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When Pretend Becomes Real
publish date:
2026-04-14 22:05:06
Latest chapter
Bound by Obsession Together Through It
Damien made up an excuse about me not feeling well, which wasn't even a lie. Within twenty minutes, the penthouse was cleared, even Lucas and Sophie leaving with promises to check in tomorrow.The silence after everyone left was deafening."What do you need?" Damien asked."I don't know." I looked around at the half-drunk champagne glasses, the congratulations banners, the celebration of a victory that felt pyrrhic. "This all feels wrong. Like we're celebrating while my dad's grave is still fresh.""We don't have to celebrate." He started gathering glasses, cleaning up. "We can just... exist. That's enough."I watched him clean, this billionaire CEO picking up champagne flutes and wadded napkins, and something in my chest cracked open."Stop," I said.He looked up. "What?""Stop cleaning. Come here."He set down the glasses and crossed with me. I pulled him down onto the couch, into my arms, and just held him."Thank you," I whispered."For what?""For kicking everyone out. For not ma
Bound by Obsession The Weight of Victory
THE CEMETERY - LATE AFTERNOONWe stood at my father's grave, the fresh earth still settling, the temporary marker stark against the green grass."We won, Dad," I said softly, my hand in Damien's. "The court ruled in our favor. You were right—our love is real. Everyone can see it now."Damien squeezed my hand. "Thank you, James. For trusting me with your daughter. For seeing what we had before we did. For giving us your blessing." His voice cracked. "I promise I'll take care of her. Every day. For the rest of my life."I leaned against him, both of us crying silently."He would've loved today," I whispered. "Would've wanted to celebrate.""Then we'll celebrate for him. The way he would've wanted." Damien kissed my temple.***THE NEXT DAYI woke up feeling hollow.We'd won. The court ruled in our favor. We had our six months to prove our love was real, and then the inheritance would be ours permanently.We should have been celebrating.Instead, I felt like I was drowning.Damien was al
Bound by Obsession Victory And Ghosts
She pulled out her notes. "Mr. Cross. You met Mrs. Cross in a bar. You'd never seen her before that night. Within twelve hours, you'd offered her ten million dollars to marry you. Why?"Damien's hand tightened on mine. "Because I needed a wife to claim my inheritance, and she needed money to save her father.""That's the business reason. I'm asking for the real reason. Why her?"Damien was quiet for a moment. "Because when I looked at her, I saw someone who'd been betrayed. Someone who was angry and hurt and trying to be strong while falling apart. Someone who deserved better than what life had given them. And I wanted—I wanted to be the one to give her something better.""So pity?""No. Recognition. And attraction. Immediate, powerful attraction." His voice dropped. "She looked at me like I was just a man making an offer. Not Damien Cross, billionaire. Just... a person. And I wanted more of that."Judge Morrison made a note. "Mrs. Cross. Same question. Why did you say yes?""Initiall
Bound by Obsession He Waited
We'd sent everyone home and were preparing to spend the night at the estate when my phone rang.The hospital.I knew before I answered. Somehow, I knew."Mrs. Cross. I'm so sorry. Your father—his heart gave out about twenty minutes ago. We tried everything, but—he's gone. I'm so sorry."The phone slipped from my hand.Damien caught it, caught me as my legs gave out."No," I whispered. "No no no no.""Isla.""He was fine. He was at the wedding. He was smiling. He can't be.""I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."I screamed. Actually screamed, a sound of pure anguish that tore from somewhere deep inside me.Damien held me while I broke, while I sobbed, while I fell completely apart."He made it to the wedding," Damien murmured into my hair, his own voice breaking. "He saw you happy. That's what he wanted. His last wish. He made it, Isla. He made it.""I want him back. I want my dad back.""I know. I know, baby. I'm so sorry."We sat on the floor of that beautiful house, holding each other
Bound by Obsession Vows and Verdicts
THE GARDEN - 3 PMOnly twenty people sat in the garden chairs. Lucas, Sophie, Catherine, a few of Damien's closest business associates, the lawyers who'd become friends. And my father, in a wheelchair at the end of the aisle, looking frail but determined.When I saw him there, tears sprang to my eyes. He'd made it. Against all odds, he was here.The music started—not a traditional wedding march, but something soft and acoustic that Damien had chosen. Something that felt like us.And then I saw him.Damien stood at the altar in a perfectly tailored navy suit, his hair slightly messy like he'd been running his hands through it, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that stole my breath.Lucas was right. He was a wreck. I could see it in the way his hands clenched at his sides, the way his throat worked, like he was already fighting emotion.My father took my hand. "Ready, sweetheart?""So ready."He stood, shaky but determined, and together we walked down the aisle. It wasn't gracef
Bound by Obsession Before the Ceremony
Margaret's response to our vow renewal plan was immediate: "Do it. It's perfect.""Even if it looks calculated?" I asked during our meeting."It doesn't matter how it looks. What matters is the truth. You want to reaffirm your commitment to each other. That's powerful testimony—that despite all the pressure, all the scrutiny, all the reasons to walk away, you're choosing each other again." She smiled. "Richard's team will try to spin it as a performance. But we'll show its proof of genuine love. People don't renew vows for fraudulent marriages.""When should we do it?" Damien asked."Soon. Before the hearing. Give us time to document it, get statements from attendees, show the court that this was a deliberate choice." She paused. "And make it meaningful. Small, intimate, real. Not some big production. Just you two and the people who matter most."We planned it for two weeks. Small ceremony at the estate upstate where Damien's grandmother used to live. Just close friends and family, li
Bound by Obsession The First Morning
I didn't sleep.How could I, when my whole life had been torn apart and reassembled in forty-eight hours? I sprawled across that immense bed, in that disinfected-beautiful room, and stared up at the ceiling until most of the black were gray were pinks as ribbons to gold over Manhattan.Mrs. Cross.
Bound by Obsession It Was All Fake
The plane hit turbulence. Or maybe that was because every inch of me had responded to what his words had implied."I'd rather die," I said."Noted." But his eyes told me he didn’t believe it. "Moving on. Pages twenty-one through thirty cover business matters. You are not entitled to my business and
Bound by Obsession The Morning After
I awoke in regret with some fancy sheets.For one glorious moment, I didn’t think about it. And then it all came back, Marcus, my father, the bar, the plane, the chapel with its Elvis kitschy and the judge who had stared at us like we were idiots.My marriage certificate on the bedside with my new
Bound by Obsession Welcome To Hell
He pressed in closer and I smelled him, cedar wood and something deeper, a fragrance that was more expensive. "I need a wife. You need money. We can help each other."I laughed. Actually laughed. "That's your line? That's what you're going with?""It's not a line. It's a business proposition." He r
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