Pretend Lovers Novels & Stories

A reckless, but rare one. “I’m not going to stay home all night,” I said out loud, like I needed to hear it to believe it. I’m not breaking a promise. Not really. I’m just going for a little while to surprise him. That’s not reckless, right? I’m just being a good girlfriend. At least, that was what I told myself. Getting Ready I stood in front of the mirror longer than usual. Maybe even too long. “Stop overthinking it,” I whispered to myself, but I didn’t.

“Pretend what?” “Pretend we love each other,” I said softly. “Pretend we’re happily married. Forget that we quarreled this morning and I broke your head with a base when you tried to strangle me to death. Just for tonight. We can go back to being enemies tomorrow. But tonight… let’s pretend.” The silence stretched between us. He studied me, his eyes unreadable. Finally, he nodded once. “Fine.”

“I miss you already.” “You guys are gross!” Someone yells, pretending to gag. “Remind me to bring my girlfriend to the next hangout,” Peterson adds. He hurls an empty coke bottle at Aiden, who ducks and proceeds to reach across the table to tackle him. Platters and glasses go scattering everywhere. I ignore them and head towards the bathroom. I’m smiling as I use the facilities. Aiden and I look so much in love, it’s hard to tell that we’re not a real couple. We are such good actors, we’ve got everyone fooled. Especially Theo.

It will never be. Tyler was now holding be bridal style. This feels a little cliché to me. Except it's not my true love who saves my life. "Aren't you going to congrats your hero?" Tyler smirked. "Put me down, jerk!" I said as I struggled off him. He dropped me so I landed in my ass. He so did that on purpose. I stood up to glare at him, but he just shrugged. "You may fall from the tree, but you have to fall in love with me." Tyler smirked jokingly. Its true though, but I have to pretend to fall for him.

She looked wistful, as if picturing a romance pulled straight from the movies. I forced a smile, trying to share in their enthusiasm. "Yeah, it sounds... interesting." One of my colleagues, Clara, noticed my lack of enthusiasm. "What's wrong, Ava? Don't you like the idea?" I sighed, shaking my head slightly. "It's just... there are no perfect lovers in reality. It's a nice idea, but it's not realistic." The truth is, if someone did show up who checked off all those boxes, wouldn’t they were a fraud? I just thought but didn’t speak.

A pause. “That already sounds like trouble.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “He thinks we should pretend to date.” Silence. Not immediate. Not sharp. Just… space. Then, slowly, “Pretend.” “Yes.” “As in… a fake relationship.” “Yes.” “With him.” “Yes.” I waited, staring at the edge of the window, watching a car pass like it mattered. “You’re serious.” “I wish I wasn’t.” Another pause. “Why?” he asked. “Because if our parents think it’s real, they stop interfering,” I said. “They get what they want, and we get left alone.”

“You’ve been pretending your whole life, Elena. Smiling when you want to scream. Pushing forward when you want to break. This is no different—except this time, you get something back.” The truth in his words cut too close. She hated that part of her considered it. “If I say yes,” she whispered, “this stays pretend. No lines crossed.” Something flickered in his eyes—gone too fast to name. “Strictly pretend.” The air shifted, heavy with finality. Elena’s chest tightened. Somehow, agreeing felt less like opportunity and more like stepping into a performance with no script. She swallowed hard. This has to stay pretend. And yet the weight of his gaze, the ruthless certainty in his eyes, made her

“A relationship that starts because of business can’t turn into real love… right?” I said softly, trying to smile like I’m fine. Donghwa shrugs. “That’s just your theory. Ever seen Princess Hours? Enemies-to-lovers, fake marriage turned real love. It happens.”

“Fine. But have you ever thought about what we would say to our parents when they come to know our pretend thing? I mean they will find out everything after the party night.” “I won’t mind if they suggest that I should choose you as my chosen mate.” "What?" "What? What? You heard me right? We can pretend all our life. By spending just two days with you I realized that we share an amazing chemistry together." "No way, I don't want to make things awkward between us or chasing because of last night. So, better you behave and it was a one time thing." "Sure, Beta.", She replied, her answer not sounding too convincing to me. "Actually it happened multiple times things.", She added, smirking at me

But there’s nothing between us. This is instinct … wet, hot urges. Nothing real. Just temporary fun. At least, that’s the lie that I tell myself as I wind her hair around my fingers. As she loops her hand in mine. As the diamond of her ring glints like a star. I pretend that I’m fine with this. Because what other choice is there? It could be real. Oh, that wicked, tempting voice creeps in. This marriage is pretend. But nothing stops you from having a proper one. With time, maybe ... Maybe there’s a chance?—