That way was surely headed for heartbreak with a guy like Avon. But he clearly cared about her, right? He jumped on a plane to come see her for less than twelve hours; he had to feel something for her. Or was she just

Last Updated : 2025-01-17

Unfinished sentences

Avon left straight from the hospital to pick Lucia up at the airport, feeling a mix of excitement and relief. He had been looking forward to seeing her all day, and the stress of the past few days was starting to catch up with him. As he walked down the hall toward the elevator, Lucas high-fived him. "You'll be at 4th of July party on Sunday, right?" Avon nodded, smiling. "See you there." The elevator doors opened, and Avon stepped inside, feeling a sense of anticipation. He had been thinking a lot about his relationship with Lucia , and he was starting to realize that he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. When he arrived at the airport, Lucia walked out of the terminal just as he pulled up, looking stunning in her business attire. Avon jumped out of the car to kiss her, feeling a rush of excitement. "Hey," he said, smiling. "Welcome back." Lucia smiled back, looking a little tense. "Hey," she replied. "Thanks for picking me up." Avon nodded, opening the trunk to grab her lugg

Last Updated : 2025-01-18

Facing fears and finding comfort

“I knew you’d like the pancakes, even though the biscuits are my favorite.”He pulled out her ponytail so he could run his fingers through her hair, and she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.“Hills?”She turned and smiled at him, but she looked anxious again, like she had the night before.Maybe she needed to get work done? Yeah, that was probably it. She always needed to get work done.“I was maybe going to go for a run. Did you . . . is that cool? You’ll be okay here for a while, right?”She turned away from him and sat up.“Yeah, that’s fine. I can get some work done while you’re gone.”Yeah, he’d figured. He kissed her again as he stood up to go change into his running clothes. When he came back into the living room, her laptop was on her lap and she had that worried look on her face again. Still.“Everything okay?”She jumped at the sound of his face and looked up.“Oh . . . yeah, fine. Just checking my email.”He didn’t quite believe that. He wanted to sit down ne

Last Updated : 2025-01-18

Sangria,sausages and small talk

She walked over to refill her glass of sangria. A guy Avon had just introduced her to followed her. "Lucia, right? Having fun so far?" He put an arm around her. Lots of huggers at this party. "Yeah, it's great." She stepped to the side so she could pour her drink. "Ethan, right?" "Yeah, so smart of you to remember." Ethan liked to stand close, didn't he? "So Lucia , where are you from?" She took a sip of her sangria and a half step backward. "San Francisco . I'm just down here for the weekend." Oh look, he'd moved closer. "You live in San Francisco ? That's cool. But I meant, like, where are you really from?" Now she knew where this was going. Like she couldn't "really" be from California? Why did people always try to ask her about her ethnicity in the clumsiest of all possible ways? Getting this question, especially in this way, always made her feel like such an object of curiosity. Today it made her feel like even more of an Other in this party full of golden-hai

Last Updated : 2025-01-20

Secrets and smiles

Lucia held her glass out to Dorothy for a refill. “Maybe not an expert, but I did graduate from Law School, so . . .” Lily crossed the room so fast she almost knocked into Dorothy . “Tell me everything.” After Lucia went inside, Avon got his share of teasing from Ryan and Julian. “Good God, you should see the way you look at her,” Luke said. “It’s like me when I’m looking at . . .” “A really fat sausage?” Julian suggested. “Oh, shut up, both of you,” Avon said, after Ryan and Julian recovered from their peals of laughter. “No, no, but it’s cute,” Julian said. “Look at you—you keep glancing toward the house to see if she’s coming back and trying to pretend that you’re just looking at your drink.” Avon shifted his eyes back in their direction. Okay, fine, they caught him looking for her. He was just trying to make sure she made it back outside okay. No, that excuse didn’t even work in his own head. Eventually, Cassie , another doctor at the hospital, came over to the

Last Updated : 2025-01-20

Behind the smile

Avon pointed and went back to munching on chips and listening to Lucia and Julian talk about hiking. Unsettled? He wasn’t unsettled. It was possible he would prefer Lucia to be standing next to him than over on the other side of the party talking to three strange men, but he wasn’t unsettled. He watched Lucas approach her group and tap her on the shoulder. Lucia threw her arms around Lucas and beamed her bright smile at him and absorbed him into her cozy little group. Avon waited for her to look around for him. She was probably just waiting to catch his eye to signal to him to come join them. But she didn’t turn her head. Lucia was glad she hadn’t tried to have the Talk with Avon before coming to the party. She would have made some humiliating speech about how she felt about him and how she wanted a relationship with him, and he would have looked at her with pity in his eyes. She’d always known what the deal was. That was the worst part. She’d known from the beginning who and wh

Last Updated : 2025-01-20

The facade crumbles

“No, Avon, everyone here is great,” Lucia said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “The women are all so warm and welcoming, sharing their stories of how they, too, had their brief moment in the sun with the charming Avon. I can tell by the way they look at me, with that mix of camaraderie and pity, that they know exactly what I’m in for. And the men? Oh, they’re just fascinated by me, eager to see what makes me worthy of your attention. It’s like they think they can learn something from me, or maybe even swoop in and claim me for themselves once you’re done with me.” Avon’s expression turned serious, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face. “Lucia, what’s going on? You seem upset.” Lucia shrugged, trying to brush off the tension. “I’m fine, really. Just a little overwhelmed, I guess. It’s a lot to take in, meeting all these new people and trying to keep up with the conversations.” But Avon wasn’t buying it. He took a step closer to her, his voice low and gentle. “Lucia, I know you b

Last Updated : 2025-01-21

Fractured silence

She thought about telling him that she’d stay, that she could get a ride home later, and also that he could go fuck himself.But her political training hadn’t completely deserted her; not even this much sangria would allow her to let all of these people know her business. So instead, she gave everyone in the group hugs good-bye amid false promises of getting drinks “the next time she was in town” and followed Avon to his car.Avon had stayed in Dorothy’s bedroom for a while after Lucia had fled. He’d wanted to run after her, to tell her no, she’d gotten it all wrong, that wasn’t how he felt. But he’d already made a mess of this conversation, so he figured he should maybe wait and try again when they got home after the party and could really talk.But then he got the call from the hospital and had to run outside and grab her in a hurry. He’d thought about asking Lucas to drive her home, but after basically accusing Lucas of hitting on her, he wasn’t in the best position to ask Lucas fo

Last Updated : 2025-01-21

Shattered

Avon tightened his arms around her and kissed her neck, her hair, the side of her face. After a few seconds, he felt her relax. He reached up and stroked her hair.“Lucia, please. Please, can we talk?”She turned in his arms and rested her head against his chest but didn’t say anything.“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I got frustrated, and I didn’t mean it. Please, forgive me, sweetheart?”Her face was hidden in his chest, so at first, he only heard her irregular breathing and didn’t realize the cause. But when he reached down to stroke her face and tilt it up toward his, he felt the tears on her face.“Oh no, Lucia . Oh, please no, don’t cry.” He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to his chest, but she only cried harder.“I can’t do this, Avon.” He could barely understand her through her sobs. “This is too . . . It hurts too much. We can’t do this anymore.”“No!” He hoped that he’d heard her wrong, but he knew that wasn’t the case. “No, that’s not . . . Please don’t do t

Last Updated : 2025-01-22

...

3 4 5 6 7 8

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP