All Chapters of Nothing But Pretend: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

41 Chapters

Chapter 11 - When Love Walked Away

Madam Lowe is having a terrible day.Sophia Shen hasn't been gone for more than half an hour when the news arrives—The patriarch is returning to the estate.Madam Lowe freezes.Her father-in-law has been living quietly in the countryside for years, rarely interfering with family affairs. He values distance, peace, and control. When he moves, it is never without reason.And when he returns suddenly, it is never good."Could it be...the Claire?" Mr. Carter blurts out.Madam Lowe stiffens. Of course. Who else would it be?Everyone knows how much the old man favors Claire. How protective he is of her.At exactly eight that evening, the patriarch arrives. He doesn't waste time. Phones ring. Orders are issued. Pearl is summoned back from school. Ethan and Claire are ordered to return immediately.---Claire gets into Ethan's car, fastening her seatbelt as she asks casually,"Why is Grandpa suddenly coming back? And why does he want everyone at the estate tonight? Do you know what's going on

Chapter 12 - The Day They File

The next morning.Claire finishes her makeup carefully, unhurried, as if today is no different from any other important occasion. She chooses her clothes with intention—nothing loud, nothing careless. When she opens the door and steps into the hallway, the door across from hers opens at the same time.Ethan stands there in a tailored suit.He looks sharp. Controlled. Immaculate, the way he always does.And yet—up close, the details give him away.Bloodshot eyes. Faint dark circles beneath them. A pallor that no amount of grooming can hide. He looks like someone who didn't sleep. Or someone who tried and failed.Claire, on the other hand, looks radiant.Her skin glows. Her posture is relaxed. She looks alive, like a flower in full bloom, unapologetic in her color and presence.Ethan freezes for half a second.Has she always been this beautiful?The thought catches him off guard. It's absurd. He's seen her every day for three years. And yet, standing here now, something feels unfamiliar

Chapter 13 - A Script She Never Agreed to Play

The black Bentley cuts through rain-slicked asphalt.Today would have been Julian's thirtieth birthday.Claire turns her head slightly. Ethan sits beside her, posture immaculate, shoulders squared beneath a tailored black suit. He looks composed, untouched by weather or memory.After a moment, he speaks, voice calm and distant. "What are you thinking about?""Nothing," she answers instinctively. Then, after a brief pause, she adds quietly, "Just...thinking it's a shame."The words feel misplaced the instant they leave her mouth.She hadn't known Julian well. When she first married into the Lowe family, even hearing his name was enough to send Ethan's mother into uncontrollable tears. Claire had learned to stay silent, uneasy around a man she'd never met.Only days ago did she finally understand why.Irene's eyes had been red when she came to her, hands trembling as she unraveled a story buried under years of silence. A girl raised in the Lowe estate, always watching Julian from a dist

Chapter 14 - The Moment He Realizes What He's Lost

The Lowe estate is unusually busy.Tonight's banquet is not a celebration, but everyone knows it marks the end of something long and brutal.And the beginning of something new.When Madam Lowe sees the man standing in the living room, she collapses.Moments later, in the upstairs bedroom, she wakes with a sharp gasp, fingers clutching the bedsheets—until they close around a familiar hand.Her eldest son."Julian..." Her voice breaks instantly. Tears spill without restraint. "My son. My precious son. Do you know how much I cried for you? Do you know how much my heart hurt?"She reaches up, trembling, touching his face again and again as if afraid he might vanish. "You've lost so much weight. You must have suffered. But you're home now. You're home. Mommy will take care of you again."Julian watches her quietly.There is pain in his eyes, but also restraint. He squeezes her hand gently. "Mom. Please don't cry. Everything's over now."Julian exhales slowly and pats her back.But her tear

Chapter 15 - The Distance Between Us

The moment Ethan steps out of the car, he sees Claire.Ethan remains by the car, unmoving, watching her approach.For three years, Claire has walked toward him countless times. She has walked toward him with smiles, with expectation, with barely concealed excitement. She has walked toward him as if he were her destination.But never like this.Now, her expression is calm. Her gaze holds no anticipation, no joy. There is no warmth waiting to spill over.The contrast is brutal.Claire stops in front of him and speaks in a businesslike tone, crisp and detached. "We're going to the old house, right? Let's go. Grandpa already called to rush us."Ethan looks at her, his lips parting slightly, "why didn't you answer your phone?""I didn't want to."The answer is blunt. No excuses. No softening.Ethan pauses, then says, "If it's about what happened the last two nights, I can explain.""There's no need." Her voice stays light, almost indifferent. "There's nothing to explain. This is how our re

Chapter 16 - She Says No to All of It

The car is quiet.Claire and Ethan sit side by side in the back seat, neither of them speaking.The driver grips the steering wheel, pretending very hard to focus on the road.Behind them, another car pulls out at speed, taking a different road. The man gripping that steering wheel is Julian.For the first time the night, he feels like he can breathe. He has finally shaken off his mother. His sister. The endless questions. The watchful eyes.Even though he saw Irene just yesterday, the hours apart feel unbearable. The longing claws at him, restless and relentless.Some lovers reunite.But some barely survive sharing the same space.---Ever since that night—since Ethan said he would "try"—he actually starts trying.He asks Margaret about Claire. What she likes. What she eats.Margaret answers eagerly, eyes shining, wiping tears with the corner of her apron, "you have finally figured it out," she says, emotional."Madam likes freshly baked bread—soft ones, all flavors. She likes cilant

Chapter 17 - When Family Walks In

Claire doesn't expect anything when she returns to Maple Ridge Residence. Margaret greets her at the door and casually mentions that Ethan has already left. There's an urgent matter at the company.Urgent matter? Claire snorts inwardly. More like he got pissed off and didn't want to see her face.Nothing new.She showers, changes, and finally lies down on the bed, scrolling her phone out of habit. That's when she notices an unread message.From Ethan.[Something urgent came up at work. I'll be back very late tonight. Don't wait for me. Get some rest.]"...?"Claire stares at the screen.What is this now? Since when does he report his whereabouts to her?She rolls her eyes and tosses the phone aside—only for it to buzz again moments later.[I'll make breakfast tomorrow morning. It shouldn't taste too bad.]Claire freezes. She remembers Margaret mentioning earlier that Ethan had come home early, gone straight into the kitchen, and stayed there for hours—redoing dishes again and again.T

Chapter 18 - Things He Can't Afford to Lose

Lucas ultimately doesn't take Claire home with him. Not because he changes his mind, but because reality interrupts before the argument can reach its end.The call comes suddenly. Ethan's grandfather collapses and is rushed to the hospital.In that instant, everything else becomes irrelevant.The tension from breakfast. The unspoken divorce. The unresolved resentment between husband and wife. None of it matters anymore. Claire and Ethan leave together without discussion, their earlier confrontation suspended by something heavier, something neither of them dares to ignore.Seventy-eight years old.An age meant for slow mornings and quiet routines, not fluorescent hospital lights and emergency monitors. Yet the old man has carried the family for far too long—corporate battles, family conflicts, grandchildren who refuse to behave.Just as Ethan said.He wasn't strong anymore. He was forcing himself to endure. Any negligence could cost him his life.The entire Lowe family gathers in the w

Chapter 19 - The Line They No Longer Share

Over the next few days, Ethan behaves like someone who has discovered a new addiction—and doesn't know when to stop.Every day, without exception, Claire receives photos from him. Sometimes it's a building. Sometimes an apartment. Sometimes a hotel still under development. Occasionally, it's an entire block marked neatly on a map, highlighted in red. Every message ends the same way.[Do you like this?][What about this one?]Claire likes all of them. Of course she does.She likes money. She has never denied that. She likes security, ownership, assets that don't disappear overnight. For three years, she has given too much of herself to a marriage that never really belonged to her. If this is compensation, then fine—she deserves it.And yet.After the third day, after the fifth photo, after yet another [Do you like it?], she finds herself hesitating.She isn't some greedy monster who will keep reaching out just because something is offered. The more Ethan sends, the stranger it feels. A

Chapter 20 - Someone Else Knows Her Better

Ethan catches a cold the next day.It's mild, barely worth mentioning, but it irritates him anyway. He has always taken pride in his body. Discipline, routine, control. He eats on schedule, trains regularly, has a nutritionist monitoring everything. He doesn't get sick. At least, he isn't supposed to.At breakfast, the table is set with the usual carefully planned dishes prepared by the nutritionist. But there's something new among them—one plate that doesn't quite fit the pattern. Ethan made it himself early that morning, following a recipe he'd memorized the night before.He doesn't say anything about it.He sits across from Claire, posture composed, expression neutral. When she reaches for the dish with her chopsticks, tastes it, and gives a small nod—as if genuinely approving—something in Ethan's chest loosens without warning.The sensation is subtle but unmistakable. His mood lifts, just a fraction.Claire notices him coughing a few times and frowns slightly. "You don't sound gre

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