Lahat ng Kabanata ng Pretend To Be Mine; Bound To My Brother's Bestfriend : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

CHAPTER 12Zendayas povMy heart slammed against my chest as I stared at Malachi's shocked face. I had stood up without thinking or planning. I had just... stood up.For a split second, the room was completely silent except for the pounding of my pulse in my ears.Then reality crashed into me like a freight train.Oh God. Oh God, what have I done?I didn't even think. I just let out a sharp cry and crumpled to the floor, my hands clutching my leg as if it were on fire. Tears sprang to my eyes—not from pain, but from sheer panic and the crushing guilt of what I was about to do."My leg!" I gasped, my voice breaking. "Oh God, my leg!"Malachi rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside me. His hands hovered over me uncertainly, his face twisted with concern. "Zendaya, what—what happened? You were standing—""It hurts!" I sobbed, writhing on the floor. I dug my fingers into my thigh, my whole body trembling. "Sometimes it does this. Sometimes I can—I can feel it work for just a second,

CHAPTER 14Zendaya POV "We try it on, yes?" Madame Rousseau gestured to her assistants. "Come, come."They helped me into a private changing area, carefully assisting me into the dress. It took several minutes to get all the layers situated properly, to fasten all the tiny buttons and hooks. When they finally wheeled me back out to the mirrors, even the assistants gasped.Adrian stood up, his expression carefully composed. "It's perfect. The media will eat this up."His words were practical, businesslike. This wasn't about me being his little sister getting married. This was about making sure my CEO position was secure, about making sure the board had no ammunition to use against me.I stared at myself in the mirror. I barely recognized the woman looking back at me. The dress fit perfectly, hugging my curves in all the right places before flowing out in that gorgeous, romantic skirt. The beading on the bodice caught the light with every tiny movement, and the way the fabric draped ma

CHAPTER 16VICTOR’S POVI'd always been a patient man. It was one of my greatest strengths—the ability to wait, to watch, to strike at precisely the right moment when my enemies least expected it.And right then, sitting in my spacious office overlooking the city, watching Marcus Reid lay out photographs and documents across my mahogany desk, I felt that familiar thrill of victory even before the game had truly begun."Tell me everything," I said, leaning back in my leather chair, fingers steepled under my chin.Marcus, the private investigator I'd hired—a wiry man who'd made a career out of digging up dirt on the wealthy and powerful—spread the evidence like a dealer laying out cards. "It's exactly what you suspected, Mr. Castellano. The engagement is fake."My lips curved into a cold smile. "Show me."He pulled out the first set of photographs. "This is from seven years ago. A college party at the university they both attended." He pointed to a grainy but clear enough photo showing

Chapter 18Zendaya’s POVI closed my eyes in bliss, forcing my breathing to remain leveled as I felt him behind me. It was a mere whisper but all the hairs on my skin stood. I clenched my hand into a tight fist. Perhaps it was because the words he said bright me back to that memory I’d be trying to fight off since he slipped himself into my life like a damn pest! It reminded me of how his voice had manage to make my body his slave. It reminded me of the feeling I’d been fighting to stay locked. Hidden and untold. I sighed and dragged my wheelchair. It was easy for me to pretend that I still couldn’t walk because I had spect years depending on the scrap of metal. When I moved to shift close to the wheel chair, my hands pressed hard into the seat of the couch. I suddenly felt a hand grip my shoulder, not enough to hurt me, but enough to hold me down. “Let me help you,” Malachi’s voice carried over my head before he stood in front of me, his hand stretched he’d like he wanted to lift

Chapter 20Zendaya’s POV Please wake me up from this nightmare. The library doors might as well have slammed shut behind Malachi. My pulse thundered in my ears as I stood there, frozen on the bottom rung of the ladder, the book still clutched uselessly in my hands.I hadn’t heard him come home. The mansion had been so quiet—Adrian out handling last-minute wedding details, the staff busy elsewhere. I’d let myself believe I had time. Just a few stolen minutes to breathe, to be whole again. But now Malachi was staring at me like I’d ripped his heart out and handed it back to him in pieces.And I think I did. “Zendaya…” His voice was rough, barely controlled. “Have you been pretending this whole damn time?”The question lodged in my throat. I wanted to explain, but the words tangled into a knot of shame and fear. All I could manage was a weak, “Malachi… I—”He stepped closer, eyes dark with betrayal. “Why? Why hide something this big from me? From your own brother? Everyone’s been wait