Pretending Synonyms

"You're so cheap. And you don't even have a basic sense of shame." "I am not cheap at all. You are my first man. But for her, you aren't." He cupped my neck with his hand directly and asked word by word, "What did you say?" I reached out and pinched his waist gently with my fingers, pretending to be cynical. Then I added, "And I'm clean. I don't have any other man but you. You can enjoy me as much as you want." *********************** Every woman was looking forward to marrying her beloved man. So was I. I married Patrick Cowell, the man who I had a crush on for twelve years, in the name of my sister. My sister Caroline and I were twins, but she grew up in a rich and noble family while I grew up in an orphanage. She begged me to marry Patrick as her substitute because she didn't want to marry him. I agreed sweetly. Patrick was the only heir of the richest family in this city. Handsome, rich, and powerful. However, I didn't expect that he treated me cruelly in bed as if I was his enemy. Because he knew I was not his bride? Oh no!!!

Natash·Yael's teenage years were marked by academic neglect and a wasted life, primarily due to her mother's passing and her stepmother's jealousy. She even resorted to smoking and pretending to be tough at bars. However, the turning point in Natash·Yael's life came when she encountered Jaclyn·Dills by chance. Jaclyn·Dills' words of wisdom awakened her and inspired her to return to school. As time went on, Jaclyn·Dills was set up for an arranged marriage by her father, and Natash·Yael's father introduced her to Jaclyn·Dills in an attempt to gain favor with Jaclyn·Dills' social circle. However, this blind date led to an unexpected outcome because Jaclyn·Dills was deeply drawn to Natash·Yael. This set the stage for a love story filled with misunderstandings and turmoil. Natash·Yael mistakenly believed that Jaclyn·Dills didn't love her and continued her reckless lifestyle, eventually leading to her pregnancy. In turn, Jaclyn·Dills became cold and volatile due to these misunderstandings. A series of misunderstandings and conflicts eventually led to their separation, with Natash·Yael leaving with her child. However, once Jaclyn·Dills realized the truth of the situation, he was determined to win her back. But the story is far from over, as Jaclyn·Dills' business trip triggers a new round of misunderstandings, making this tumultuous love story even more intricate. Now, he is determined to reunite with his beloved at any cost.

When Jake Gavingstone, CEO of the GS chain of department stores, lost his wife in a car accident planned for him, he shuts down focusing his energy on work and his twin sons. Now, after seven years, he is being pressured by his grandmother, who worries he would remain alone, to get a wife. He agrees to go on ten dates which she would arrange, in a bid to get an inheritance he had always wanted. Alice Singer is twenty nine year old young lady engaged to a resident doctor. She comes from a family where she is not wanted and his constantly bullied, despite trying her best to pay off the debts from her father's liver transplant surgery. She works two jobs and is still not able to pay off her debt. She decides to take a job as a nanny, even though she has a police record thanks to her stepbrother because of theft while working her last nanny job. She is hired in Jake's household as the nanny of the twins after the last nanny tried to seduce the twins father. The condition for hiring: You must be married or engaged. She gets the job as she is engaged and the twins opened up to her during the interview, and then some months down the line, she becomes unengaged. To pay off her debts and to finally be free of her family, she keeps pretending to be engaged, even when feelings awake between the boss and her.

The first time I saw Daniel, I did not think he would become the man who would change everything. It was a quiet evening, the kind where the sky looked tired and the wind carried the scent of rain. I had gone to the café only to escape my thoughts. Love and I had never been on good terms, and I had long decided that my heart was safer when it belonged only to me. Then he walked in. He wasn’t loud or dramatic. In fact, if you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed him completely. But there was something about the way he moved—calm, steady, like a man who understood the rhythm of life. When his eyes met mine, he smiled. Not the kind of smile men give when they want something from you. No. This one was different. It was warm, patient… almost like he already knew my story. I looked away quickly, pretending to read my phone, but my heart betrayed me. It beat faster, louder, as if it was whispering a secret I was not ready to hear. That night, I didn’t know his name. I didn’t know his voice. But somehow, in the quiet space between strangers, something had already begun. And before long, Daniel would teach me something I had spent years running from: What it truly means to love… and to be loved to the full.

When Seth Gibson told me his legs were crippled and that only snowmelt from a mountain's peak could cure him, I did not hesitate. I scaled the mountainside, climbing over 15,000 feet just to get some snow for him. When I staggered back, bruised and scratched, cradling the snow outside the hospital room, I overheard cruel voices down the corridor. "Seth, today's the deadline. Nevaeh still isn't back. Could she have died up there?" "I heard that the mountain's pretty high. She might have gotten altitude sickness. What a shame! She's already risked herself for Seth ninety-nine times. This was supposed to be the last time before the game ended." "Serves her right! She used to bully Janice, Seth's childhood friend, didn't she?" I saw Seth through the crack in the door. He was standing at the window, his legs perfectly intact, and his expression ice-cold. "Enough," he said flatly. "If she dies, the game ends." I froze in disbelief until it finally sank in. Seth had been pretending all along. A laugh nearly escaped me. What a relief! I could finally get rid of this weight on my shoulders. I pulled out my phone and called his uncle. "I'll marry you," I said.

Rich, arrogant and cold-hearted. Richard Williams is known as one of the top drug lord of the country. His quest for success and power has turned him into a beast. It is believed that a night with Richard Williams is worth millions therefore what every lady look up to. Richard, the heir of the Williams group of Company and also a top mafia never imagined falling in love with the poor, Lovelyn, the only child of a poor pastor. It was really a complete twist as he had to battle between pretending to be the good boy for his virgin girlfriend and also the strong cold-hearted guy for his follow mafians. Lovelyn never imagined playing a role of a drug lord mafian, the daughter of a pastor who has never being in a relationship all her life. Her life turned from the quiet church girl to the girlfriend of the every ladies guy. She was in between living a life of a church girl and trying so hard not to be the bad girl Richard was gradually turning her into. In the quest to regain her faith, she opted to run away from Richard but found out she has been really captivated by his charms. She was left with the option of changing this mafia to a new being but what happens when she finds out that Richard was not only a drug merchant but also a serial killer? Finding out that Richard also has other girls apart from her was the worst scenerio. Do you think, Lovelyn would be able to stand the test of time and fight for this dangerous love relationship?

My mother never believed me. To her, I was always just a lying pup. In my pack, every cub wore a Moon Oath Collar. Red meant you lied. White meant you told the truth. My sister’s collar always glowed a soft white. Even when she pretended to be sick to get out of an exam, her collar only gave off that gentle white light. Mine was different. Even when I was truly sick, my collar would burst into a violent red, and the punishment current would follow immediately. On my sister’s birthday, Mother prepared a bonfire feast for the whole pack. Just before they left, a splitting pain tore through my head, and I collapsed on the floor, begging her to help me. For one second, she almost picked me up. Then my collar flashed red. “To ruin your sister’s birthday, you’re even pretending to die? What a vicious child.” Then she walked out with my sister and left me alone on the floor. I died alone on the cold floor. But when I opened my eyes again, I was no longer inside my body. My soul drifted after my mother as I whispered the truth she had never believed. “Mom… I wasn’t lying. I really died.” And when they finally found my body, the red collar on my neck was still flashing.

After I am diagnosed with stomach cancer, I ask for some money to buy medicine. I don't want to be in excruciating pain when I die. My three elder brothers rush into the ICU. Andy Lewis—my eldest brother—slaps me hard across my face. He scolds me for ruining his beloved younger sister, Summer Lewis' coming-of-age party. My second brother, Sherman Lewis, calls me a liar. He accuses me of pretending to be sick to swindle money from them. Jimmy Lewis, who is my third brother, calls me useless. He tells me that I deserve to die. My parents, Kenneth Lewis and Autumn Farrow, don't believe that I'm sick. They pin me with looks of contempt and ridicule. "You still haven't stopped that lying habit of yours even though you're all grown up. You even learned how to blackmail us with your death. "If you want to die, do it sooner. It'll spare us from being disgusted when we're forced to look at you day in and day out." I end up dying on the first day of the New Year. Before I breathe my last breath, I send a message to the family group chat. My entire family goes crazy after reading it.

At the Hunting Festival, Cynthia Whitefang flashes a stack of cash and demands that my mate, Simon Fenwick, become her bodyguard. "Just accept it, Layla." Simon flashes his fangs and tells Cynthia to get lost in a rude tone. Our son, Noah Fenwick, who's chronically poisoned by silver, waves his fists angrily as well to chase Cynthia away. But I just stare at the stack of cash quietly. Memories of a conversation I had overheard last week surge into my mind at that moment. That time, Noah was tugging at the hem of Simon's shirt while standing under a tree. "Daddy, can I keep pretending to be poisoned? That way, Mommy will keep giving me money to treat my poison. I wanna buy gifts for Cynthia!" he said coquettishly. Simon had replied dotingly, "Of course! But you must remember to never tell Mommy that I'm not hurt. Only when she's filled with guilt will she love us forever." It turns out that my husband is faking his injury, while my son is faking being poisoned. They've played me like a fiddle the whole time. I, on the other hand, have to risk my life time and again to earn money just to treat their imaginary illness and wounds. To think that all of my earnings are used on pleasing another she-wolf… I raise my head, soon meeting Cynthia's confident gaze. "Okay. You can have him."

The rules are simple: Do not call or text him except on Tuesdays. Never speak to him in public. And most importantly, never fall in love. This is not a relationship. It's a brief arrangement that should last only three months. The almighty Nickolas Reign, future alpha and heir to the Reign empire, needs the time to secretly overcome his uncontrollable lust for the omega. But how long can Sara abide by these rules with the werewolf who is her fated mate? Why did he renew the contract if all he feels for her is mere lust? Unable to keep pretending, Sara mistakenly blurts out the forbidden three little words, and it brings the contract to an end. However, that's the least of her problems. Someone has leaked their secret contract to the cruel luna. Now, Sara and her father will be kicked out of the pack. To top it all up, she's pregnant, and Nick is offering her a huge sum to get rid of the "mistake!" He wants nothing to do with her and the unborn child... Until four years later when he bumps into her in a small town. This book contains 3 stories: BOOK 1: ALPHA'S SECRET REGRET BOOK 2: BETA'S SECRET OBSESSION (starts from Chapter 170) BOOK 3: EX'S REGRET, GAMMA'S ADDICTION (starts from Chapter 344) BOOK 4: ALPHA JETT IS NOW AVAILABLE. (STANDALONE AND PUBLISHED SEPARATELY)