To escape her bullies, a young woman agrees to fake-date the school's football star — a plan that was never supposed to involve real feelings. As their pretend relationship plays out in front of everyone, the line between performance and genuine love starts to blur.
After three years of being bullied by Chloe Whitmile, I decided to get even. I used her photos and her name to create an anonymous account and ended up hooked the star captain of the football team. That bastard was notorious on the field for being wild.
Off the field, he was no different. His appetite matched his stamina. The only upside? He was generous. At the start of sophomore year, I got hit with a $5,000 housing and textbook bill.
I was so anxious I couldn't sleep. He transferred the money without a second thought. That was the moment I realized the revenge plan I built to humiliate my enemy had somehow trapped me in love instead. If I suddenly disappeared, what would you do?
Baby, I don't like jokes like that. You know, I could turn the whole school upside down to find you. The fear broke out in a cold sweat across my back. I clenched my teeth and blocked him.
Three months later, I got into the university's sports data analytics program with a perfect GPA and started an internship in the team's lab. On my first day, the football management staff and several star players came to observe and meet the project I stood at the very back, clutching my folder when I looked up and froze at a face I knew too well. The man I had been dating online for three years walked into my life.
The impact was so strong my brain instantly went into alarm mode. He locked eyes on my direction and strode straight towards me. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it felt like it might break out of my chest.