Make-believe Game Novels & Stories

The air inside was thick with unspoken words, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that once again, I was crossing a line I had vowed never to tread. I sucked several deep breaths and puffed them out. I cleared my throat, trying to keep things casual. “We’re not going to win this by brute force,” I began, leaning against his desk, arms crossed, and my brows furrowing in concentration. “If you want to get ahead of whoever’s plotting against you, we have to play their game better than they do. That means pretending to fall for it. We need to feed them just enough information to make them believe they’re in control, then use it to expose them.”

"I know. You don't need to worry. Everything's going well. The children are finally at ease," Grayson said. He then asked, "Do you like playing games?" "Huh?" Grayson handed Belle a game console. "The company developed a new game recently. Want to do a one versus one?" He was trying to find a way to fill Belle's spare time. Playing games was better than overthinking. Belle immediately sat up. "Sure." The two then spent hours playing the game on separate consoles in bed.

“Then we’ll play for it.” I arch a brow. “Play?” Her hand digs into her belt, pulling out a small silver coin. It shines when she turns it in her fingers. “Best two out of three,” she says. “I call it. If it lands on my side more than yours, my family walks free. If not…” “Then you come back with me,” I finish for her. My voice sounds hollow. Dead. It fits. She nods. I stare at the coin. This is stupid. A child’s game. But maybe that’s the only way left for us. Too much blood and ruin lies between us for anything else.

Any thing is possible. "You would think that." Maria shot back before turning to the rest of us. "Alright, the first game is simple. Two truths and a lie." A chorus of groans followed. "Maria." Grace sighed. "Why do you always pick games that involve public humiliation?" "Because they’re fun." Maria said, unfazed. "Come on, humor me." Nathan’s voice cut in smoothly. "I’ll go first." The table fell silent almost instantly. I blinked. Betrayal.

The protagonists of the live broadcast were none other than me and Heather. In the lower right corner, there was even a prize quiz with the title 'Will the well-known entrepreneur betray his wife?' The prize money had already reached 200,000 dollars. On the public screen, luxury cars kept scrolling past, and various gifts kept appearing. I was stunned. It felt like I had become a tool for the couple to make money. It was as if I had woken up from a dream. I asked her, "What does this mean?" She was also slightly stunned. Perhaps she did not expect me to find the camera. But then she unbuttoned the dress and approached me step by step. "Don't you want to know about Leanne? I will tell you the

She maintained aspirations of being able to make as much as Finn one day. "I worked all last year and made exactly what Finn did last week... on Tuesday. It will only be worse now that he sold his designs on the new Email Blasts program. What's the point?" That game sounds fun. It lets you blast spam messages with a fake sword by swiping on the screen. I can't wait until it's available for regular download. I lean across the small opening between the couches and pat Aspen on the knee. "I get it."

"I'm sorry for not letting you know where I have been." "We know where you are." "What?" How could that happen when she didn’t notice anyone following her? Or even trying to contact her? One of Sierra’s biggest fears was what if someone tried to stop the wedding, which obviously didn’t happen. When Sierra was made to believe everything was going well according to her plan, she was being fooled that she had mastered the escape game. "We also know you got married." "Even Mama?" Indie let out an arrogant snort. "Little Rose, you have so much to learn. You try to run or hide, but you'll come around and come back."

Foolish. "Lalabas na ako." Malamig kong tugon at bumaba sa kama. Tinungo ko ang vanity ko at nilagyan ng concealer ang ilalim ng mga mata ko para hindi masyadong halata. Gusto niya pala ng laro, pwes bibigyan ko siya ng tunay na laro. Kung inaakala niya na patay na patay ako sa kanya ay nagkakamali siya.

"We're survivors, and that monster isn't going to win." From her expression, she doesn't believe me. The doubt is creeping back in and I understand. Talking and doing are two different things. The time for making promises is over and action is the only thing that will allow us to sleep at night. The bastard will die. Melina breaks into our conversation. "How about a game of Spades," she says, pulling a deck of cards from the side table. "We can play partners and pretend we're ordinary women with too much time on our hands."

Let the game begin. --