Pretending Synonyms

“Damn it, Viola! Do you even hear yourself? You’re miserable, and you’re pretending it’s normal!” Logan says, clenching his fists beside him. I drag in a shaky breath. “What do you want me to do, Logan? Just leave my marriage?” “Yes!” I freeze. He steps closer. “Leave. And let me love you the way you deserve.” *** She thought heartbreak was the worst thing he could do to her. Then he came back. Three years ago, Logan Reynolds chose ambition over love, leaving Viola McCoy behind—and breaking her heart in the process. Determined to move on, she made a choice—one that led her into the arms of Julian Cruz, a man who vowed to love her but only saw her as a means to an end. Now, trapped in a loveless marriage, Viola endures the whispers, the neglect, and the bruises she hides beneath designer sleeves. But when Logan returns as the new CEO of Reynolds Publishing—her boss—Viola’s carefully constructed world begins to crack. He sees through her forced smiles and polite lies. He soon realizes the woman he left behind is still fighting to be heard. Logan is determined to save her. Viola? She’s certain she can’t be saved. But in the middle of stolen glances, midnight confessions, and the words they can’t say out loud, one question remains: Can love be rewritten, or are some stories doomed to end the same way twice?

Warning: SPG | R18+ Some chapters contain mature content that may not be suitable for young readers. Read at your own risk! Eloise Manalo wanted to destroy the man who ruined her stepsister’s life. She believed that man was Estevan Alaric Foreman. The ruthless billionaire and dangerously captivating. Kaya kahit labag sa loob niya ay nilapitan niya ito sa isang club, nilunod ang konsensya sa alak, at hinayaang mangyari ang isang gabing puno ng tukso at kasalanan. She had a one-night stand with the devil himself. But the next morning, she wasn’t just left breathless; Estevan offered her a deal, at iyon ay ang maging girlfriend siya nito ng tatlong buwan. Attend his business or family events, live in his grand world, and pretend to be his. All to help him get revenge on the one person who’s taken everything from him—his younger brother. Ang hindi alam ni Estevan? Eloise thinks he’s the man who left her stepsister pregnant and alone. And what she doesn’t know? It wasn’t him. It was the brother he was trying to destroy. Both are playing a dangerous game. Estevan is using her to hurt someone else, and Eloise is pretending to be someone he can trust while waiting for the perfect time to destroy him. But the closer they get, the messier things become. Because desire doesn’t care about secrets. And revenge definitely has a price.

Sienna Carter is a small-town girl just trying to survive in the big city. Working long shifts at a diner, she never imagined that one reckless night would change her life forever. When she wakes up after a one-night stand with a mysterious stranger, she assumes she’ll never see him again. But fate has other plans. Damien Lancaster is the rebellious heir to one of the most powerful families in high society. Tired of his father’s control, he’s been living under the radar, pretending to be just another regular guy. But when a heated argument with his father pushes him too far, he makes a rash decision—to marry Sienna, the woman who unknowingly captured his attention. What starts as a petty act of defiance soon spirals into something neither of them expected. Thrust into a world of wealth, deception, and ruthless power plays, Sienna struggles to find her place. Damien fights his growing feelings for the wife he never planned to keep. And his family? They’ll do anything to tear her down. But when tragedy strikes and Sienna proves her worth by saving Damien’s younger sister, the tides begin to turn. What started as a marriage of convenience slowly becomes something real. And as secrets unravel and betrayals surface, Damien must decide—will he fight for the woman who changed his life, or will he let his family’s twisted legacy destroy their chance at happiness? A story of love, defiance, and redemption, Married to the Heir is a gripping romance filled with passion, power struggles, and a heroine who refuses to back down

Marcus P.O.V Catalina Island was the territory of my park and we had been trained not to reveal our identity to humans, but our only fear was the birth of a Primordial Guardian werewolf which was to put an end to all immortals including vampires and werewolves. My time to take the place of my father as the Alpha male was approaching and my park pressured me to go in search of my mate so I made a decision to leave after the autumn camp which the humans hosted but during the camp I found my mate and imprinted on her. 'Alicia' I couldn't forget her name as I brought the news to my father who was the Alpha but while I delivered the message we received a sign that the mortal catalyst who was designed to bear the fatal child had shown up on the Island. I took it on myself to put an end to the mortal catalyst only to realize that she was my mate. I was devastated, I couldn't kill my own mate so I hid it from my park pretending that I was still in search of her. I stayed away from her in order to keep her safe but that wasn't until I realised that my park had known who it was and knowing they were going to kill her I had to send her far away from the Island. I was either going to give her up to a human mate and suffer for the rest of my life, or take her despite the difficulties thereby turning my back on my park, or kill her and myself to save the life of my park.

My childhood sweetheart who promised to marry me the moment I graduated proposed to Camille Willow, my sister, during my graduation ceremony. At that moment, Dennis Malcolm, the most eligible and admired bachelor in Blington City's elite circle, stepped forward and confessed his love for me immediately after my childhood sweetheart's proposal was accepted. For five years after our marriage, Dennis showered me with devotion, treating me with such tenderness that it felt as though I were the center of his world. But everything shattered the day I overheard a conversation between him and his close friend. "Dennis, now that Camille's on top, are you really going to keep pretending with Tracy?" "It doesn't matter. I'll never have Camille. Besides, as long as I'm here, she'll never disrupt Camille's happiness," he answered. The paper notes he held dear, each one carefully preserved, revealed a harsh truth. Each one carried her name, accompanied by heartfelt wishes: "May Camille be released from her burdens. May she find peace within herself." "May Camille achieve all she dreams of, and may her heart love freely." "Camille, we were never meant to be together in this life. I can only hope that in another, we will walk side by side." … Five years of devotion shattered in a single moment of clarity. I crafted a false identity and planned an elaborate drowning to vanish without a trace. From this day forward, in this life and all others, we shall never cross paths again.

My husband died in a fire trying to save me, leaving behind a mountain of debt and a newborn child. I worked hard to pay off the debt while raising the child, only to unintentionally discover that my husband hadn’t died at all. Instead, he was sleeping with my cousin. “Honey, you’re so clever. You transferred all the company funds and faked your death, leaving that stupid wife of yours to shoulder all the debt. “She’s so clueless that she doesn’t even realize the son she’s raising isn’t hers, that I swapped him out. Once she’s done paying off the debts, the three of us can live a great life together.” I silently sneered, pretending I knew nothing, and continued to raise the child. Twenty years later, my son returned home after studying abroad. The company went public in New York. On the day of the IPO, my cousin appeared arm in arm with my husband, holding a paternity test. “Claire, your husband never died. We’ve been together all these years. Alex is my son. Now that you’ve been his mother for so long, isn’t it time to return him to me?” My husband also presented a divorce agreement. “I built this company from scratch. It’s premarital property. Sign the divorce papers, walk away with nothing, and you can leave now.” I smiled and told him, “I’ve prepared a special gift for you too. I wonder if you’ll like it."

"You don’t scare me, Llewellyn,” I lifted my chin as I spoke even though my pulse betrayed me. Cesare’s lips curved into a wicked smirk as he stepped closer and spoke in a husky murmur. “That’s the problem, Rose… maybe you should be. Because I’m done pretending I don’t want you. I’ll have you—whether you let me or not.” "But you’ve always hated me.” His fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face up to his. I felt my skin tingle and goosebumps rising. “Hate? Sweetheart, I’ve never hated you. I’ve only wanted you so much it felt like war.” ~~~~~~~~~ Rosette Jenner had everything—wealth, beauty, and power. But all she wanted was love untainted by power. When she trades her real identity for a normal life with Blake, she thought she’d found it. She was wrong. Betrayed and left to die, she wakes up in the past, before her downfall. This time, she’ll reclaim everything they stole from her. She’ll rise as the Jenner heiress she was born to be. But as she walks the path of vengeance, an old nemesis returns, Cesare Llewellyn. Brilliant and merciless. This time, he isn’t just a rival, he’s an obsessive, morally gray force who wants her on his terms, while she’s consumed by vengeance and refuses to trust love again.

The day we were meant to be mated, my Alpha, Ford, was ambushed. Silver bullets shredded his car, sending it plunging off a bridge and into the river below. He was pronounced dead. Drowned. I was left pregnant with his heir, shattered by the raw agony of our severed mate bond. Then Ford's twin, Aiden, returned from abroad with his mate, Kyra. His identical face and a scent so similar to my mate's nearly drove me mad. A desperate part of me swore Ford was still alive. I told myself it was just grief. A widow's delusion. Until I overheard a hushed conversation and the horrifying truth slammed into me: the man pretending to be Aiden was Ford. He had faked his death. He'd let his own brother die in his place, all for Kyra—the other woman carrying his child. The grief that had crippled me instantly morphed into a cold, sharp rage. Ford didn't just break our bond; he shattered it. And I would make him pay. I wiped my tears and sent a single message to my brother, Billy, the Alpha of the Winterstone Pack. "Brother, I need a plane crash. He loves faking his death? Fine. Let him feel what it's like to truly lose a mate." Only when the news of my "death" spread did Ford reclaim his name. He knelt for seven days and nights in the ashes of the home we once shared, consumed by a grief of his own making.

In the fifth year of my spiritual practice, my phone suddenly exploded with messages. [Aria, why aren't you replying? Are you really that petty?] Puzzled, I opened Messenger, and froze. My cousin, who never seemed to measure up to me and always went out of her way to oppose me, was getting married, and she expected me to attend. "Sorry, I've been busy lately. I won't be able to make it," I replied politely. However, my courteous response only fueled their ridicule. "Stop pretending! You haven't kept in touch with your family for years. Are you too embarrassed because your life is such a mess?" "She won't even come to her own cousin's wedding? How heartless!" "Let me guess, the real reason she can't come is she can't afford a wedding gift." One cutting remark after another appeared, until Betty Stewart stepped in, feigning concern. "Come on, don't be so harsh on Aria. We're family, after all." "If she's really struggling, I could ask my husband to help her get a cleaning job." Then she sent me the digital invitation, the gold lettering gleaming. When I saw the groom's name, my pupils constricted in shock. Joseph Clark? Wasn't he the short-lived husband who had spent three years sucking up to me just to extend his life?

*synopsis* "What is that?" he asked, pretending he didn't know. "The lingerie," I replied through gritted teeth, my eyes locked with his. "Wear it!" he commanded, his voice low and husky, his eyes gleaming with a mischief. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his grip on my waist tightened. What was wrong with him? "Now?" I asked to be sure I wasn't over thinking. "Yes," he answered defiantly. Beads of sweat instantly gathered on my forehead and I broke my eyes away from his, feeling embarrassed. "You realize I don't like repeating myself, right," he whispered, his lips moving sensually to my nape. He released my waist and I instinctively moved backwards to create some space between us. He followed me and before I knew it, I was pinned to the wall, his lips kissing my neck. ___________________ Melissa Wood had found herself in the hands of the man whom her father owed a debt. Williams had taken her hostage, when her father couldn't repay. In captivity, Melissa was mistreated and demeaned by Williams. She felt anger, humiliation and insulted as a human. But she soon became confused after she became entangled with her captor, and began to develop conflicting feelings. What would be her fate when the cruel williams learns about her feelings? Would he welcome it or would more hell break lose for her?