บททั้งหมดของ Pretend to Be Mine: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

Maya had begged me to let her keep attending her old school, even after we moved into Adrian’s penthouse.“It’s the one normal thing I have left,” she’d argued, her eyes fierce. “I don’t want to lose that too.”I’d reluctantly agreed. I thought I was doing the right thing—giving her a little piece of the life we used to have.But as I sat in the back of Adrian’s town car that morning, waiting for her outside the school gates, I had no idea how much she’d come to regret that decision.Because the moment she stepped through those gates, whispers followed.“That’s her sister…”“The contract girlfriend’s kid sibling.”“Bet she’s just here for the money too.”When she told me later, I could almost hear it—the cruel music of teenage voices, sharp and practiced in how to hurt.By lunchtime, her patience had snapped. A group of girls cornered her near the lockers, led by Savannah Crane—the daughter of one of Adrian’s board members.“So,” Savannah had said, flipping her perfect blond hair, “wh

The video spread like wildfire.By morning, my confrontation with Savannah Crane had been dissected on every social feed, every gossip blog, every minor news outlet desperate for a new headline. Some praised me—“Finally, someone calling out entitled bullies.” Others sneered—“Proof she’s unstable, just like Clara said.” The world had split and everyone had an opinion.Inside Harrington Tower, the fallout landed immediately.The Boardroom HeatAdrian walked into the boardroom to find the Cranes already waiting. Walter Crane—Savannah’s father—sat stiff in his chair, the clip playing on loop on the projector screen.“Explain this,” Walter demanded, voice clipped. “Your… companion threatening my daughter in a public school hallway? Recorded, broadcast, humiliating my family name?”Adrian didn’t flinch. “Savannah humiliated herself. I was protecting my sister,” I thought I heard him say, but the room buzzed so loud my own heartbeat drowned it.Walter’s face darkened. “She threatened a minor

Savannah Crane thrived on attention.But after my press statement went viral, the spotlight that once belonged to her had turned—toward me, toward Maya, toward the story she thought she owned. Headlines praised the Ramirez sisters instead of mocking us. Even her classmates whispered that maybe Savannah had gone too far.Savannah hated it.And when people like her lose control, they get dangerous.I didn’t know she was planning her next move that night—sitting at her vanity, scrolling through pictures of Maya, each smile fueling her spite. She saved them all in a folder she named Lesson.The next morning, that “lesson” began.It started with whispers. Anonymous posts on the school’s private forum. Screenshots of the article about us, twisted into something uglier. Rumors spread like wildfire—Maya cheated on exams. Maya bought her friends. Maya was only still in school because of him.By the time Maya walked through those gates, laughter followed her like smoke.“Careful, she might brib

The envelope arrived that morning—thick, cream-colored, heavy enough to feel dangerous. The Harrington Tower seal glinted in gold at the corner, and something in my stomach dropped before I even opened it.The butler handed it to me with a polite bow. “For you, Miss Ramirez.”For me. I wasn’t used to letters in this world being addressed to me.I tore it open with trembling fingers. The words blurred for a second before they sank in—Notice of Legal Action.Walter Crane was suing me. For defamation. For “threats” made against his daughter, Savannah Crane.My knees nearly gave out. The sound that escaped my throat wasn’t quite a word. Maya rushed to my side, alarmed.“What is it?”I shoved the letter toward her, my voice hollow. “They’re taking me to court.”By noon, it was everywhere.BREAKING: Adrian Harrington’s Girlfriend SUED by Walter Crane.The anchors dissected everything about me—my tone at the press conference, my expression in every photo, my past jobs. Every frame, every pa

Morning light streamed into the penthouse—golden, soft, and utterly deceptive. It looked like peace, but peace didn’t exist in my world anymore. My stomach churned as I buttoned my jacket with trembling hands, staring at my reflection in the glass. I looked like someone else—someone stronger, colder—but inside, I was splintering.Maya hovered by the doorway, fiddling with the hem of my sleeve. “You don’t have to go today,” she whispered, her voice small but firm. “Let Adrian handle it. You’ve been through enough.”I shook my head, my voice quieter than I intended. “If I let Walter Crane scare me out of that courtroom, he’s already won.”The words sounded braver than I felt. Outside, the city stretched wide and shining beneath a cold blue sky, pretending nothing was wrong. But I could feel the tension humming beneath its surface—the reporters waiting, the whispers multiplying, the people who’d already chosen a side.I looked out at the skyline and saw my reflection overlap with the tow