False Start: A Novel

Maria Walker has spent her entire life under the weight of expectations in a world where reputation trumps happiness. As the daughter of the respected Walker family, every choice—including her relationship with kind, loyal Noah Bennett—is judged by high society, who see him as far beneath her standing. Daniel Rothfield faces a different pressure. The powerful, emotionally guarded CEO of Rothfield Holdings has avoided relationships since a devastating breakup left him unwilling to risk love again. Yet his parents and business partners insist a man of his status needs to project stability—and a serious relationship is the perfect image. When Maria and Daniel unexpectedly arrive together at a prestigious charity auction, a fleeting moment ignites rampant speculation. Within hours, social media explodes with rumors that the billionaire CEO and the Walker heiress are secretly dating. Rather than deny it, Daniel proposes a solution: pretend the rumors are true. A fake relationship solves both dilemmas. Maria’s parents would stop pressuring her about Noah, while Daniel’s family and associates would see him finally settling down. It’s meant to be simple, temporary, and strictly controlled. Rules are set: No real feelings. No crossing boundaries. No forgetting it’s just an act. But pretending to be in love proves far more complicated than planned. As they appear together at events, family gatherings, and public functions, undeniable chemistry emerges—shifting from performance to something dangerously authentic. Meanwhile, Noah grapples with quiet jealousy fueled by headlines and photos, Daniel’s past resurfaces to threaten the facade, and their carefully built lie begins to crumble. In a society that measures love by status and appearances, Maria and Daniel face an undeniable truth: the relationship they pretended to have may be the most real thing either of them has ever felt.

Paul never understood his family’s hatred. His father despised him. His brother tormented him. His mother ignored him. Betrayed and framed, he landed in prison for crimes he didn’t commit. But they made one mistake—they let him live. Five years later, Paul walks out of prison a different man. Quietly, invisibly, he builds an empire no one sees coming. No face on the covers. No name in the headlines. Just power, moving in the shadows. When the truth about his family finally surfaces — the lies, the secret that his brother was not actually his father’s son, and the fact that Paul’s mother had covered for the real criminal — everything they built on top of their betrayal begins to collapse. Paul didn’t come back for revenge. He came back for answers. Revenge was the unexpected prize.

When Lila Hart’s father dies during a hospital clinical trial, she’s told it was a tragic complication. But the records don’t match. After breaking into the hospital archive, Lila discovers her father signed a withdrawal form days before his death — yet someone altered the date. And the man whose signature is on the file? Lucien Cole. Billionaire CEO. Untouchable. Dangerous. As leaked documents ignite a media storm, Lucien claims he approved the withdrawal — and that someone forged the records to frame him. If he’s lying, he destroyed her family. If he’s telling the truth, someone more powerful is hiding in the shadows. Now Lila must decide: Expose the man she hates… Or trust the only person who might survive the war that’s coming.

She needed a husband. He needed a wife. Neither expected to find each other at end of the aisle. Mia Cross is a rising CEO with everything under control except her traditional family, who demand she marry before the year is out. Out of desperation, she invents the perfect boyfriend. But when her family insists on meeting him, her lie threatens to explode. Enter Liam Wolfe, her infuriating rival from a competing firm. He’s ruthless, arrogant, and entirely too handsome for his own good. But he needs a “wife” to secure the business deal of his life. Their solution? A marriage of convenience. The rules are simple: no love, no real intimacy, and an expiration date set in stone. But when family drama, boardroom battles, and scandalous rumors put their fragile arrangement under fire, Mia and Liam discover that pretending to be in love might be the most dangerous game of all. Because somewhere between fake kisses and staged smiles, the lines are blurring. And the hardest rule of all to keep might be the one that forbids falling in love. Will their marriage remain a lie… or become the truest thing they’ve ever known?

Emilka Winchester is the envy of Seattle. To the outside world, she is Mrs. Perfect—the beautiful, devoted wife of a powerful man, living a life of marble counters, designer dresses, and carefully curated happiness. But behind closed doors, the silence is deafening. When her husband misses their fifth anniversary, a single crack begins to spread. A missed dinner becomes a trail of lies leading from the rain-soaked streets of Seattle to a hidden hotel room in Chicago. One receipt. One lingering scent of lilies. One scrap of red lace that doesn’t belong to her. The truth shatters everything. But Damian doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He offers a solution. An open marriage. After years of failed IVFs and the weight of a legacy that never came, he no longer wants a wife,just a woman to maintain the illusion while he lives his life elsewhere. Now Emilka must decide: remain the perfect wife in a beautiful lie… or destroy everything to reclaim the truth. Because in a world built on appearances, the truth is the most dangerous thing she can choose.

"I bet you can't make her like you." "Watch me." Neither of them knew the other one was having that exact same conversation. Ava Bennett has never lost anything worth keeping. Not competitions, not arguments, and certainly not the cheer captain election she has spent three years bleeding for. She is disciplined, intimidating, and completely immune to Mason Reed's charm. Or so she tells herself. Mason Reed has never met a girl he couldn't win over. Football captain, school golden boy, wanted by everyone and challenged by no one. Until Ava Bennett looks straight through him like he is nothing, and suddenly winning becomes personal. When their friends separately dare them to do the impossible, both accept. Neither knows the other made the same bet. So when Mason proposes a fake relationship, the terms are coldly practical. His playboy reputation is costing him his shot at the Elite Prospects Football Program, the most prestigious talent pipeline in the state. Ava needs the popularity surge to pull ahead in the captain election. They hate each other. They agree anyway. The rules are simple. No feelings. No jealousy. No catching feelings. They break every single one. But secrets this size never stay buried, and when the truth finally surfaces, it doesn't just destroy what they built. It forces them to confront the one question neither of them is brave enough to answer. If it started as a lie, how do you know when it became real? So...... Fake It With Me, Because the most dangerous game is the one where you forget you're playing.