The ultimatum

SUMMER’S POINT OF VIEW.“Marry Cohen Alessandro Rossi, or face the consequences.”Cohen Alessandro Rossi.I fucking hated that name, the man— everything that had to do with him.But, Father wouldn’t listen to me. And that was always his problem, all he had ever done was make choices that were in his favor.And not mine.He didn’t care about me or my feelings.So, I found myself standing in front of that door, flowers and a gift bag in both hands. It was the door to Alessandro’s apartment— the one I’d shared with him whenever we were in LA.The doorbell rang repeatedly, but there wasn’t any response.I sighed tiredly, the stilettos killing my feet. I’d gotten out of work and without resting, had picked up the flowers and gifts like Father had bidden.He’d ordered me to apologize to Alessandro, and also ask him to marry me.Bizarre, right?But that was my life. Stupid. Awkward. Weird.I couldn’t even begin to start narrating the whole ordeal.After what felt like minutes, I decided to

An enemy to the rescue.

SUMMERS’S POINT OF VIEW.“Mum? What's happening? Why are all these people here?”“Your father has organized this party to make an important announcement.”She didn’t even look at me when she said that, her face was being painted by heavy makeup from the artist. “Find Alessandro and stick around, Summer.”Her words sent a knot twisting in my stomach and made me unaware of my surroundings for the next few minutes.I stared around, unsure of what was going on. Father had called all the top businessmen in the city. And even prominent figures were in attendance.That didn’t look like any usual business meeting— at all.I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me what was going on— it was my engagement party disguised as a business event.Realizing, I staggered backward, almost feeling the breath that was knocked out of me for a split second.No.I couldn’t let that happen.I wasn’t going to get myself trapped with that awful man, Alessandro. I was done being the pawn in the game of family and p

Proving a lie.

SUMMER’S POINT OF VIEW.“What?!”Mother was the first to scream, nearly passing out while Clarissa tried to hold her up.Cold eyes flashed at me, voices murmured and whispered all around. Everything seemed to be happening at once, but I kept my gaze fixed on one person—Maximilian.He needed to accept and go along with this. I was desperate, helpless, and exhausted from being chained to decisions I didn’t want.And I was willing to do anything to escape Alessandro—even if it meant a fake engagement.Alessandro tried to speak. “Summer—" “—She’s right,” I was relieved to see Max step in, his muscular figure approaching me as I faced the crowd, my fingers fidgeting. “Tonight is our engagement.”I smiled in relief, my heart pounding as I struggled to stay composed. Max reached where I stood, and I saw his steel-green eyes piercing into mine, burning with questions.He leaned in closer, and I stepped back to retreat, unsure of what he wanted.We were so close I feared he could hear my hea

In his bed?

MAXIMILIAN’S POINT OF VIEW.Summer had gone crazy.First, I thought she’d said it just as a joke, but it turned out that she was actually serious.A fake engagement? With her?The woman I hated the most?Unbelievable.“You don’t have to pretend you want it,” she whispered in my face, batting her eyelashes at me. “I’m sorry I pulled you into my mess.”I stared at her, watching her pouty lips move slowly, full and glossy. My fingers tapped my chin carefully, and I thought of the whole situation.What did I stand to get?And why did I even agree in the first place?“Miss Foster—‘’“—I think calling me Summer is fine,” she cut in with a slightly harsh voice, her eyes darting around the hall briefly. “We’re engaged now. And it’s going to be so weird if you keep calling me by my last name.”I straightened my posture. “I haven’t accepted your proposal yet.”I watched her eyes widen, and she scrunched up her face, pulling my arm to a secluded corner.“What are you saying, Max? You just… never

The deal.

SUMMER’S POINT OF VIEW.“What?”He wasn’t serious, was he?Yes, I wanted to make things believable, but that didn’t include ‘making love’ with him.I swallowed hard at the thought of his body over mine, and those strong, muscular arms gripping me firmly while they pinned me to the bed. He would be huge down there, I could tell from the bulge in his pants. My eyes hadn’t meant to stare down there, but…Wait, was he hard? I could see his length rising and… OMG.“Have you lost your mind?” I straightened my body on the bed, on my knees, of course. “Why would I ever want to make love to you? I don’t even like you.”He huffed, halting the fingers on his buttons as he got closer to me, his narrowed eyes piercing through my batting eyeballs.“Then you shouldn’t have announced me as your fiancé.”“I was desperate, okay?” I sounded frantic with my high-pitched voice. “Nobody said anything about having sex. Make things believable, yes— but not like this.”He sneered, and I felt him grab my arm

I told him to stay away.

SUMMER’S POINT OF VIEW.“You’re engaged to Maximilian Brampton?!”,Carly screeched over the phone, sounding surprised as I’d expected. She was out of the country, so she had no idea what had happened until she saw it online.I shrugged my shoulders, not giving insight into the situation’s details.“Life happened, I guess.”“But you hate him,” she snapped, refusing to believe it wasn’t a ruse. “He’s been your rival since when? eighth grade?”Of course, she knew everything. We’d all grown up together and gone to the same school.“That doesn’t matter now,” I applied concealer to my face, staring into the mirror to see the effects. “We’ve put aside our differences and—’“—Someone is here to see you, Ma’am.”The housekeeper announced, and my door opened before I could turn around to see who it was.With Carly still on the phone, I stood up from my chair, turning around to see who the visitor was.My entire body language shifted into an indescribable feeling, but anger was obvious, along wi

FAKE—DATING MY CHILDHOOD RIVAL. のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 6

The ultimatum

An enemy to the rescue.

Proving a lie.

In his bed?

The deal.

I told him to stay away.