False Protagonist Novels & Stories

There was the anger of being deceived, the regret of being fooled, but most of all the hollowness left when a dream falls apart. For this so-called chosen one, she had gambled her own future and the good name of the entire Order. And in the end she had found it was, from start to finish, one enormous con. She didn't say a single word for Lucian. She didn't even spare him one comforting glance. Lucian sank into utter despair. He knew he was finished. Garrick and the other two elders were quick on their feet. They flew forward at once and bowed to me in apology.

I wished he would be a little unreasonable so I can lash out some more, but I quickly banished the self sabotaging thought. This was my opportunity to escape the fate of being a pretend wife. I would be foolish to let it go. “I'm not against being your wife, per se,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “What I'm against is being forced into a role I didn't agree with. I don't like being ordered to do so as though I have no opinion of my own,” Mr Benedetto raised an eyebrow, his expression thoughtful. “Go on.” he said, his voice neutral.

The lines between good and bad obscured, and the heaviness of his choices bore intensely on his shoulders. Amid the confusion, a beam of trust glimmered when a columnist, detecting a more profound truth, began diving into the unpredictable trap of trickery. Unbeknownst to Arnold, his painstakingly built façade started to break. The disclosure of controlled stock rates and dishonest indictments cast uncertainty on the story he had woven.

It was the same look she had given me when she had manipulate me into letting her stay in the first place. "Bruno, don't be fooled," I said, my voice low and urgent. "She's not what she seems. She's using you, using your kindness and generosity to get what she wants." But Bruno just shook his head, his eyes soft with sympathy. "Veronica, come on. Ciana's not that bad. She's just lost and alone, and she needs our help." I felt a surge of frustration, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle. Bruno was too blinded by his own good nature to see the truth about Ciana. And Ciana was too clever, too manipulative, to ever let her true intentions show.

"Can you believe that? Someone so pathetic?" If only you knew, I thought, fighting back a smile. If only you knew who I really am, what I have now. "The worst part," Flora went on, clearly frustrated by my lack of reaction, "is that somehow this woman landed a job at a clinic. With fake credentials, fake degrees. Playing make-believe as a counselor when she can barely take care of herself." That was enough. I let out a small laugh, unable to help myself. "Something funny?" Flora demanded.

Was that what Bryce meant by prostitution? Still lying upon the bed, my shoulders straightened indignantly, my bare feet sliding upon the soft sheets as I wondered how Bryce would feel if he learned that for only a brief time, I'd been an employee of Infidelity. If Pat were right that Bryce needed me for a cover, maybe I wouldn't be his best choice. I also wondered if Patrick had considered Millie Ashmore, my high school best friend, an easy lay? Was she on the list he’d supplied? The idea of her, the girl claiming to be my friend, sleeping with not only my boyfriend but also my cousin made me physically ill.

The more she spoke, the darker Charlie's face became. "Apologize to her, Isabel!" "She was the one who pretended to fall." I almost lost my footing when he pushed me, but I managed to steady myself. "I never touched her. That whole fall was just an act." Charlie’s jaw tightened. "Are you saying she's using her unborn child to frame you? You're about to be a mother too. Do you think that's something she’d do?" I looked at him, stunned by how fiercely he was defending her.

He tells me. He wouldn't want her to talk to anyone. "Yeah, that's fine," I mumble, picking at the skin around my fingernails. He notices my action and quickly adds to his argument. "I mean, I don't understand why you would want to talk to him anyway. He isn't a good guy, Anna. Garret is...he is fake. He will get you to believe whatever it is that he tells you and convince you that-" "What would he convince me of?" I ask, interrupting him.

Trying to lure me in with a false innocent front, then present me a sob story and hope that this turned into something real. Maybe I was just being way too cynical, especially since I was the one who had suggested the whole fake fiancé arrangement. But my experience in the past had taught me that it was better to be too cynical than not at all. I didn’t know how to act in the face of what seemed like a very contrasting personality. Everything was simply at odds with her and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to smooth the puzzle out in my mind.

Personal Assistant, huh? I recognized him before he opened his trap. I would be a dope if I couldn’t pinpoint a key player. Behind that smiling and approachable persona was a tricky, cunning, and vicious man. The man of exploited malice. Giannini’s top dog. No known origin, no family, everything about the man’s identity was astutely fabricated lies, from his sob parents’ accidental death to his benevolence-dripping grin. I would entertain the sleazy rodent but I was past patience, and I’d a valid excuse to leave so, of course, I didn't give him or his extended hand more protocol than a raised brow.