Pretend to Be Mine

Pretend to Be Mine

Avio

5.0
Comment(s)
View
22
Chapters

Elena Ramirez has spent years cleaning up other people's messes-balancing a demanding analyst job by day and side hustles at night to pay off a mountain of family debt. Love was never on her agenda. Then Adrian Harrington, the city's most feared billionaire, makes an offer she can't ignore: pose as his girlfriend to steady his company during a vicious boardroom power struggle. Six months. One contract. No feelings. It should be easy. But each public appearance, each staged kiss, pulls them closer than either planned. The arrangement ignites a firestorm-Adrian's jealous ex fakes a pregnancy, a hacker leaks private photos, a friend betrays them, and even his own family schemes against them. The gossip columns call her a gold digger; rivals call for Adrian's head. Somewhere between whispered confessions and desperate damage control, the line between pretend and real disappears. Now Adrian must choose between the empire he built and the woman he never meant to love, while Elena risks everything-career, reputation, and heart-for a man who was supposed to be temporary. Falling in Pretend delivers a high-stakes contemporary romance bursting with slow-burn chemistry, ruthless betrayals, and twists that will leave readers breathless.

Pretend to Be Mine Chapter 1 When Worlds Collide

I rubbed my temples and stared at the glowing spreadsheets on my laptop screen. The numbers swam in front of my eyes, columns blurring together like waves. The office around me was nearly silent now-just the low hum of computers and the shuffle of the night security guard making his rounds. Most interns had left hours ago, but I was still here, clinging to perfection like it was oxygen. My boss hadn't demanded I stay late. No one was watching me except the shadows stretching long across the glass walls. But mediocrity wasn't an option.

Not here, not at Harrington Enterprises, where excellence was the air everyone breathed-or suffocated without.

My phone buzzed against the desk, vibrating insistently until I reached for it. Maya.

"Don't tell me you're still at that office," she said, laughter spilling through the line. "Elena, it's Friday night."

"I'll leave soon," I promised, leaning back in my chair and pressing the bridge of my nose. "I just want this model finished before Monday."

"You're not a machine," she teased. "Normal people go out, eat ice cream, maybe even kiss someone. You? You date Excel."

"Not everyone has the luxury of being seventeen with no rent to pay." Despite my exhaustion, a smile tugged at my mouth. "Besides, if I do well here, maybe everything changes for us."

Her laughter softened. "I know. You're working so hard, and I love you for it. But don't forget to breathe, okay? You deserve more than stress and takeout dinners."

The words lodged in my chest. I hated when Maya went sentimental; it reminded me of our parents' absence, of how I was more than a sister-I was guardian, provider, protector. Every late night was for both of us.

"I'll be fine," I said quietly.

"You better be. Because if you collapse, I'm too delicate to drag you to the hospital."

I chuckled and hung up, the heaviness in my chest easing just a fraction. Maya always had that effect. I shut my laptop, stuffed it into my bag, and left the office. Maybe fresh air would rinse away the fatigue.

The city streets were quieter than usual. A chill nipped at me as I crossed toward the subway, my heels clicking on the pavement. You deserve more. Maya's words replayed in my head, and for one dangerous second, I let myself believe them.

That thought stuck with me-distracting enough that I didn't notice the sleek black car until the horn blared. The screech of tires cut through the night like a whip. My stomach dropped as brilliant headlights seared my vision. I stumbled back, my laptop bag tumbling to the pavement with a sharp thud.

The world seemed to slow: cold wind whipping past my face, the smell of burning rubber, the pounding of my own heartbeat in my ears.

The tinted window rolled down, and a smooth, irritated voice cut through the night.

"Do you have a death wish?"

My eyes met piercing blue ones, and for a split second, I could only gape.

My stomach plummeted.

Adrian Harrington. The CEO. Billionaire. My boss's boss's boss. The man whose signature could shift markets and whose headlines filled gossip columns.

"I-I'm sorry," I stammered, my face flushing hot. "I wasn't paying attention."

His blue eyes flicked over me, assessing, cold. "Clearly."

Exhaustion and humiliation burned together, sparking something reckless. "Well, I survived, didn't I?" I muttered before I could stop myself.

The silence that followed was electric. Then, to my shock, Adrian's lips curved into a faint smirk.

"You've got some fire," he said, his voice softening just slightly. "Most people just grovel."

I blinked, unsure how to respond. I wasn't most people, but I wasn't about to admit that.

His hand tightened on the steering wheel. Nearly hitting someone was infuriating-but something about me must have made him pause. I hadn't cowered or whimpered. There was fire in my gaze, reckless but unyielding.

"Just... watch where you're going," he said finally, before the window slid shut and the car pulled away.

I stood frozen, heart thundering. Of all the people in New York to nearly kill me, it had to be Adrian Harrington. Shaking my head, I hurried into the subway. Maya was never going to believe this.

Later that night, I padded across the apartment floor, the tiles cold under my feet, the hum of the fridge filling the quiet room. The couch felt like a small sanctuary after the chaos outside. Even as I sank into it, I could still feel my pulse hammering, a reminder of how close I'd come to danger-and how alive the city felt in moments like this.

Maya was sprawled on the other end, scrolling her phone. "You look like you saw a ghost," she said.

"You're never going to believe who almost hit me with his car tonight," I blurted.

"Please don't say a taxi again."

"Adrian Harrington."

Maya sat up so fast her phone nearly flew. "Wait. Billionaire Adrian Harrington? Your Adrian Harrington?"

"He's not my anything." I groaned. "And yes. Him."

She burst into laughter. "Oh my God. Only you. Only you could turn a billionaire meet cute into a near-death experience."

"It wasn't a meet-cute!" I buried my face in a pillow.

"Sure," she teased. "Tell me again when he shows up with flowers."

I shot her a look, but she only grinned wider. "Careful, sis. You might've just stumbled into your own story."

I rolled my eyes, but a flicker of something dangerous lodged in my chest. The way Adrian had looked at me-sharp, calculating, as if I wasn't invisible after all.

And I hated myself for wondering, even for a second, if Maya was right.

Adrian Harrington had faced ruthless board members, billion-dollar acquisitions, and scandals that could have broken anyone weaker. But none of that unsettled him the way one reckless intern had.

He should have forgotten me the moment his car drove away. I was nobody. An inconvenience at best.

But instead, I lingered in his mind like a splinter he couldn't ignore.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father

Flash Marriage To My Best Friend's Father

Madel Cerda
4.7

I was once the heiress to the Solomon empire, but after it crumbled, I became the "charity case" ward of the wealthy Hyde family. For years, I lived in their shadows, clinging to the promise that Anson Hyde would always be my protector. That promise shattered when Anson walked into the ballroom with Claudine Chapman on his arm. Claudine was the girl who had spent years making my life a living hell, and now Anson was announcing their engagement to the world. The humiliation was instant. Guests sneered at my cheap dress, and a waiter intentionally sloshed champagne over me, knowing I was a nobody. Anson didn't even look my way; he was too busy whispering possessively to his new fiancée. I was a ghost in my own home, watching my protector celebrate with my tormentor. The betrayal burned. I realized I wasn't a ward; I was a pawn Anson had kept on a shelf until he found a better trade. I had no money, no allies, and a legal trust fund that Anson controlled with a flick of his wrist. Fleeing to the library, I stumbled into Dallas Koch—a titan of industry and my best friend’s father. He was a wall of cold, absolute power that even the Hydes feared. "Marry me," I blurted out, desperate to find a shield Anson couldn't climb. Dallas didn't laugh. He pulled out a marriage agreement and a heavy fountain pen. "Sign," he commanded, his voice a low rumble. "But if you walk out that door with me, you never go back." I signed my name, trading my life for the only man dangerous enough to keep me safe.

The Silent Bride's Billion Dollar Contract

The Silent Bride's Billion Dollar Contract

Landslide
5.0

My bank account showed exactly $42.18, and my student loan notifications were flashing red. I lived in a sweltering Queens apartment with my Aunt Lydia, where the air was thick with the smell of stale frying oil and the constant threat of being homeless. Lydia handed me a grainy photo of a man twice my age and told me she had already "sold" me to him. He was a dry cleaner looking for a wife, and in exchange for my hand, he would pay off her credit cards and my debt. If I didn't show up for the date that night, my boxes would be on the curb by midnight. I arrived at the cafe in a state of panic, my selective mutism making it impossible to even breathe. In the crowded room, I accidentally sat at the wrong table. Instead of the man from the photo, I found myself facing Gerhard Holcomb—the cold, terrifyingly handsome billionaire whose family owned the very museum where I worked. He didn't send me away; instead, he studied my trembling hands and offered me a different deal: a two-year contract marriage, a two-million-dollar payout, and a strict clause forbidding any children. I signed the papers and moved into his Park Avenue penthouse, thinking I was finally safe. But when I went back to the old apartment to retrieve the only memento of my dead parents, Lydia lashed out, leaving me bleeding from a head wound. Gerhard’s retaliation was absolute—he had her arrested and her building foreclosed on within hours, claiming he was simply "protecting his assets." As I recovered in his silent, glass-walled home, I saw a call from a famous socialite flash on his phone, and a cold truth settled in my gut. I wasn't just a wife; I was a placeholder, a silent shield used to fend off the women from his past. I looked at the massive pink diamond on my finger and realized the silence I had lived in my whole life was about to become my most expensive prison. I had traded a life of poverty for a high-stakes game of shadows, and now I had to survive the man who claimed to own me.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
Pretend to Be Mine Pretend to Be Mine Avio Romance
“Elena Ramirez has spent years cleaning up other people's messes-balancing a demanding analyst job by day and side hustles at night to pay off a mountain of family debt. Love was never on her agenda. Then Adrian Harrington, the city's most feared billionaire, makes an offer she can't ignore: pose as his girlfriend to steady his company during a vicious boardroom power struggle. Six months. One contract. No feelings. It should be easy. But each public appearance, each staged kiss, pulls them closer than either planned. The arrangement ignites a firestorm-Adrian's jealous ex fakes a pregnancy, a hacker leaks private photos, a friend betrays them, and even his own family schemes against them. The gossip columns call her a gold digger; rivals call for Adrian's head. Somewhere between whispered confessions and desperate damage control, the line between pretend and real disappears. Now Adrian must choose between the empire he built and the woman he never meant to love, while Elena risks everything-career, reputation, and heart-for a man who was supposed to be temporary. Falling in Pretend delivers a high-stakes contemporary romance bursting with slow-burn chemistry, ruthless betrayals, and twists that will leave readers breathless.”
1

Chapter 1 When Worlds Collide

01/10/2025

2

Chapter 2 His Deal, My Downfall

01/10/2025

3

Chapter 3 The Lie We Agreed To

01/10/2025

4

Chapter 4 Strings Attached

01/10/2025

5

Chapter 5 A Night of Pretend

01/10/2025

6

Chapter 6 Headlines & Heartbeats

01/10/2025

7

Chapter 7 Proof of Fire

01/10/2025

8

Chapter 8 Cracks in the Spotlight

01/10/2025

9

Chapter 9 Fractures

01/10/2025

10

Chapter 10 Under the Lights

01/10/2025

11

Chapter 11 Headlines and Crossfire

17/10/2025

12

Chapter 12 Fire on the Roof

17/10/2025

13

Chapter 13 Lines I Refuse to Cross

20/10/2025

14

Chapter 14 A War Without Rules

21/10/2025

15

Chapter 15 Choices

21/10/2025

16

Chapter 16 Shattered Goodbyes

21/10/2025

17

Chapter 17 Running Isn't Enough

21/10/2025

18

Chapter 18 What We Choose to Protect

21/10/2025

19

Chapter 19 Shadows and Headlines

21/10/2025

20

Chapter 20 The Weight of Truth

21/10/2025

21

Chapter 21 The Night of Lies

21/10/2025

22

Chapter 22 The Cost of Dignity

21/10/2025