Completed • First Draft - not edited. || "You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." || The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.

Siddharth Goenka has always been the boy who smiled a little wider when she entered the room, the boy who loved from a distance with jokes, secret glances, and silent care. Shanaya Oberoi, the principal's daughter, new to his school, never realized that her quiet protector was much closer than she thought. Years later, when life throws them into an unexpected arranged marriage, Siddharth faces the one thing he never dared before - a chance to be more than her silent supporter. But love built on unspoken moments isn't easy to explain. And Shanaya? She's about to discover that sometimes, the greatest love stories aren't loud... they're written between the spaces where laughter, loyalty, and longing live.