Fake Death

Three men. One heart. Maya’s bl‌ueprint for lo⁠v‌e. May​a Al​v⁠are‍z thought‍ she was on the safest and fulfilled path, a loyal boyfriend, a promis‌ing career, an​d a life free of drama. Till a s‍tormy‌ night and a s⁠tole‍n kiss und‌er the gallery lights shat‍tered everything. Humiliated‌ but unbro⁠ken, Maya threw herself into wor​k mindlessly, only to clash wi⁠th Zane Cro‌ss: a ruthless b‍illionaire client, whose smirk is as dangerous as his secr‍ets. Th⁠ei​r s‍parks igni‌te b‍o⁠ardrooms and headl⁠ines, and soo‍n the city is whisperin⁠g abo‌ut the fire between th‌em. When a scanda‍l threatens t⁠o wr‍e‌ck her care​er and all she’d worked for, M‍ay⁠a makes​ a desperate move.She begins to notice Lucas, the⁠ charming​ Doctor, willing to fake-date her, to cal​m the rumor and get her mat⁠c​h‍making f‌amily’s pressure off her. B​ut fak⁠e dates soon b‍ecom‍e real gl​ances, and r‌eal glances stir old fee⁠lings Maya wasn't prepared for. As corpo​rate sabot‍age, family meddling, and city gossip swirl, Maya begins⁠ to wonder if love is w​orth the risk at all and questions where​ h​e‍r salvatio‌n truly lies, to be fully ready to recieve the love she wants and deserves.

Mira Vale has always been invisible—an omega from the weakest pack, a girl no one notices. Until the night her secret mate publicly destroys her reputation… and the most dangerous Alpha on campus offers her a deal. Fake-date him. Let him protect her. Let the whole school believe she belongs to him. Klaus Saint is ruthless, powerful, and completely off-limits. Pretending to be his girlfriend was supposed to save her life, not steal her heart. But the longer they act in love, the more real it feels—and the more dangerous the truth becomes. Because Mira isn’t who she thinks she is. And someone will do anything to keep her power buried. When lies unravel and enemies close in, Mira must choose: stay small and survive… or rise and claim the destiny written in her blood. He claimed her as a lie. Now he’ll fight the world to keep her for real.

Juniper Hallowell has survived a lifetime of humiliation—an illegitimate Omega, a rejected mate, and the secret obsession of Prince Elias Whitmore, who keeps her chained with threats and a forbidden tape. But the night he chooses another woman over her, Juniper walks into a biker club and into the arms of two strangers who feel like destiny. Ronan and Soren Graves—ruthless biker princes and heirs of the Crimson Pack—have lived under a deadly Christmas curse since childhood. Every 24th of the month, they turn feral… until one night with a mysterious Omega brings them peace for the first time in years. They don’t know she’s their sister’s enemy. They don’t know she’s Elias’s mate. They don’t know she’s the witch-blooded cure they’ve searched for all their lives. But when the truth is exposed, chaos erupts. Juniper becomes torn between danger and desire, vengeance and destiny, power and love. And when she discovers she carries the twins’ children, the race to break the curse becomes a war—against Elias, Seraphina, and even fate itself. This Christmas, bloodlines will clash, curses will break, and love will demand a sacrifice no one is ready for.

For the past seven years, I've been taking care of my paralyzed mother-in-law in the countryside on my own till the day she draws her last breath. That's when I finally get to see my husband, Arthur Hughes, whom I haven't seen for a very long time, hurrying back to the countryside. After the funeral, I pack up everything belonging to me and our daughter, Tessa Hughes, seeing as we're about to move to the city with Arthur soon. To my surprise, a woman seeks me out and shows me her marriage certificate. "I'm the actual wife of Arthur Hughes. Now that my mother-in-law has passed away, you've completed your mission. From now on, you are not allowed to contact Arthur anymore." I remain rooted to the spot, my body already shaking like a leaf uncontrollably. At that moment, I feel as though my mother-in-law is laughing at my stupidity, based on how she's smiling at me from her portrait.

I'm on my way to get married when a truck slams into my car from behind. After being unconscious for a long time, I hear the doctor telling my fiancee that I might lose my memory. I decide to have a little fun and open my eyes, pretending to be confused. "Who are you?" My fiancee goes completely still. I'm about to admit I'm only teasing her, but before I can, she grabs my best man's hand without a second thought. "I'm Janice Lloyd, your best friend's fiancee. You got into a car accident on your way to our wedding."

A year after Easton Carter turns down my 99th proposal, he calls me in the middle of the night, crying like his world's falling apart. He says his grandmother is dying and her last wish is to see him married. He tells me he's finally ready. He's already ordered the dress and booked the venue. But when I show up at the venue in my wedding dress, his friends burst out laughing. "You actually believed that? And you even swapped the cheap dress he ordered for a custom-made one? You're the queen of pathetic!" Then one of them yells, "Look, the groom's side piece showed up to crash the wedding!" "Security, come get this homewrecker!" Guests turn to stare like they're watching a joke unfold. Easton doesn't even look at me. He turns to the woman he loves and says, "I told you I'd ruin this wedding for you. I meant it. If you can't have him, no one will!" She gives him a satisfactory smile. Then, he finally glances at me. "Tina said you did her a favor today. When we get married, you can be the bridesmaid, and you can still spend time with us after that." So, he brought me here just to help his sweetheart ruin her crush's wedding. But when Easton finally looks up at the wedding banner and realizes that I'm the bride, his eyes flare with rage.

When Matteo Ricci threatens to end our engagement for the 100th time unless I take Lydia Capone's place in the famiglia's drug trial, I don't cry or make a scene. I just sign my name on the engagement termination agreement and calmly hand over the man I've loved for eight years to my twin sister. A few days later, Lydia storms the mafia summit like she owns the room, insulting the Pirelli family and daring anyone to stop her. I'm forced to step in and bear the full weight of her chaos. And now they're saying Lydia's body can't handle the trial after all, so they want me, the older sister, to take her place. The moment I agree, my parents smile at me for the first time in years. Even Matteo, who barely notices me, hovers nearby and murmurs, "Don't be afraid. The trial isn't lethal. When you get out, I'll take you for your favorite spaghetti alla Napoletana." But he has no idea that there's a late-stage stomach cancer diagnosis tucked inside my pocket. No matter what horrors the trial holds, he will never witness me walk out alive.

It's supposed to be a punishment, but it ends with me freezing to death in the freezer. My fiance, Carlo Vesta, also known as the heir of the Vesta family, only remembers that I exist three days later. Now, I'm just floating around while watching him hug my frozen corpse, his body trembling violently. I notice how broken his expression is, and soon, I witness him piecing together the truth that I've brought into my grave with me. It's too late, Carlo. But it's fine. I'm right here, watching you. I want to see how you're going to face the truth of you personally locking up the woman you love in her own grave.

At the family recognition banquet meant to introduce the real heiress, a stream of floating comments suddenly appeared before my eyes: [So, the real heiress tried to get back at the fake one by stealing the engagement gift from her and the male lead and got caught red-handed.] [Even if she’s technically the fiancée, he knows who he really loves. The fake heiress is the one he actually wants.] [What fiancée? She’s just a thief. Send her back to whatever slum she crawled out of.] Dressed in a princess gown and surrounded by admirers, the fake heiress, Luna Lawson, walked up to me: “Risa, you’re finally back. Mom, Dad, and I have missed you so much. From now on, we’re a family.” I quietly kept eating my fried chicken. When Luna saw me ignore her, her eyes suddenly reddened. Then she reached into my worn backpack and pulled out a ladies’ wristwatch. “Why did you steal the engagement gift Brian gave me? I know you’re dissatisfied with me, but that doesn’t mean you can become a thief!” My fiancé, Brian Cook, looked at me with open disgust. “Return it to Luna right now, then get out of this house.” Under the scornful gazes of the guests, I pointed at the man on stage, my father, who was clinking glasses with Luna’s adoptive father, and asked in confusion. “What exactly did I steal? I’m not here for some family reunion. I just came along with my boss to grab a free meal.” The comments exploded: [This is way too awkward. She’s not the real heiress; she’s just an employee?!]

Nicholas Hunt loves testing me a lot. When I just graduated from university, he tried to make me take on a five-million-dollar house mortgage. After I turned him down, Nicholas was quick to buy Yvonne Myers, the campus belle, a villa that was worth eight million dollars. It was even paid in full. As he held the property deed, he told me, "The truth is, I'm super rich. I've been pretending to be poor just so I can test your integrity. "It's a shame that you never passed my test. I'm very disappointed in you, Elizabeth. Let's break up." I just smiled at him casually. Then, I walked away without hesitation. What a coincidence. I'm the daughter of the richest man in the country. I, too, had been pretending to be poor. Four years later, we bump into each other at the Fortune List Summit. At that time, Nicholas has just squeezed into the top 50 rank. He walks into the venue with Yvonne clinging to his arm. It's then he notices me. I'm wearing plain-looking clothes without any jewelry adorning me, and I happen to be holding a child. Thinking that I'm a nanny, Nicholas begins mocking me. "Wow, you really went all out just to steal one more glance at me, huh? I can't believe you're able to follow me all the way here. "You should learn to accept reality, though. I'm on the Fortune List, while you're working as someone else's nanny. The gap between us is far too wide, so you should stop dreaming already!" I just ignore Nicholas in favor of resenting my dad for making me attend this stupid event. After all, I've just managed to block out one full day just to spend time with my son, and yet I have to waste my precious time on this dumb event.