Introduction
Except a reputation.
When a leaked video makes him look like a bully, his agent demands a wholesome girlfriend—fast. His draft depends on it. His father's funding depends on it.
Mia Lin has nothing left to lose.
Three jobs. A mom fighting cancer. A beat-up Honda that might not survive the winter. When Caleb offers thirty thousand dollars for six months of fake dating, she wants to say no. She hates him. She's hated him since freshman year, when he laughed at her for being too poor to afford team dinner.
But her mom needs that money.
So she signs the contract.
No touching. No feelings. No "accidentally" holding hands.
Simple, right?
Except Caleb Kessler isn't the arrogant jerk she remembers. Behind the cocky smile is a boy terrified of his father. A boy who defends teammates no one else protects. A boy who watches her when he thinks she's not looking.
And Mia? She's not the cold, untouchable manager he imagined. She's tired. She's fierce. She's the first person who's ever told him no.
The cameras love them. The internet ships them. The contract says six months.
But somewhere between fake dates and forced smiles, late night drives and almost kisses, the lines blur.
Because pretending to love someone is easy.
Pretending you don't actually love them back?
That's the hardest game either of them has ever played.
Chapter 1
MIA
MIA
"I'm not doing it."
My best friend Chloe didn't even look up from her phone. "You say that like you have a choice."
"I always have a choice." I shoved another protein bar into my bag. "It's called no."
"Your mom's chemo is fifteen thousand dollars."
"I'll find another way."
"Like what?" Chloe finally looked at me. "Mia, you work three jobs. You sleep four hours a night. Your brother's hockey gear is held together with duct tape and prayers."
I hated when she was right.
The rink was cold. It was always cold. I had been the team manager for the U18 Hamilton Wolves for two years. The ice smell still stuck to my hair, cold seeping into my bones every time I walked through those doors. But the money was good, and I needed good.
"Just hear him out," Chloe said.
"Caleb Kessler wants me to pretend to be his girlfriend." The words sounded even dumber out loud than they had in my head. "The same Caleb Kessler who laughed at me in front of the entire team freshman year."
"He didn't laugh."
"He said, and I quote, 'Maybe if you could afford the team dinner, you'd know what a real burger tastes like.'"
Chloe's teeth caught her lip. "Okay, that's bad."
"Then he forgot my name sophomore year. Called me 'manager girl' for three months."
"Worse."
"Then junior year, he shot a puck into the bench and shattered my laptop." I held up my hand. "Didn't apologize. Didn't offer to pay. Just said, and I quote again, 'Shouldn't have been in the way.'"
Chloe was quiet for a second. Then: "How much is he paying?"
"Thirty thousand."
Her eyes went wide. "Fifteen for my mom. Fifteen for me."
"Girl." She grabbed my shoulders. "You let that boy fake-date you into the ground. You let him propose at center ice if he wants to."
"I hate him."
"I know."
"I really, really hate him."
Chloe grinned. "That's what makes it fun."
I took a breath. The cold air burned my lungs. I thought about my mom. About the hospital bills stacked on the kitchen counter. About my little brother who still believed everything would be okay. I was the only one who knew the truth.
"Fine," I whispered. "I'll talk to him."
Caleb Kessler was already in the equipment room when I got there.
He was sitting on the bench, shirt off, because of course he was. His shoulders took up half the room. A bruise spread across his ribs, purple and yellow, fresh from last night's game. Sweat still clung to his forehead. He looked like he hadn't slept.
He didn't look up when I walked in.
"Took you long enough."
"I'm not here because of you." I grabbed the tape rolls from the shelf. "I'm here because my mom is sick and I need money."
Now he looked at me.
His eyes were stupid. That had been the first thing I noticed freshman year. Stupid blue eyes that made girls forget he was a walking red flag. Up close, I saw something else. Redness around the edges. He had been crying. Or not sleeping. Or both.
"Good," he said. "Then we understand each other."
"We understand nothing." I tossed the tape at his chest. He caught it one-handed. "I'm going to show up, wear your jersey, and smile for the cameras. That's it. No touching. No feelings. No 'accidentally' holding my hand."
"What if the cameras want hand-holding?"
"Then you get creative."
He smirked. "You're really something, you know that?"
"I'm really something you can't afford." I turned to leave. "Send the contract to my email. I'll sign it when I'm done hating myself."
"Mia."
I stopped.
Caleb stood up. He was tall. I had forgotten how tall. He walked toward me slowly, like he had all the time in the world. The bruises on his ribs shifted with each step.
"I'm not doing this because I want to," he said.
"Then why?"
He looked away first. Just for a second, but I caught it. His jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists at his sides.
"Because my dad will disown me if I don't fix my image. And I need his money to get drafted."
For the first time, he sounded like a kid. Not a hockey star. Not a cocky jerk. Just a scared eighteen-year-old boy about to lose everything.
I should have felt bad. A part of me almost did.
I didn't let it show.
"That sounds like a you problem," I said. "I'll see you at the press conference tomorrow. Don't touch me."
I walked out before he could answer. My heart was pounding. My hands were steady.
...
My mom was asleep when I got home.
The apartment was dark. The only light came from the streetlamp outside her bedroom window. She looked smaller than she had last month. The chemo was stealing her piece by piece. Her hair was almost gone now. She wore a pink beanie my little brother had bought her at the hospital gift shop.
I sat on the edge of her bed and watched her breathe. Each rise of her chest was a small victory. Each fall was a reminder of how close we were to losing her.
"Thirty thousand dollars," I whispered.
She didn't wake up.
I pulled out my phone and opened Caleb's email. The contract was twelve pages long. Legal terms. Conditions. A non-disclosure agreement. I didn't read it. I scrolled to the bottom and signed.
Then I closed my eyes and tried not to throw up.
I was going to pretend to love the boy I hated most in the world. For thirty thousand dollars.
My mom was worth more than that.
But right then, it was all I had.
Last Chapters
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Last Updated: 10/20/2026#118 Chapter 118 L
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Last Updated: 10/18/2026#116 Chapter 116 L
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Last Updated: 10/15/2026#113 Chapter 113 Danny's Game
Last Updated: 10/15/2026#112 Chapter 112 Family Room
Last Updated: 10/14/2026
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