All Chapters of Fake Fiancée To My Bully Stepbrother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

41 Chapters

Chapter 21 – The Greenhouse

POV: ElenaThe anonymous phone call haunted me for the rest of the night."If Miss Hart wants to know who's been taking the photographs... she should come to the old greenhouse behind the athletic centre tomorrow night."The words repeated in my head until I wasn't sure whether I had actually heard them or imagined them. Someone had been watching us. Someone knew my name. Someone wanted me. Not Jace.Me.By morning, the Calloway house had returned to its usual routine, but the tension lingered beneath every polite conversation. Extra security guards patrolled the grounds. Two unfamiliar SUVs sat outside the gates. Even the staff moved more quietly than usual.Richard acted as though everything was under control. It only made me more uneasy. "No one is going to that greenhouse," he announced over breakfast, setting down his coffee with practised calm. "I've already instructed security to investigate." "And if they find nothing?" I asked. "They'll keep looking.""That's not an answer."

Chapter 22 – Damage Control

POV: ElenaThe drive back from the greenhouse was so quiet that the sound of the tires rolling over the pavement seemed unnaturally loud.Jace didn't attempt to start a conversation, and I wasn't sure I could have answered him if he had. My mind was still trapped inside that abandoned greenhouse, replaying the note over and over.YOU'RE LATE.Whoever had written it had expected us.Not hoped. Expected. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared out the passenger window as the familiar gates of the Calloway estate came into view. For the first time since moving into the house, the iron fences and security cameras didn't make me feel protected. They only reminded me that someone had managed to get close despite all of them.Jace parked in front of the house and switched off the engine, but neither of us moved. "You shouldn't have gone," he said quietly. I kept my eyes on the windshield. "You followed me." "Because you left without telling anyone." "I knew you would've tried to stop me."

Chapter 23 – Crossing Lines (Part 1)

POV: Elena Three days passed without another note.No mysterious packages appeared at the Calloway estate. No anonymous calls interrupted dinner. The greenhouse remained sealed off while Richard's security team combed through every inch of it, insisting they would eventually find something useful.They didn't.Life, somehow, continued. Classes resumed, basketball practices filled Jace's afternoons, and the campus gradually found a new scandal to obsess over.People still stared whenever we walked together, but the curiosity had lost some of its intensity. Our engagement was no longer breaking news. It had simply become another part of university life.I should have been relieved. Instead, the silence unsettled me more than the threats had. Whoever had been watching us hadn't disappeared. They had simply stopped reminding us they were there.The library was unusually crowded that afternoon. Final projects had turned every table into a battlefield of laptops, textbooks, and half-empty

Chapter 23 – Crossing Lines (Part 2)

POV: ElenaThe laughter lingered between us for only a moment before Jace pulled away from the curb and merged into the afternoon traffic.For a while, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn't uncomfortable anymore. That realization caught me off guard. When we had first moved into the Calloway house, every quiet moment had felt like a battlefield waiting for someone to throw the first punch. We had argued over everything—whose turn it was to use the bathroom, who had left dishes in the sink, whether he listened to music too loudly, or whether I was capable of relaxing for five minutes without opening another textbook.Now the silence simply... existed. I wasn't sure when that had changed. "You've been spending a lot of time in the library," Jace said, his eyes fixed on the road. "My professors have this strange habit of assigning work." "I'm serious." "So am I." He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel before glancing at me."You've been with Aiden almost every afternoon this

Chapter 24 – Playing the Part (Part 1)

POV: ElenaSaturday mornings were supposed to be quiet.Instead, I found myself standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom, wondering how I had become the kind of person who spent twenty minutes deciding which dress looked the most convincing beside her fake fiancé.I frowned at my reflection. The pale blue dress my mother had insisted I wear was elegant without being flashy. It fell just below my knees, and the fitted waist made me look older than I felt. She had even curled my hair, claiming it would "soften" my features."You look beautiful." I glanced over my shoulder. My mother smiled from the doorway, her eyes shining with unmistakable pride. "You don't have to keep worrying," she said gently. "You'll do fine." "I'm not worried about the luncheon.""No?" "I'm worried about pretending."She stepped into the room and smoothed an invisible crease from my sleeve. "Sometimes pretending is easier than you think." I thought about the words for a moment before forcing a smile. "I hop

Chapter 24 – Playing the Part (Part 2)

POV: ElenaThe conversation around us shifted almost immediately.Several donors turned toward Camille with polite smiles, greeting her as though she were an expected guest. Judging by the warmth of their reactions, she knew many of them personally.Of course she did. People like Camille had grown up attending events like these. She understood the unspoken rules, remembered names without trying, and moved through the room with the kind of confidence that she navigated the room with an unteachable confidence, effortlessly recalling names and grasping the unspoken rules.She stopped in front of us, her smile perfectly composed. "Congratulations," she said, looking between Jace and me. "The engagement seems to be making everyone very happy." "Thank you," Jace replied evenly. Camille's gaze settled on the ring on my finger. "It suits you, Elena," I said, offering a polite smile. "That's kind of you." "It wasn't a compliment." The words were so soft that only I heard them.Before I could r

Chapter 25 – Under the Surface

POV: ElenaBy Monday morning, the photograph was everywhere.Someone had uploaded the picture from the alumni luncheon sometime after midnight. It wasn't one of the posed photographs the university had released through its official pages. This one had clearly been taken from a distance, just as Jace and I reached his SUV.We were holding hands. Neither of us was looking at the camera. I was looking at him. He was looking at me. There was no forced smile, no rehearsed pose, no carefully crafted image. It looked effortless. Real.The caption beneath it read:Campus Couple Goals? Jace Calloway and his fiancée looked more in love than ever after Saturday's alumni luncheon. The comments were even worse."They're actually kind of cute." "I didn't believe the engagement at first, but they look so natural together." "Did you see the way he was looking at her?" "He's completely gone for her."I locked my phone and dropped it onto the kitchen counter before I could read another word. "You're f

Chapter 26 – The Lines We Cross

POV: ElenaThe ride home was quieter than usual.Jace drove with one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel while late-afternoon sunlight stretched across the dashboard. The radio played softly in the background, but neither of us paid much attention to it. Ever since the photograph from the alumni luncheon had begun circulating around campus, an awkwardness had settled between us that neither of us seemed willing to acknowledge.It wasn't the picture itself that bothered me. It was what it had captured.For a few careless seconds, we'd forgotten the cameras existed. We hadn't been performing for donors or smiling for photographers. We'd simply been walking to the car, talking about nothing important, with my hand resting naturally in his. The entire campus had interpreted it as romance.Only we knew how dangerous that misunderstanding really was. "We have another event tonight," Jace said, breaking the silence as he turned onto the road leading to the estate. I groaned. "Please t

Chapter 27 – Smile For the Camera ( Part 1)

POV: ElenaBy Thursday morning, I had developed a healthy distrust of Melissa. Every time she appeared with her clipboard tucked beneath one arm and an overly cheerful smile on her face, I knew my day was about to become significantly more complicated.Sure enough, she intercepted Jace and me just as we stepped out of the administration building."There you are!" she said brightly. "I've been looking everywhere for you two."Jace sighed before she had even reached us. "Why do I suddenly feel like running?" Melissa pretended not to hear him. "The athletic foundation wants a few more promotional photographs before the season officially starts. Nothing too formal—just some candid engagement shots for the campaign."I stopped walking. "No", she blinked. "No?" "I've smiled for enough cameras to last a lifetime." "It'll only take an hour." "I said that at the alumni luncheon." "And those photographs were a giant success." Melissa beamed as though she had personally orchestrated the response

Chapter 27 – Smile For the Camera( Part 2 )

POV: ElenaThe photographer finally lowered his camera with a satisfied smile. "I think we've got everything we need."Melissa looked over several of the images on the camera's display and clasped her hands together. "These are perfect." "I'd like to officially retire from public appearances," I said as I stood from the bench. "I'm afraid that's not an option." "It was worth asking." Jace picked up his jacket from the back of the bench and threw me a sideways glance. "You lasted longer than I expected." "I'll take that as a compliment." "It wasn't." "It never is with you." A small smile tugged at his lips before he looked away.Melissa excused herself to speak with the photographer, leaving the two of us alone for the first time all afternoon. "I wasn't lying, you know," Jace said. I frowned. "About what?" "You're talking in your sleep." I stared at him. "I don't believe you." "You also threatened to fail someone's biology exam." "I don't even teach biology." "I know." Heat rushed t

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