Pretending Synonyms

She wanted the life. The money. The power. The man. Mara Collins is tired of counting tips and pretending her dreams don’t reach beyond the coffee shop counter. When the bills pile higher than her hope, she decides it’s time to stop waiting for luck—and start creating it. All she needs is one man. One chance. One lie. Her plan is simple: learn how the rich play their games, then beat them at it. With a fake designer dress, a new name, and a heart of steel, she slips into the city’s most exclusive events—until she catches the eye of Adrian Holt, a man who has everything she’s ever wanted. Charming. Ruthless. Obsessively private. Adrian isn’t the kind of man you play with… but Mara’s willing to risk everything to make him hers. But the higher she climbs, the more fragile her lies become. And when Adrian discovers who she truly is, the illusion shatters—leaving behind nothing but betrayal, anger, and obsession… and a love that should never have existed in the first place. Now love becomes a weapon, and every night in his sheets feels like a war between truth and desire.

Ericka Matthews has been in love with her roommate for two years. The problem? Dominic Anderson made her sign a contract when she moved in: no romance allowed, or she's out. She's respected that boundary, hidden her feelings, and watched him from across the breakfast table every morning without letting on. Then Dominic kisses her. And immediately tells her not to kiss him back. Heartbroken and humiliated, Ericka decides to disappear. She has a backup plan, savings, and an apartment lined up. She'll be gone before he even notices. But when she collapses on campus and ends up in the hospital, Dominic is forced to confront what losing her actually means. The contract gets torn up. Confessions are made. And it turns out their mothers have been running a secret spy network dedicated to getting them together for three years. Now they just have to survive Sunday dinner with both families and Aunt Linda's unopened Christmas presents. A contemporary romance about two idiots who wasted three years pretending to be "just roommates," the meddling families who saw right through them, and the kiss that finally broke all the rules.

Jolene was never supposed to stay. An omega with a shadowed past, she’s been hiding in the ruthless Dark Slayer Pack, keeping her scent cloaked and her secrets even closer. She’s counting down the days until she can disappear — quietly, without leaving a trace. There’s just one problem. Alpha Jayden. Her fated mate. He doesn’t know. He can’t know. Jo has spent years pretending the bond doesn’t exist, burying the pull in silence. But when a she-wolf named Lucy — an outcast on trial for murder — accidentally wears Jo’s unscent-masked clothing, everything crumbles. Jayden catches Lucy’s scent… and believes she’s the one. Now Jolene is forced to watch her mate fall for someone else. As strange deaths ripple through the werewolf world and the Royal Generals arrive to investigate, the lies Jo built her world on begin to crack. Why is she hiding her bond? What truth is she protecting? And what will happen when her scent is no longer hidden? In a world ruled by destiny, love, and betrayal — Jolene may be the only one who can stop what’s coming… But only if she dares to be found.

“You’re insane.” “Maybe,” Robert admitted, his eyes locked on mine and his face too close. “But I always get what I want and right now Kayla, what I want… is you.” ~~~ He needed a wife. I needed the money. Robert Moore is ruthless and dangerous, a man who terrifies the entire city. I’d paid no mind to the warning bells that rang in my head when I proposed to marry him for money. When I’d agreed to be his fake wife for a year. The rules were simple. No falling in love. No asking questions. Marrying him was supposed to be my solution-a business deal, a clean exchange. But nothing about Robert is simple. He’s bossy, arrogant, and so sinfully attractive that every look he gives me feels like a dare. Then came the threats. The enemies. The danger and guns. Now, I’m not sure where the act ends and where the truth begins. Because the longer I stay by his side, the more I realize I might not be pretending anymore… And the mafia boss who swore he’d never love might be willing to burn the whole city down just to keep me.

Mia James needs a lifeline—fast. Accused of stealing company funds, she’s on the brink of losing her job when billionaire Adrian Knight offers her an unexpected way out: a contract marriage. Marrying him will clear her reputation, and for Adrian, it means silencing rumors, handling the press on his terms and fulfilling his grandfather's last wishes. It’s strictly business... or so they both say. Their plan seems simple enough: smile for the cameras, keep the story airtight, and definitely don’t fall for each other. But when Mia’s furious ex crashes their first press conference, she's forced to get closer to Adrian than she'd ever imagined. Suddenly, staged kisses feel dangerously real, and “pretending” becomes harder with every look they share. Now, Mia’s balancing a fake marriage, a very real connection with Adrian, and the risk of her entire world unraveling. With secrets on both sides and her heart on the line, can she keep her cool—or will they both get swept up in the game they started? In this rollercoaster of passion, scandal, and deception, Mia and Adrian are about to learn that in love and life, nothing ever goes exactly as planned.

I made a desperate choice to marry a Bratva boss to protect my mother. From the moment I met Asher Volkov, my life turned upside down. Pulled into a world of lies and danger, I agreed to his fake marriage plan to keep my mother safe. I walked down the aisle, pretending to be brave, but inside I was terrified. Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of becoming pregnant with his child—or the dark secrets of our shared past. The closer I got to Asher, the more dangerous things became. When I discovered the truth, I had to run. Now, he won't stop until he finds me. He wants me back in his life and in his bed. The line between love and obsession blurs as he hunts me down. But I hold a secret I can never tell him. A secret that could destroy him if he never finds out. A secret he will do anything to erase if he does. A secret that could break me if I lose it. In this dangerous game of love and lies, can I keep my secret safe? Or will the dark truths of our past consume us both?

Sky Foster has survived plenty of things: family drama, high heels on marble floors, and growing up in a Mafia dynasty. But nothing could prepare her for someone babysitting her. Or rather, that's what it feels like when her family assigns her a bodyguard. Charlie Vale is tall, infuriatingly calm, and works for her family with the kind of deadly efficiency that makes people squirm. Especially her. He's there every day at school, in the hallways, outside her classroom, always watching, always quiet, always ruining her chances at even pretending to be a normal teenager. Charlie doesn't believe in distractions, and Sky just wants to have fun. Guarding the boss's niece should be simple: keep her safe, keep his distance, and keep his job. But Sky has a bad habit of finding trouble, and Charlie has a worse habit of following her straight into it. When a threat from the Foster family's past resurfaces, Sky becomes the target. Forced into close quarters, sparks fly and rules break as Sky begins to see the man behind the stoic guard. And Charlie? He discovers that babysitting the Mafia princess might just be the most dangerous job of his life.

Four babies. A billion lies. One mess. Ares Langford is reckless, spoiled, and dangerously close to losing his billionaire inheritance. One more mistake and his father swears to cut him off for good. So when a cop pulls him over for speeding, Ares panics and lies. His girlfriend is giving birth, he claims. The officer insists on escorting him to the hospital. Desperate, Ares bribes a random nurse and finds a stranger who just gave birth to quadruplets. Tessa Monroe is exhausted, broke, and alone with four newborns she never planned to raise by herself. When a cocky rich guy begs her to play pretend for a million dollars, she agrees. But one lie spirals into a full blown scandal when Ares’ mother storms into the hospital, declares Tessa family, and whisks them all into the billionaire’s world. Now Ares is stuck playing baby daddy to four kids who aren’t his, pretending to love a woman he barely knows, and fending off his father’s wrath all while the world watches. What starts as a lie turns into the biggest twist of their lives. Will love bloom in the chaos or will the truth destroy everything?

Adonis smirked, loosening his tie as he stepped closer. “Stop pretending, Zoe. Or should I say… Mrs. Walter?” His voice was low, teasing. “You’re drooling over me, admit it. I know exactly how happy you are to be married to Adonis Walter.” Zoe folded her arms, rolling her eyes. “Over my dead body.” “Oh, come on,” he said, shrugging off his tuxedo and letting it drop carelessly to the floor. “You get to have all this.” He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside, leaving his toned chest on full display. Defined abs, sharp collarbones, muscles that flexed with every slight movement—he looked like he walked straight out of a magazine. Zoe’s eyes betrayed her for a split second before she quickly looked away. Damn it. Even if she disliked him, she couldn’t deny the truth. This man was hot. Zoe Powers agrees to an 18-month contract marriage with Adonis Walter to save her father’s company. What starts as a deal soon turns into something real. But with Adonis’ bitter ex-girlfriend and jealous brother scheming against them, will their love survive the storm?

The day my husband left the country on a business trip with his assistant, I learned—by sheer accident—that his archenemy was plotting revenge overseas. Without a second thought, I raced to the airport and stopped him from boarding the plane. But his assistant went ahead, alone. And over there, she was killed brutally. Not a trace of her remains was ever found. When my husband received the news, he fell apart. Wracked with guilt, eaten alive by remorse, he spiraled into a relentless, violent mania. In the past three years, I'd been in and out of hospitals more times than I could count because of him. And this time, he pushed me so far—I lost our child. Then I overheard a conversation between him and his secretary. "Sir, Casey is still alive. Why keep pretending you're sick? Aren't you afraid your wife will find out and leave you?" "Leave me? What right does she have to be angry?" He laughed coldly. "If she hadn't stopped me from going abroad, Casey would've never been lured away by that bastard. Everything Linda's suffering now—she brought it on herself."