From Lies to Love: My Rival Husband
She needed a husband. He needed a wife. Neither expected to find each other at the end of the aisle.
Mia Cross is a rising CEO with everything under control except her traditional family, who demands she marry before the year is out. Out of desperation, she invents the perfect boyfriend. But when her family insists on meeting him, her lie threatens to explode.
Liam Wolfe, her infuriating rival from a competing firm. He's ruthless, arrogant, and entirely too handsome for his own good. But he needs a "wife" to secure the business deal of his life. Their solution? A marriage of convenience.
The rules are simple: no love, no real intimacy, and an expiration date set in stone. But when family drama, boardroom battles, and scandalous rumors put their fragile arrangement under fire, Mia and Liam discover that pretending to be in love might be the most dangerous game of all.
Because somewhere between fake kisses and staged smiles, the lines are blurring. And the hardest rule of all to keep might be the one that forbids falling in love.
Will their marriage remain a lie... or become the truest thing they've ever known?
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Chapter 5
The guest room at the lake house had one bed.
"One bed?" I hissed as soon as the door clicked shut behind us.
Liam glanced around like he was appraising a hotel suite. "Looks comfortable enough."
"We can't"
"We're supposed to be engaged, Mia. What did you think your family would do, give us bunk beds?" He loosened his tie and tossed his suit jacket onto the chair, completely unfazed.
I paced. "We'll make a pillow wall."
He grinned, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. "By all means. Build your fortress. Just don't hog the blankets."
I was halfway through my pillow barricade when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Liam called before I could stop him.
It was my mother, holding two mugs of tea. Her eyes flicked from the bed to Liam's bare forearms and back to me. "I thought you two could use something warm before bed."
"Thanks, Mom," I said quickly, taking the mugs and forcing a smile.
When she left, Liam sat on the edge of the bed, sipping his tea like he hadn't just been caught in the most suggestive scene possible. "You're overthinking this."
"I'm protecting the plan."
His gaze softened just a flicker, quickly masked by that infuriating smirk. "You really think I'm going to blow our cover?"
"I think you like pushing buttons."
"Only yours."
The tension hung there, thick and electric. I climbed into my half of the bed, turning my back to him, determined to focus on sleep.
I'd almost succeeded when I felt the mattress shift. Liam's voice was low, close. "You talk in your sleep, Cross?"
"No." My voice was muffled by the pillow.
"Good. Wouldn't want you revealing our secrets."
I rolled over to glare at him and that's when it happened.
Too close. Too much heat between us. His hand was braced on the pillow next to my head, his eyes darker in the lamplight. My breath caught, and for a split second, I forgot every rule we'd agreed on.
He looked at my mouth, and I swear he almost ,almost closed the gap.
Then he pulled back, smirking again. "Goodnight, fiancée."
I lay there in the dark long after his breathing evened out, wondering if I was the only one replaying that almost-kiss.