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.

❛ 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 ❜ ▪⬞▪ "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦" ▪⬞▪ To him, she's merely a pawn and possession he acquired through marriage to ascend the brutal hierarchy of the mafioso. And to her, he embodies the fear she holds for her dear life. First, snatched away like a toy second, chained by a coerced marriage and the end? She does not know. Her life bears no worth beyond being a puppet wife to this ruthless beast. ➺ An innocent girl who knows the world only through her books ~ ➺ A sadist man who is obsessed only with his power and dominion ~ ▪⬞▪ ⚠️ Dark Romance with Toxicity and Triggering Contents. [Standalone book]