All Chapters of Paid To Pretend, Destined To Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

7:36 PM Neon lights flickered against the brick walls of the old bodega-turned-nightclub in Malasaña. American pop mixed with Spanish reggaeton, vibrating through the floor and into every ear inside.Laughter clashed with the clink of glasses. Perfume, gin and tonics, and cigarette smoke mixed thickly in the air despite the smoking ban everyone ignored.Waitresses moved between tables with practiced balance, their short skirts and bright smiles attracting the usual crowd of tourists, university students, and men with too much money and too little shame.Some leaned close—too close—to whisper into customers' ears, flashing thoroughly rehearsed smiles, playing the game the night demanded.Rachel stood behind the counter, moving slower than the chaos around her.She'd taken this job six months ago when the hospital bills started piling up. The owner, Nate—an American expat who'd stayed in Madrid after a study abroad program twenty years ago—paid under the table, which meant no taxes but

10:30 AM the next day Rachel arrived early.She'd barely slept. After leaving the hospital at two in the morning, she'd gone home, stared at her ceiling for three hours, and given up on sleep entirely. By seven, she was showered, dressed, and pacing her tiny apartment, rehearsing what she would say.Now, sitting in the ornate café near Recoletos station, she felt the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her shoulders.Café del Espejo was beautiful—all mirrors and marble, with high ceilings and golden accents. The kind of place Rachel would never normally enter. The kind of place where a single coffee cost more than her lunch budget for the week.But Joseph had suggested it, and she hadn't argued.She ordered a cortado she couldn't afford and sat at a corner table, her hands wrapped around the small cup for warmth she didn't need.Her phone sat face-up on the table. 10:32 AM.He was late.Or maybe he wasn't coming at all. Maybe he'd sobered up, realized offering forty thousand euros t

The week following the transfer of the fifty thousand euros had been a blur of antiseptic smells and hushed prayers for Rachel. Benjamin's surgery had been scheduled, and the weight on her chest had lightened just enough for her to breathe. But as Saturday approached, a different kind of suffocating pressure took its place. She was no longer just a sister fighting for her brother; she was a woman playing a part in a world that didn't want her.Joseph had been silent most of the week, presumably buried in the logistics of his new acquisition of Sterling Tech. However, he hadn't been idle. In his high-rise office, he had spent hours staring at the administrative staff files until he found her. Seeing her official employee photo—tired eyes and a forced professional smile—had stirred something in him that felt like more than just pity. He realized then that the girl from the bar wasn't just a stranger; she was his responsibility in more ways than one.Saturday evening arrived with a ch

The next morning, the office felt different.Rachael noticed it the moment she stepped through the doors. The usual buzz of keyboards and low conversations was still there, but something in the air had changed. People glanced at her a little longer than usual. Whispers quieted when she walked past. Everyone knew something had happened between her and the new CEO, even if they did not know exactly what.She kept her head down and made her way to her desk, determined to act as if everything were normal.But nothing was normal.The memory of the night before lingered in her mind Joseph’s apology, his promise of no more secrets, and the unsettling honesty in his voice. She wanted to believe him, but trust did not come easily, especially after deception.At exactly ten o’clock, Señora Torres approached her desk.“The CEO wants to see you in his office at eleven,” she said quietly.Rachael’s stomach tightened.“Did he say why?”Señora Torres shook her head. “No. Just be there.”Rachael nodd

The night didn't truly end when Rachel left the gala; instead, it lingered with her. At first, it was gentle, almost courteous, quietly settling into the edges of her mind, as if it had no plans to go anywhere once it had made its way in. The door closed behind her with a soft, precise seal, and just like that, the street outside disappeared. Not gradually, not softly fading, but cleanly cut off, as if the world she had just stepped out of had been placed behind glass. Joseph held her hand and they moved towards the car. She could tell that the car didn’t belong to the street, not because it was extravagant in a loud way, but because it was too controlled, too precise in its presence. Black, clean, positioned with intention rather than convenience, like it had been placed there rather than parked there. The interior held a kind of silence that didn’t exist outside. It could fit the synonym of controlled and intentional. The leather seat beneath her was smooth in a way that felt del