A Room for My Pretend Love

BONUS CHAPTER: Clark's Story (Prologue)

Ana's life was a cliche.

She was hiding in a filthy bathroom stall because her eyes wouldn't stop leaking. Not after she had finished reading that trashy fifty-page romance novel she bought from the airport bookstore to pass the time. For goodness sake, its cover had a badly photoshopped picture of Brad Pitt! It was the type of book people enjoyed in secret, then used as kindling after the last page was read.

Ana blew her nose and grimaced at the trash bin overflowing with discarded tissue. The stench of the place hit her nose, so she pushed out of the stall gagging. She headed straight to the sink and splashed her face with cold water. All it did was disguise the salty liquid dripping down her cheeks.

She blamed her tears on the book's main character, who, as the universe would have it, was her namesake.

Anna with the two n's was the plain Jane secretary of a rich, Greek billionaire. Just as these stories often went, she was harboring unrequited feelings of love for her cold and indifferent boss. Yes, the boss was an asshole and playboy, who might as well have been blind, considering how he didn't realize his secretary was female until page twenty.

Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed at the ridiculous plot, but the more she read, the more she realized how she was in no position to do so. It was all so familiar, she might as well have been looking at her reflection.

She checked the dirt-speckled mirror in front of her. The woman gazing back looked like a homeless cat who had spent the night out in the rain. She was nothing like the strong, confident, and successful lady she had envisioned herself to be at age thirty. Just like Anna, she was pathetic.

No wonder Clark never looked my way.

Everything about her was ordinary - from her name to her mousy brown hair. She wished she could say her personality made up for what she lacked in beauty, but in reality, she couldn't count the number of times she had been labeled a bitch. What could one expect, though, from someone who had to fight for everything in her life?

Growing up as a middle child to an older brother who was a star athlete and a younger sister who was incredibly smart, she was often left to fend off for herself. Who had time for Ana when her siblings required to be driven to football practice or flown to the next international Math Olympiad? She had learned being selfish and self-sufficient was the only way to survive.

One time, when Ana had sabotaged her sister's prom dress, her mother had compared her to Cinderella's step-sister. Considering how she ruined her sister's night, Ana knew she deserved it, but nevertheless, it hurt.

Ana pursed her lips at the woman in the mirror. With one last look, she walked to the door, dumping the novel she had in her bag on her way.

Someone had told her once that a person who was ugly inside and out had no right to be pining for Prince Charming. Well, here was the newsflash. Ana was going to be the evil stepsister who'd seduce the prince and live happily ever after.

She was so done with cliches.

******

Clark Choi was every modern woman's vision of a knight in shining armour. He had looks worthy of a Calvin Klein ad, a body that would fit right in with the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae, and lots of cash. After all, he owned half of one of the hottest tech companies currently in the market.

For Ana, none of that would have mattered if he wasn't so nice. Clark was the type of guy who'd go out of his way to make everyone - even a lowly employee like her - smile. And the more smiles he charmed out of her, the more of herself she dedicated at his altar.