Playing Dumb

Adelaine Montclair has built her entire life on perfection — the perfect daughter, the perfect fiancée, the perfect public image. But when she discovers her secret fiancé, Zain, tangled in the arms of her best friend on the night of her lavish engagement party, perfection shatters. Cornered in front of two hundred influential guests, Adelaine makes a reckless move: she introduces a mysterious stranger, Dante Moreau, as her real fiancé. What begins as a desperate lie spirals into a dangerous game of appearances. Dante, cold and enigmatic, has his own reasons for playing along, reasons tied to the Montclair empire and the father who controls it. Together, Adelaine and Dante navigate staged kisses, relentless media attention, and family pressure to wed quickly. But the line between fake and real blurs, forcing Adelaine to question whether Dante is her salvation or her downfall. As old betrayals resurface and hidden family secrets threaten to destroy everything, Adelaine must choose: keep playing the role others wrote for her, or reclaim her own story, even if it means falling for the man who vowed never to love her.

They say betrayal cuts deepest when it comes from the one you love. Larissa learned that the hard way. One slip of the tongue. Four deadly words. “It was an accident.” In a moment of blind trust, Larissa took the fall for a crime she didn’t commit—believing her fiancé would fix it. Instead, he turned his back on her and watched her get locked away. Now out on parole and drowning in shame, Larissa’s last chance at justice comes from the last man she should trust—his brother. Cold. Calculated. Dangerous. Everything about him screams don’t play his game. But he wants revenge just as much as she does. And he has a plan that starts with one forbidden rule: Marry me, and we ruin him together. Trusting a Patterson destroyed her once. Trusting another might cost her more than just her freedom. But this time, Larissa isn’t playing to survive—she’s playing to win. Because love is messy. Loyalty is dead. And revenge? That’s the most forbidden game of all.

My parents made Dana and me settle it with rock-paper-scissors. Loser had to marry the Baillieu heir—the so-called "freak." I won. Then flipped the script. "Cool. I'll take Blake. Dana can have the empire." Last time? I was dumb in love with Michael—Dad's adopted golden boy. Chose the company, stayed behind, and handed Dana off to Blake Baillieu. Big mistake. Six months in, Dana was gone—wrecked by that marriage. Right before she croaked, she texted Michael blaming me. Said I lost the game and ditched the deal, dumping Blake on her. Michael? Snapped. Dude went full psycho. Turns out, he and Dana had been sneaking around for years. He dragged me behind the Baillieu estate and forced a dozen intellectually disabled men to assault me. "If it weren't for your cruelty, Dana would still be alive! You'll pay for everything she suffered!" I was over eight months pregnant—almost due. Begged him to stop. Begged for my baby's life. He didn't care. Kept ordering them to take turns. Even when my water broke, he just watched. Both my baby and I died that night. Now? I'm back. And this time, I rewrote the story. Step one: marry Blake.

“Why do you suddenly want out of this marriage? Who the fuck are you screwing, you dumb bitch?!” “I'm not screw-” I tried to explain, but he was already on me and I screamed as he dragged me up by my neck, his hand so tight on my throat I couldn’t breathe. “Who is it?!” he growled. “Who the fuck would dare!” ---- In a world absent the mate bond, alliances were formed through blood, power, and betrayal rather than fate. Makena Blackwell was born into the mafia's lowest-ranking position, promised at birth to a powerful heir in exchange for her family's survival. She was ready to marry him. But he was ready to destroy her. On the night she was meant to die, however, something impossible happened. A man rose from the icy steel trays of her father’s morgue. He was a stranger, with no memory, no name, and no pulse. And when their gazes met, fate spoke the word they never expected to hear in their lifetime, echoing so loudly in their souls it shook the very fabric of their being. “Mate!” The man the world left for dead wasn’t just anyone; he was the dread every mafia house feared, and he was hers. She was promised to a prince of power… but fate gave her the king of the dead.

"Just join me for a drink perhaps?" Her bushy brows rose suggestively at me. She knew my answer, she knew what I'd say. I grabbed the bottle off her scrawny hands and said "You know, for a one time thing, this has become a regular." To be honest, I was actually looking forward to meeting up with her. Not that I was going to admit it to her face. "Like therapy sessions from two dumb, ill-favored kids. Who are trying to give each other easing words." She was right. Though her stumbled movements indicated a slight intoxication. Suddenly, out of the awkward moment, she looked up at me with a sad smile and said. "I might be a street girl but is it too bad to wish for a normal life? Go to proms? Have new clothes? Shelter? Love? Do I not deserve?" Her teary eyes searched deep into my soul. I was unaware of the lack of distance between us. When did we get so close with barely an inch barrier? "Flare..." that was all I could say because then all I could feel were soft lips against mine. Her lips! And it felt so nice. Subconsciously, I grabbed her little body and went for another kiss, this time, a deeper kiss.

It's 11:30 pm. Home alone, I decide to order some takeout. When the map shows the delivery guy is zero miles away, I receive a call from him. I pick up, only to hear unsettling silence from the other end. I hang up, annoyed. The next moment, the guy texts me, "Sorry, I'm hearing-impaired and unable to speak. I called to notify you to pick up your food as soon as possible. I can't explain things over the phone, and I apologize for that." Then comes another text. "You must've been waiting for a long time. I've left your order at your door, so please pick it up as soon as you can." Just as I prepare to open the door, I see bars of live comments—reminiscent of livestream chats—floating right before my eyes. "Don't open the door! That dude isn't a delivery guy at all! He's a murderer!" "He called you to check if you're a woman living alone!" "Seriously, why are all thriller story protagonists always so dumb? The delivery guy is obviously suspicious, yet she still wants to open the door."

"How can you miss a spot? Oh you are such a dummy. I can't believe my brother is married to you." Bella rolled her eyes and looked at me like I was trash. "Yea, even I'm surprised you're my wife." Alec stepped in, tall And handsome he was. If only he wasn't always so cold like this. "You're too dumb, all the time letting my mother and sister speak to you like that. I wonder when you'll ever stand up for yourself." "Can we talk, in private?" I said as polite as I could. Alec just looked me with disgust and shrugged. "Well, good night everyone. I'm off to this fancy hotel to have a gooood night!" He said, ignoring me. I hated that he did that, but I just wished I had the boldness to correct him and teach him to treat me right. "I hope you bring home a new girl. This one expired 3 years ago." Lolita said. "Mom, I married her three years ago." Alec said and they all bursted out in laughter.

A beautiful seductive alluring Cindy Montreal. The neglected and rejected daughter of her family, A successful famous author of her generation and the lover of Giovanni Monforte. Her ex-fiance. Before she was the fiance and Cassandra Ramos her step-sister was the lover and now she is the lover and Cassandra is the new fiance. Switching their places to have revenge on her family and to the man she loved before. Making them taste their own medicine. Playing by the fire to be the winner of this game. 

The financial tycoon Nelson FitzGerald was abducted by a bold and daring woman. During their first encounter, she not only threatened him but also overpowered him, to which he gritted his teeth and said, "Woman, we will meet again." The second time, she once again took the upper hand, with him beneath her. This time, Nelson FitzGerald resolved to turn the tables, warning her, "Woman, you're playing with fire."

My husband falls for my cousin at first sight while still married to me. They conspire to make me fall from grace. I end up with a ruined reputation and family. I can't handle the devastation, so I decide to drag them to hell with me as we're on the way to get the divorce finalized. Unexpectedly, all three of us are reborn. As soon as we open our eyes, my husband asks me for a divorce so he can be with my cousin. They immediately get together and leave the country. Meanwhile, I remain and further my medical studies. I work diligently. Six years later, my ex-husband has turned into an internationally renowned artist, thanks to my cousin's help. Each of his paintings sells for astronomical prices, and he's lauded by many. On the other hand, I'm still working at the hospital and saving lives. A family gathering brings us three back together. It looks like life has treated him well as he holds my cousin close and mocks me contemptuously. However, he flies off the handle when he learns I'm about to marry someone else. "How can you get together with someone else when all I did was make a dumb mistake?"