False Pretense Novels & Stories

Kung ang grasya na kamo ang lumapit, bakit niya pa tatanggihan iyon? "Alright. I want you to be my pretend girlfriend..." "Pretend...what?" Nabingi yata si Rebecca roon. "Be my pretend girlfriend..." "W-wait...wait...wait! Breathe in and out muna!" Nang matauhan siya ay muli niyang sinuri ang kabuuang mukha ng binata. "So, you're saying?" Iling-iling na lamang si Ralph. Saglit itong may kinuhang folder at inabot iyon sa kanya.

Medyo padilim na bago kami mapuntahan at marescue. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Malungkot na sabi ko, sinabi ko na rin ang ginawa kong kalokohan sa kaniya. "What?" Sigaw niya. Napatayo pa siya dahil sa gulat. Nahihiya ko naman na hinatak ang kamay niya paupo. "What the hell Agatha, what did you eat to do that? You pretended to be poor just to get close to that man? Are you crazy? And you actually got married? To someone you don't even know. Damn girl, you're crazy!"

“Kaya kahit nasusuka akong makita ang mukha mo, I have a proposal for you, Maggie. Let’s play pretend. Umarte ka bilang perpektong First Lady sa harap ng bansa hanggang sa matapos ang termino ko bilang Presidente. Name your price. You want a new building near BGC, right? I’ll give it to you.” This man is surely two-faced. Hindi ako makapaniwala sa naririnig ko. Ibang-iba siya sa harap ng mic at camera tuwing may interviews. Putang ina, binoto pa naman kita! Building mo mukha mo, baka galing lang din 'yan sa pera naming mamamayan! Kesehodang hambalusin ko ang mukha niya ng suot kong sapatos at itusok sa noo niya ang takong nito!

No pretending to love everything. Just… real. And it was intoxicating. “Salamat ha,” sabi niya as she puts down her fork. “Ang boring ko ka-date noh. Wala man lang akong alam sa wine or fancy food.” “Stop,” sabi ko, malumanay lang naman. “You’re exactly what I needed tonight.” “Anong ibig mong sabihin?” “Honesty. Realness. Lahat sa mundo ko nagpapanggap. Pretends to like things they don’t. Pretends to understand things they don’t. Pretends to be things they’re not.”

“This animal happens to be a certain lawyer you’re pretending not to have feelings for?” Napakurap-kurap ako. Pretending? Paano niya nasabing nag-pre-pretend ako? Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. “I’m not pretending…” Kontra ko sa sinabi niya, kaya lang, parang tumututol naman itong puso ko. Kumabog bigla nang sumagi na naman sa isip ko ang ginawa ni Onse kanina. At hindi lang lang ‘yon, pati mga ginawa niya—mga effort parang slideshow na nag-fa-flash sa isipan ko. Hindi sadyang napahawak ako sa aking dibdib. Gusto kong pigilin ang nagwawalang tibok ng aking puso.

“Sa korte? Karaniwan, oo.” “Hindi palagi,” ganti ni Sandro. Tiningnan niya ang mga executives sa paligid, at ang kanyang boses ay muling bumalik sa pagiging authoritative. “If a signature is obtained through active deception, coercion, or under false pretenses... it doesn't prove consent. It proves fraud.” Bahagyang nagbago ang timpla ng mga executives, may bakas ng pag-asa sa kanilang mga mukha.

"You're a fraud, a liar, a manipulator. You've spent the entire day pretending to be something you're not. You're a charlatan, a con artist, a fake." Damon, his face pale, his eyes wide with fear, stared at her, his silence a testament to the truth of her words. He knew that he had been playing a role, a role that was necessary, a role that was painful. But he also knew that he was a fraud, a liar, a manipulator. He had been caught in his own web of lies, his carefully constructed facade crumbling beneath the weight of his own deceit.

Gusto niyang ipakita rito na hindi niya ito pinaniniwalaan. Malaki ang paniniwala niya na tulad lang din ito ng kanyang ex, manggagamit. "So, may iba kang ipapakilala?" Excited na tanong ni Alby. "Yes," wala sa loob na sabi niya. Masama ang nagsisinungaling kaya naibulalas niya iyon. Saka, kung tutuluy-tuluyin din naman ang panliligaw ni Kidlat sa kanya, magiging boyfriend din naman niya ito.

Every time that he stares at me Iike I matter to him, every time that his hand hold mine and drop a sweet kiss at the back of my palm, every time that his sweet warm lips brushed my forehead, the side of my lips, the tip of my nose and the way his lips kiss me sweetly in my lips, I want nothing for us but to make love, but I can’t because we were never a couple in the first place. We were just pretending. We were a faux. We were just two separate persons pretending to be one. We were only pretending to be two people in love with each other and even if we were truly a loving and doted couple we can’t. I can’t just give myself to him because this is what I wanted to teach my babies, my younger