All Chapters of Pretend To Be Mine; Bound To My Brother's Bestfriend : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 22Malachis povThis is supposed to be my wedding night. Instead it feels like I’m locked in a room with the one person who can still unravel me.The silence had followed us from the car like a third passenger, heavy and unbroken. Adrian had practically shoved us toward this suite earlier, clapping me on the shoulder with that hopeful look in his eyes. “Talk it out, you two. For the family.” He thought we hated each other. Part of me wished that were true.The door clicked shut behind us, and the first thing that hit me was the bed—massive, turned down, dominating the elegant room like some kind of challenge. One bed. No couch in the sitting area that I could see right away. My shoulders stiffened.“I’ll take the couch,” I muttered, already stepping that way.Zendaya’s voice cut through, quiet but firm. “You can have the bed. I don’t mind.”I didn’t turn around. “Couch is fine.” I headed straight for the bathroom, closing the door a little harder than necessary. Cold water spl

Chapter 24Zendaya povMalachi drove into me with a force that stole every breath from my lungs. The first thrust was deep and punishing, like he was trying to bury years of frustration straight into my core. I cried out, legs tightening around his hips as he set a brutal, relentless rhythm—hard, fast, almost angry. Each snap of his hips slammed the headboard against the wall and sent shockwaves of pleasure-pain rippling through me.He wasn’t just fucking me. He was claiming me with every suppressed emotion he’d bottled up for years. I could feel it in the way his fingers dug into my hips, in the ragged growl that tore from his throat every time he bottomed out inside me.“Fuck, Zendaya,” he rasped against my ear, voice thick with everything he’d held back. “You feel that? All those years you pushed me away… told me you didn’t feel anything for me… and now look at you.” He punctuated the words with a particularly deep thrust that made me moan helplessly. “So fucking wet. Dripping down

Chapter 26Zendaya’s POV How could one night feel like the start of everything and the beginning of the end at the same time?I’d been waiting in that suite for what felt like forever. The morning light had slowly shifted across the floor, turning golden and then fading into afternoon shadows, and still no sign of Malachi. Every minute that ticked by twisted the knot in my stomach tighter. I kept replaying last night in my head—the way he’d touched me like I was the only thing that mattered, the raw confessions whispered between kisses, the way he’d held me afterward like he never wanted to let go. Had I pushed too far? Had I misread the heat between us and let my heart get ahead of reality again? The guilt sat heavy in my chest. Maybe I’d overstepped. Maybe giving in so completely had only reminded him why he’d been keeping his distance in the first place.I paced the room for the hundredth time, still wearing the robe from last night because changing felt too final, like admitting

Chapter 28Zendaya’s povThe silence in the car felt heavier than the city traffic outside. I’d reached for Malachi’s arm without thinking—just a small touch, trying to bridge whatever gap had opened up between us since this morning. But he’d pulled away like my hand burned him. I didn’t say anything. I just folded my hands in my lap and stared out the window, telling myself he was probably in a bad mood. The kind of mood that came after a long day, or maybe after everything that had happened between us the night before. I didn’t want to push. Not when the memory of his touch was still fresh enough to make my skin tingle.The restaurant was one of those quiet places with soft lighting and tables tucked away from the main floor. Exactly the kind of spot I’d imagined when I suggested dinner. Somewhere we could talk without the whole world watching. Or at least try to. Malachi’s face stayed locked in that cold, distant expression the whole way in, like he was wearing a mask he couldn’t w

Chapter 30Zendaya povMy fingers fumbled with the loose tie of the bathrobe, pulling it tighter around me as a full-body shiver ran through me. The fabric was soft and slightly damp against my skin, but it did nothing to hide how completely exposed I felt standing there in Malachi’s bathroom, heart hammering against my ribs. I hadn’t planned any of this. The tap in my own bathroom had genuinely gone haywire, spraying water everywhere when I tried to turn it on. But now, with him looking at me like that—eyes dark and hungry, jaw clenched tight, body radiating barely leashed tension—I couldn’t find the words to explain myself.Malachi stepped closer, closing the distance until the heat from his body wrapped around me like a second skin. “You know what I hate?” he said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that sent fresh sparks down my spine. “I hate that you do this to me, Zendaya. You walk into my space looking like sin itself, fresh from my shower, wearing nothing but my robe like you b