Pretend Synonym

For years, Ciara had hidden her feelings from her college friend, Austin, until she finally mustered the courage to confess. But just as she was ready to lay her heart on the line, he blindsided her with a gut-wrenching surprise: he had been secretly dating her childhood best friend, Yuri, and they were now engaged. Despite the sense of betrayal, Ciara feigned happiness and congratulated them, even fabricating a story about having found a boyfriend herself, instead of confessing. However, that only led to another problem when he asked her to bring her boyfriend to their wedding. Now trapped by her own lie, Ciara had to find a boyfriend in just three months. But before that, she escaped on a quick vacation to Paris, where a chance encounter led to a passionate one-night stand with a stranger she had already met twice. When she woke up the next morning and realized what she’d done, panic set in. She ran away. She thought she could leave the whole thing behind, but when she returned to the country a week later, fate twisted the knife—the stranger from Paris was now her new boss. Just when she thought her life couldn’t get any more complicated, he offered to play the role of her fake boyfriend for the wedding. This unexpected arrangement sent her tangled emotions into an unpredictable whirlwind of romance and drama, especially when she discovered a series of shocking secrets, and one of them was that her boss and pretend boyfriend was, in fact, the older brother of Austin.

Content Warning: This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for readers aged 18 and above. "I’m engaged to your sister. You can’t do this." His dark-green eyes bored into mine under the sheets, as he stroked my cheeks. "You’re not even into women, Liam. You know you’re not. You know you want this. You want me." And Liam couldn't deny it, He lived to burn for Jackson Maddox. ~ Liam Sinclair had always lived according to his father’s rules, polished, quiet, and hidden in the perfect image of a future CEO. Behind closed doors, he carried a secret that could destroy everything his father built. He was gay. But scandal had no place in the Sinclair legacy, and Liam made sure no one ever found out. That is, until the night everything changed. When his father arranges an engagement with Avery Maddox, a woman Liam barely knows, he unravels. A single night of rebellion leads him to a club, where a one-night stand with a seductive green-eyed stranger spirals into something far more complicated. The next morning, the stranger's identity is no longer a mystery. His name is Jackson Humin Maddox, the brother of his intending Fiancee. Now Liam is trapped between duty and desire, legacy and love. But Jackson doesn’t care about titles or contracts. Engaged or not, he wants Liam, and he is not letting go. This is a forbidden tango of chemistry, but Liam Sinclair has to choose, to either pretend his one time mistake was baseless, or to fall maddeningly in love with it.

Luca Knight knows exactly the kind of woman he wants to settle down with some day and it's certainly not anyone like Skylar Simpson, his personal assistant. After all, Skylar is a sex addict who knows nothing about commitment. She sleeps with a different man every week, changing men like she changes her sheets. What happens when Luca pays Skylar to pretend to be his girlfriend at his family reunion? Sparks fly. Soon Luca realizes that he wants Skylar all to himself. Skylar has sworn to never love again after getting her heart broken twice which is why she loves to sleep with different men, and so Luca sets out to do the impossible; he's going to seduce her and drive her crazy until she possibly can't think of anyone else but him. ****** "Have you forgotten that I'm just a whore who can't stick to one man?" I ask breathlessly. ”I'm going to make you want only me, Skylar." Luca takes my ear into his mouth and nibbles it gently, sending a shiver down my spine. “That confident?” I whisper, trying hard to fight against the delightful sensations running through me. "Yes." He licks my neck in the most sensual way. “I'm going to make you beg for it. I'm going to drive you crazy until my dick is the only one you want to sit on.” Oh fuck.

"I warned you, Lena. No man touches you except me. You're mine now, let that stick." That was his first warning. Delivered with a cold stare and a voice that didn't allow defiance. "Now, I'm going to fuck you till every other man looks like a woman to you." That was her punishment, and she couldn't even lie to herself about how much she enjoyed it. Abandoned by her father, Lena Anderson, whose dream was to become a surgeon, never planned to end up in a mafia-owned strip club. But when your sister is diagnosed with cancer and your mother can barely walk because of a stroke, you do all it takes to keep them alive. All it took was one night to change her entire life. She didn't plan on killing her first VIP client. But when he forced himself on her without permission, she made sure he never touched anyone again. It wasn't her intention, nor was it getting caught. But she was. Not by the police. By someone ruthless, Lucano Baricelli, her boss, heir to the Baricelli family. A mafia don. A man known to break bones before asking questions. He should have turned her in. Instead, he offered her a deal. Pretend to be his wife for five years so he could win his father's trust and take over the mafia empire. In return? He keeps her out of prison and makes sure she never lacks anything. She accepted. But there were rules. Never get pregnant. Never be caught with any man. Rules are made to be broken, so they say. Lena Anderson broke both, and it drove Lucano nuts.

Who would have thought that an accident would lead Pancho to find his true love? Astrid Marie Smith's dreams and whole life were devastated when her long-term boyfriend married her cousin Castela Newton. She wanted to forget the hurt and pain they had caused her. She went to a bar, got totally drunk, and ended up in bed with a stranger whom she believed was a gay man. They indeed had hot, steamy rebound sex all night. Pancho treasured all this and savored the night with her, but she ran away and could no longer be found. She went abroad to start a new life. After three years, Astrid went back, in timely for a revenge, when Castela ordered her to spy on her husband while abroad for six months as Philip's replacement secretary. She continued to pretend to be a dumb and mischievous. She was set up for an eviler and more destructive plan. She never realized that the hot alpha male she slept with was the elder brother of his ex-boyfriend, the Vice President of the company, Pancho Carbonel. Pancho Carbonel fell in love with Astrid the first time he set his eyes on her. He had the chance to court her, but it didn't go as he planned. A rumor circulated in the company that she was Philip's mistress. However, nothing changed. Astrid is still Pancho's dream girl, and she alone is enough for him. Until one day, she confronted Pancho, and what happened to them meant nothing to her. One night changed their lives and they are bound to end into something unexpected. Will Pancho ever have the opportunity to fulfill his heart's desire to love and be loved? Will rebound sex find its way to tie the knot with his estranged lover?

Camilla's entire world shattered when her husband Nick Sinclair abruptly ended their three-year marriage, hurling divorce papers at her. His cruel, harsh words still echoed in her ears... "I'm done with this marriage. Get out of my house!" She always knew their arranged marriage was devoid of love, but she had clung to the possibility that he would one day grow to love her. However, the arrival of his first love, bearing a child she claimed was his, destroyed any lingering hopes and exposed the emptiness of their relationship. Fingers trembling, heart bleeding, she signed the divorce agreement. But the shock overwhelmed her just as she stepped outside Nick's mansion and she collapsed. Hours later, she awakened in the hospital, staring into the icy blue eyes of the stranger who saved her. ... Derek Donovan, New York's heartthrob and wealthiest billionaire CEO, had been searching for a way to deflect the media's attention from his status as a sought-after bachelor. In exchange for saving her life, he proposed a contract to Camilla: pretend to be his wife for three years to keep the press and paparazzi off. With no other options and no one to rely on, Camilla felt compelled to accept the proposal and sign the contract. But as they navigated the path of their fake marriage, the lines blurred. Derek's icy facade cracked, revealing a burning passion for Camilla. As Camilla's heart wavered, a shocking truth emerged: Derek's past hid secrets, and she was now entrenched in a deadly game of wealth, power, and deception. Will she risk everything to love again, or will the shadows of her past and the danger lurking in Derek's world destroy her forever? The contract has been signed, but the real stakes are only just beginning...

Richard's parents died in a car accident when he was eight years old. Life has not been easy for him and his two sisters because no one was willing to help them. His older sister decided to sacrifice everything she had to see that Richard and his younger sister have the best of life. At age of 18, Richard happened to find himself in a university as a result of his sister's effort. She warned him seriously not to get involve in trouble. But his trouble began when he fell in love with one of his professor's daughter which resulted in him leaving school. Will he be able to face his sister after making all her efforts go in vain? Or will he find a way to succeed without obtaining a degree in an effort to make up for his mistake? Meanwhile Rebecca is very naughty highschool student that was terrible at mathematics and physics and has never been in love. Her mother hired Richard to teach her mathematics because he had the best result in his faculty. But Rebecca hated him so much that she could anything to make him stop teaching her. One day, Richard stood up for her while she was being humiliated at school. That made her to start seeing the good in him. Just as things were about to get interesting between them, a very tragic incident happened to Richard causing him to leave school. Rebecca did not see Richard again until after five years and he wasn't like she used know him. Will she fall for him again like before? Or will she turn a blind eye and pretend he doesn't exist?

I'm an Omega born without a wolf, the lowest existence in the werewolf pack. However, I can hear the voice of my Alpha mate's wolf, Jack. As an Alpha, Dante Wagner is steady and reserved, and he's not good with words. However, by listening to Jack speak, I know that he loves me deeply, along with many of his little secrets. I hear his wolf ask him, "Is the bonding ceremony the day after tomorrow ready? Remember to use blue roses for decoration at the bonding ceremony. She loves blue roses the most!" It's no wonder he has been working late so often recently. He's preparing for this. I'm overjoyed. But just two nights before the bonding ceremony, Dante brings his longtime friend back instead. Before I can even react to why he'd bring another she-wolf home, I already hear Jack roaring in fury. "What the hell are you doing? Isn't Ember supposed to be your mate in the bonding ceremony? Why is it Nova now? "Have you even considered Ember's feelings? If she finds out that you're bonding with someone else after years of you two dating, she'll become angry and leave! "Even if you mark her, I won't acknowledge it. Your fated mate and Luna can only be Ember!" Only then do I realize that I've been deluding myself. The surprise isn't prepared for me at all. In that case, there's no need for me to tell him that I'm with pup either. I pretend to know nothing. On the day of the bonding ceremony, I leave the pack completely.

Joseff Uller Anderson Nieverro known as “Juan” was never been interested in anyone. He’d rather busy himself with studies than to lay any glimpse to anyone. He may be an extremely good-looking and intelligent man but his personality was never been good. He always wore this menacing look no one would choose to look except for his best buddy, "Pedro". The only person who can see him through the deepest of his being. Pierro Ezrael Dela Rama Olivarez, known as “Pedro” was Juan’s ass best buddy. A very playful and handsome man. Pedro is popularly known as a local young celebrity. His captivating smile and charming personality made everyone love him. But behind every man’s happy face is a boy lost and still haunted by his past that even the closest person he has does not know anything. For years of being best buddies, Juan and Pedro thought that they are bound to live together only as best friends. But a lot of things happened when Juan started feeling a weird sensation whenever he and Pedro is close together. The confusion made him distant himself to Pedro. But what he does not know is that Pedro felt the same ever since. Until that night happened, that cause everything to change. They started unveiling and experimenting with the secret both of them had found out. And when good things happen, the bad one comes in the midst of it, which causes them to separate. Years had passed, both successful and living the life they chose. Juan and Pedro’s path will come across again because of a deal. And that deal could lead to many things, either it will fix them or they will leave everything from the past and will pretend that they never know each other.

What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course. When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse. Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be? It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation. 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.