THE RELUCTANT FIANCEE HOAX

THE RELUCTANT FIANCEE HOAX

SCOFIELD BUSH

5.0
Comment(s)
5
View
74
Chapters

The Reluctant Fiancée Hoax follows Olivia Parker, a woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when she agrees to pretend to be engaged to her charming but complicated ex-boyfriend, Ethan Montgomery. As they navigate the complexities of their fake relationship to fend off prying families and an ex-girlfriend determined to stir trouble, Olivia finds herself grappling with her feelings and the thin line between pretense and reality. Amidst unexpected complications and mixed signals, the two must confront their past and decide if what started as a simple hoax could lead to a genuine second chance at love.

THE RELUCTANT FIANCEE HOAX Chapter 1 A Proposal Gone Wrong

Ethan Montgomery never imagined his proposal would end in disaster.

Yet here he was, standing in the middle of The Grand Oak, one of the most elegant restaurants in the city, staring at the woman he had planned to spend his life with-only to see panic flicker across her face. The small velvet box in his hand felt heavier than it should. The engagement ring inside, something he had spent months picking out, now felt like a mistake.

A hush had fallen over the restaurant. Conversations had died down, forks and knives had paused mid-air, and all eyes were now on Olivia Reynolds.

The woman who was supposed to say yes.

Instead, she looked as though he had just asked her to walk a tightrope over a pit of fire.

"Ethan..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he could hear the unease in it.

His heart pounded. He had expected nerves. He had expected maybe even a few tears. But not this. No hesitation.

"Olivia," he said, keeping his voice steady. "I love you. We've been together for two years, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

The words hung in the air.

Olivia sucked in a breath.

Her hands gripped the edges of the white linen napkin on her lap.

And then, the worst possible thing happened.

She shook her head.

Not an immediate, forceful no-but a slow, conflicted shake that made his stomach drop.

Oh God.

A murmur rippled through the nearby tables. A waiter holding a tray of champagne flutes hesitated mid-step. Even the pianist in the corner, who had been playing soft background music, seemed to falter over a note.

"Ethan," Olivia said, her voice filled with regret. "I... I can't."

His throat went dry.

She can't?

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

This was the moment where she was supposed to smile through happy tears, say yes, and throw her arms around him. Where the restaurant would break into applause and their love story would take its next perfect step forward.

Instead, he was standing here, ring in hand, as the woman he loved told him she couldn't marry him.

"Olivia," he said, still trying to process what was happening. "What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes briefly before meeting his gaze. "I mean... I'm not ready for this."

His chest tightened. "We've been together for two years."

"I know." She exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "And I love you, Ethan. But marriage? We've never even talked about it."

"I thought it was obvious," he said, voice clipped. "I thought we were serious."

Her lips pressed together. "Seriously, yes. But marriage is a huge step. And this-" She gestured around them, the candlelit table, the champagne bucket, the quiet crowd of spectators hanging onto every word. "This is a lot."

His fingers curled into a fist around the box.

A lot?

He had planned this moment for weeks.

He had imagined this proposal a hundred times in his head.

He had never imagined this.

"So you're saying no." The words felt like acid in his throat.

She hesitated. "I'm saying... not right now."

The distinction didn't matter. It still felt like rejection.

The pity in her eyes was unbearable.

Ethan forced himself to nod. He snapped the box shut, shoved it into his pocket, and reached for his wallet. The moment he dropped a few bills on the table and pushed back his chair, Olivia's eyes widened.

"Ethan, wait-"

But he was already standing, already stepping away. "Enjoy your dinner," he said tightly.

And then he walked out, leaving behind the love of his life, a table full of uneaten food, and the remnants of a shattered dream.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

The Billionaire's Blind Bride: No Mercy

The Billionaire's Blind Bride: No Mercy

Emma
4.3

I married Clive Harrington, the coldest billionaire in Manhattan, under a strict contract that forbade any emotional burdens. When I needed a high-risk surgery to save my sight, I checked into the clinic alone, hiding the procedure from a husband who saw me as nothing more than a legal asset. I thought I could handle the darkness in silence. But while I was blind and bandaged in my hospital bed, my biological mother called, screaming that if I didn't produce a Harrington heir by the end of the fiscal year, she would cut off the life-saving treatments for my disabled sister. I was crawling on the cold hospital floor, desperately feeling for a cane I had dropped, when I touched a pair of expensive leather shoes. It was Clive. He was supposed to be in London closing a multi-million dollar deal, but there he was, watching his "contract wife" groveling in the dark like a beggar. He didn't walk away in disgust. He carried me to a five-thousand-dollar-a-night VIP suite and sat by my bed, listening in chilling silence as another voicemail from my mother filled the room, calling me a "useless broodmare" who was only worth the trust fund disbursements my marriage secured. I expected him to remind me of Clause 34B or hand me divorce papers now that I was "damaged goods." Instead, I felt his thumb brush a stray tear from my cheek, his presence shifting from a statue of ice into a predatory shield. "I thought I was just currency to you," I whispered, my voice trembling behind the gauze. "Just an investment." Clive didn't answer with words. He picked up his phone and called his head of legal with a single, terrifying command: "Kill the Douglas family’s credit lines. Every debt, every lien—trigger them all. If they want a war, I’ll give them a massacre." As he leaned down to kiss my bandaged forehead, I realized the contract was dead. My husband wasn't protecting an asset anymore; he was hunting the people who had dared to touch what belonged to him.

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

He Thought I Was A Doormat, Until I Ruined Him

SHANA GRAY
4.5

The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her. Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead. A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living. Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body. Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back.

The Placeholder Bride's Secret Billionaire Revenge

The Placeholder Bride's Secret Billionaire Revenge

Luo Ye
5.0

For two years, I was the invisible force behind tech billionaire Kieran Douglas, convinced that our "private" romance was his way of protecting us from the tabloid spotlight. I managed his mergers, warmed his bed, and waited for a future that didn't exist. The illusion shattered at 6:00 AM when a Page Six alert debuted Kieran’s "real" romance with socialite Aspen Schneider. Before I could even process the betrayal, Kieran sent me a cold, professional text: "Order flowers for Aspen. Pink peonies. Her favorite." When I tried to walk away, my own mother called me a disgrace and threatened to lock my inheritance forever unless I married a sixty-year-old businessman to save her failing estate. At a high-society gala that same night, Aspen intentionally crushed my burned hand in front of the cameras, while Kieran stood by and dismissed me as a "mediocre assistant" who had overstayed her welcome. I stood in the cold New York rain, drenched in champagne and humiliation, realizing that every sacrifice I made for Kieran was a joke. I was a ghost in a penthouse that was never mine, discarded the moment his "soulmate" returned. To the world, I was just a placeholder whose time had run out. But Kieran forgot one thing: my father’s multi-million dollar trust fund unlocks the moment I legally marry. I didn't need love; I needed a signature and a shield. I walked into a discreet law firm and signed a marriage contract with a man I believed was the city’s most notorious, scandal-ridden playboy. I thought I was marrying a degenerate "beard" to buy my freedom and secure my revenge. I didn't realize the man who signed that paper wasn't a playboy at all, but Gaston Collins—the most powerful and dangerous man on Wall Street—and he had no intention of letting our fake marriage stay fake.

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

Xiao Xiaosu
4.5

I went to the City Clerk’s office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk’s pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray’s text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we’re done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray’s life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
THE RELUCTANT FIANCEE HOAX THE RELUCTANT FIANCEE HOAX SCOFIELD BUSH Romance
“The Reluctant Fiancée Hoax follows Olivia Parker, a woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when she agrees to pretend to be engaged to her charming but complicated ex-boyfriend, Ethan Montgomery. As they navigate the complexities of their fake relationship to fend off prying families and an ex-girlfriend determined to stir trouble, Olivia finds herself grappling with her feelings and the thin line between pretense and reality. Amidst unexpected complications and mixed signals, the two must confront their past and decide if what started as a simple hoax could lead to a genuine second chance at love.”
1

Chapter 1 A Proposal Gone Wrong

16/03/2025

2

Chapter 2 The Desperate Deal

16/03/2025

3

Chapter 3 Striking a Bargain

16/03/2025

4

Chapter 4 Rules of the Pretend Game

16/03/2025

5

Chapter 5 A Ring and a Lie

16/03/2025

6

Chapter 6 Facing the Families

16/03/2025

7

Chapter 7 The Ex Factor

16/03/2025

8

Chapter 8 Under One Roof

16/03/2025

9

Chapter 9 Mixed Signals

16/03/2025

10

Chapter 10 Public Displays of (Fake) Affection

16/03/2025

11

Chapter 11 Whispers and Wedding Plans

16/03/2025

12

Chapter 12 Jealousy Sparks Fire

16/03/2025

13

Chapter 13 Dancing on the Fire

16/03/2025

14

Chapter 14 A Weekend Getaway Disaster

18/03/2025

15

Chapter 15 The Almost Kiss

18/03/2025

16

Chapter 16 When the Lie Feels Real

18/03/2025

17

Chapter 17 A Heart Divided

20/03/2025

18

Chapter 18 The Ultimatum

20/03/2025

19

Chapter 19 A Wedding That Wasn't Supposed to Happen

20/03/2025

20

Chapter 20 A Truth Too Late

20/03/2025

21

Chapter 21 Falling for the Hoax

20/03/2025

22

Chapter 22 Falling for the Hoax

20/03/2025

23

Chapter 23 The Grand Gesture

20/03/2025

24

Chapter 24 Happily Ever (For Real) After

20/03/2025

25

Chapter 25 A Marriage Built on Uncertainty

20/03/2025

26

Chapter 26 The Cold Reality of Love

21/03/2025

27

Chapter 27 When Business and Love Collide

21/03/2025

28

Chapter 28 Olivia's New Life as a Montgomery

21/03/2025

29

Chapter 29 Past Ghosts Resurface

21/03/2025

30

Chapter 30 Temptation and Doubts

21/03/2025

31

Chapter 31 The Business Rivalry Heats Up

21/03/2025

32

Chapter 32 Love or Obligation

21/03/2025

33

Chapter 33 The Return of Vanessa

21/03/2025

34

Chapter 34 When Trust Is Tested

21/03/2025

35

Chapter 35 A Secret from the Past

21/03/2025

36

Chapter 36 A Scandal That Could Destroy Everything

21/03/2025

37

Chapter 37 The Growing Distance

22/03/2025

38

Chapter 38 When Love Feels Like War

22/03/2025

39

Chapter 39 An Unwanted Proposal

22/03/2025

40

Chapter 40 Ethan's Breaking Point

22/03/2025