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.

A child marriage they never asked for. A future they never expected. She was just 13, he was 15, when their fates were bound by family and tradition. He walked away. She waited. Now she's 18, finally sent to live with the husband she barely knows... And he's 20, more distant, more bitter, and completely uninterested. To him, she's invisible. To her, he's everything she was promised-but never had. Will the boy who left ever become the man who stays? Can a marriage born in silence... ignite into something real? Child Marriage Hate-to-Love Invisible-to-Irresistible Forced Proximity / Living Together "Touch Her and You Die" Vibes Possessive Jealousy Slow Burn Obsession