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EVERYTHING HURTS
Last Updated:
2025-03-25 23:15:36
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PRETEND PRINCESS MEMORIES BOUND TO ME
Creed's POVZara's lips trembled, her breath catching as she shook her head."You're a precious gem," I whispered. "And gems are supposed to be adored, not neglected by someone who doesn't know their value."For a second, I thought she'd break. That she'd cry. That she'd say she knew.Instead, she laughed. A cold, empty sound."It's you, isn't it?" she whispered, her voice biting and accusing.I frowned. "Zara—""Don't fucking lie to me, Creed," she spat, fists knotting at her sides. "It's him, isn't it?!"My brows furrowed. "No, this is about us—""It's him! Roman!" Her voice rose, shrill and cracking with emotion. "I knew that bitch was going to get in my way!""Zara, stop." I reached out to catch her, but she shoved me off, eyes blazing with hurt."All this time," she seethed. "You never loved me, did you? You never wanted this! After everything we've been through, I—" Her voice broke, and she swallowed. "We deserve to be together! You deserve to be with me!""Zara—"She slapped me
Last Updated : 2025-03-25PRETEND PRINCESS BREWING DISASTER
Creed's POVI have no clue how I ended up here in this park, but it was… peaceful. I sat on a rock under a massive tree, its branches shielding me from the brunt of the rain. Cold drops still hit my skin, but it was better than wandering the streets blindly, drowning in my own thoughts.I had to think. I had to start over.And yet, the moment I closed my eyes, she was there in my head.Yu Yu Roman.That girl.I didn't know when or how, but something had changed. Something inside of me. I couldn't help it anymore. She wasn't just a passing thought—she was consuming me. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she always seemed to be running from something, even when she was standing still.Was she the reason I called off the engagement? Was she the reason I couldn't move forward with Zara? Was she the reason I was so fucking frustrated, like my entire life had been a series of choices that led me straight to her?I exhaled a sigh, running a hand through my wet hair.This was a di
Last Updated : 2025-03-26PRETEND PRINCESS BOYFRIEND
Creeds pov The words spilled out so fast, so quietly, that I nearly missed them.I frowned. "Why?"She was quiet for a very long time, and I thought maybe she wouldn't answer. But then her voice was there, even and soft."Because it feels like he's all I have."Her words fell into my chest, heavy and sharp.I sort of leaned in, my elbows on my knees. "Don't you have someone else?"She gave a hard, bittersweet laugh. "People around me? Sure. But it's different, isn't it?"Yes. I certainly understood that. The ability to be a crowd of people but still being the only person alone in the room. "Yuyu" I spoke softly.Her head jerked up a bit, and I could barely catch a glint of her eyes in the blackness."People tell you family is the people who are supposed to love you no matter what," I continued, softer. "But sometimes, they're just the ones who hurt you the most."She didn't say anything, but I could feel her looking at me.I swung around, running a hand through my dripping hair."M
Last Updated : 2025-03-28PRETEND PRINCESS PICKING UP PIECES
Yuki's POVThe rain had ceased, and all that remained was the cold wetness of the air and the sound of our silence.I had stepped over a line.This shouldn't have occurred.We shouldn't have been so absorbed with one another like this—anything that dissolved the lines between us was dangerous. Worse, it could cost me my job."So… you and that restless employee?" Creed's voice came out of nowhere, shattering the silence.I blinked. "Who? Jacob?" A smile tugged at my lips."Yeah. Something's up."I feigned a gasp, placing my hand on my chest dramatically. "What are you suggesting, Mr. Malcolm? That I'm playing both of you?"He chuckled, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes."Jacob is cute," I admitted, crossing my legs. "But unfortunately, he isn't my type."A vibration rocked the truck.And then Creed was closer.Too close.My breath stuck in my throat, my heart pounding in my ear."So, Miss Roman." His voice was low, the heat of his breath on me. ".tell me, what's your type?"My th
Last Updated : 2025-03-28PRETEND PRINCESS A GILDED CAGE
Creed's POVThe CreedX Technologies Gala was, not surprisingly, a lavish event.It was held in the city's most luxurious ballroom, and the entire production was dripping with excess. Crystal chandeliers swooped from the ceiling like water icicles, spilling shattered light across the crowd of stylishly attired upper crust. The marble floors glimmered, polished to such a high shine that they reflected the tall flower arrangements and extravagant golden centerpieces on each table. Black- and white-clad waiters navigated the crowd with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres—small caviar canapés, smoked salmon tartlets, and small filet mignon.The air was heavy with costly perfume and the muted buzz of polite talk, punctuated every now and then by the clinking of glasses and eruptions of laughter.I was bored to tears.I had already danced with three women, each one as replaceable as the champagne flutes being replenished. The first, a brunette in an emerald gown, prattled on about her fami
Last Updated : 2025-03-28PRETEND PRINCESS UNWANTED GUESTS
Zara's POVI had trouble keeping my gaze on the glass of champagne in front of me, much less the mindless chatter of the people around me. My gaze kept drifting—no, burning—toward them.Creed and Yuki.Sitting together, talking, their bodies inclined toward one another in that close, comfortable way. Creed had that lost look in his eyes, the same one that made people want to reach out and touch him, to repair whatever was broken inside. And Yuki—grr, she looked fabulous, as always, in that ridiculous peacock dress.I should have guessed she'd show up looking like a painting.I clenched my jaw.I wasn't jealous. Not of Yuki, at least.I was only. infuriated.I had been avoiding Creed all evening, and that he hadn't bothered to get up and seek me out? Livid."Zara, sweetheart, are you even hearing me?"I snapped back to reality, my rage sharpening into something deadly as I focused on Todd. Ew. Todd.One of the dozens of CreedX Technologies board members, someone I hadn't even known ab
Last Updated : 2025-03-29PRETEND PRINCESS COLD FURY
Zara's POVThe wind slapped me in the face, but it wasn't as icy as the rage burning inside of me.I didn't know how long I'd been unconscious. Five minutes? Ten? Long enough for my toes to go numb in these ridiculous heels.Snow was falling, silent and soft, blanketing the sidewalk in a thin layer of white.I barely registered it.Because all I could see in my mind was him.Creed. And that pestering, silly, fake, peacock-hair girl.Yuyu.Of course it would have to be her. The one person who somehow succeeded in getting me like this.She wasn't even supposed to be here. Why was she here?And why was he looking at her like that?It was stupid. They were stupid.This was not jealousy. I was not jealous. I just—I wanted revenge.I hadn't even known what that was yet, but I was going to learn.Maybe I'd dance with the next fellow who emerged out here. Maybe I'd kiss someone just to defy him. Maybe—Gunfire.I froze.The sound ripped through the air like thunder, echoing from inside the g
Last Updated : 2025-03-31PRETEND PRINCESS MR SICK MALCOLM
Yuki’s POVMy chest felt tight when I saw Zara clinging to Creed.Engaged or not, they were destined to be.At least, that's what it appeared.They moved like two people who had already spent a lifetime together. Whether it was toxic, whether it was a mess, there was a sense of destiny in the way she clung to him.And I hated that I was there, seeing it.I wanted to leave.I wanted to disappear before I saw something that would ruin whatever was left of my night.So I turned, heading towards the door, holding my head up high—like nobody else in that ballroom mattered.It was stupid, but it made me sick.Entitled bitch.I fought with my clutch, gripping it harder as I moved forward, angry that Creed was still standing there, looking at me."Let me take you home," his voice cut through the cold in the air, harsh and unyielding.I hesitated."I think we've had enough of a jumpscare tonight," he went on, his voice almost playful, as if he was trying to make it sound less like a command.I
Last Updated : 2025-03-31
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PRETEND PRINCESS CURSED
Creed's POVI slammed the office door shut so hard that the walls vibrated. The secretary outside yelped as if she thought the damn ceiling was going to come crashing down."Get me the quarterly reports," I barked. "Now."She rushed out of her seat, almost falling over her own feet. Pitiful.I paced in front of my office like a wild animal in a cage, blood pumping hotter each passing second. All of this was pissing me off every day now. The terrible coffee. The creeping elevators. The godforsaken interns' breathing out in the corridor.Five weeks. Five weeks since I let go of that imposter, yet my heart clenched at the thought of her…of him !Anger boiled in my veins over and over but today a particular anger took over me, one o couldn't explain but already had ties to That imposter I didn't need him and I wasn't gay!There was no going back for me. And I felt the whole office knew that from the very moment I resumed, a week ago Besides they couldn't blame me for their incompeten
PRETEND PRINCESS NOT WHO I REMEMBER
Lily's POVToday became tomorrow.Tomorrow became next week.Next week became three endless weeks.And somehow, despite all the promises I made to myself, I still hadn't met Yuki.I don't even know how it all tightened up like that — how every small detail became so hard. Between caring for Grandpa Roman, going back and forth to the hospital for meds, doctor appointments, dealing with his therapies — life had gotten tangled around my neck with no mercy. I didn't have space to catch my breath, didn't have time to think. And amidst all of this, something gnawed at me:Yuki trusted me.I had been entrusted with Grandpa Roman — with one of the only people he loved — and deep, way down deep inside me, I knew I didn't want to let him down.But today. today was different. Today was the day. I was really going to fix all of it.I was going to go see him, apologize for whatever stupidness drove us apart, tell him about what he'd seen that day with Dan, tell him everything.Dan.He officially m
PRETEND PRINCESS AGAIN
Zara's POVThere's regret.There's pain.And then there's anger — thick, bitter, wild anger.I didn't deserve this.I was the last person in this damn world that deserved this.He wasn't supposed to push me away.He wasn't supposed to treat me like… like I was nothing.I was supposed to be by his side.I was supposed to be the one to fix him. To save him.I paced back and forth in my chamber, my hands in my palms, trying to contain the storm raging inside me.The walls were closing in, the air heavy, and my mind was filled with his face. His eyes. His lips. His voice when he'd instructed me to leave.I hated him.I loved him.God — I loved him.I couldn't take it anymore."Call Zed," I barked at one of my servants.She stopped. "Now, ma'am?""Now!" I screamed.My hands were trembling. My heart thudding. I was unraveling, going crazy and I didn't give a damn anymore.Within minutes, Zed arrived.Tall, dark, as calm as ever.He always had been.The man who took orders quietly, who had a
PRETEND PRINCESS ALL ALONE
Yuki's POVTwo weeks.That's 20,160 minutes. Twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty minutes of pure torture.I'd texted Creed so much. Too much, really. Sorrys I couldn't phrase correctly first, things I didn't have the courage to tell him out loud before, little things I knew he didn't want to hear. I texted anyway, hoping for a crumb of a reply.But there was nothing. No dot. No word. No fucking breath.So I made up my mind. I'd made it up the day everything went wrong—the day everything went in the opposite direction of my plans, like some sick cosmic joke. I was leaving New York. Done. Finito. Finished.Lily hadn't called me for two weeks either. It was as if my world had burst wide open, and I stood in the middle of a great emptiness. Grandpa Roman… two weeks of nothing from him too. Two weeks of not hearing his shaking, bewildered voice, of not chasing after him when he got me mixed up with my mother. Two weeks alone, tearing myself apart, living on my own regrets.I was complet
PRETEND PRINCESS THIS ISN'T YOU
Creed's POVTwo weeks.Fourteen days.20,160 minutes.I knew because I counted them. Every goddamn one of them.It's ironic that you know exactly how you feel about someone after 20,160 minutes of silence. No calls. No texts. No presence. Nothing. Just a void where they used to be. The only sound was my own breathing and it had started to get under my skin. My house was worse than my head. Clothes scattered everywhere. Empty bottles. Shattered frames. A grime mountain I could barely bring myself to look at — and still, I hung around there, festering amidst it like some wounded beast.I hadn't left for the office in two weeks. Fourteen days. No one had tried calling anymore. No one knocked. Not since the third day when I ripped the doorbell off of the wall and hurled it out of the window. My stubble was heavy. I barely recognized the face staring back at me in the mirror the occasional time I made the mistake of looking.I flopped onto the bed, blankets that smelled like sweat and guil
PRETEND PRINCESS EVERYTHING HURTS
Yuki's POVI did not know what to do with this. With him. With this. miserable life. Grandpa Roman was bleeding — his hand was slashed open, red spreading onto the floor and Lily's voice disintegrating in horror as she ran left and right. Everything appeared to be unfolding too fast and too slow all at once. The glass, the blood, Suzu's frantic barking, the aching in my chest. My head was an absolute, overwhelming void."Yuki! Grab the first aid kit, now!" Lily screamed.My legs barely worked. I was stuck there, agape, like my brain couldn't wrap around it. Like I couldn't wrap my head around how fast everything disintegrated. One second he was just standing there, screaming at my mother, the next glass was shrouding everything, blood on his wrist, and the fragile reality I was pretending to hold together had broken completely."Yuki!"I jumped and ran for the kit.Lily was pressing a towel over his palm, speaking reassuringly to him but he wouldn't stop struggling, calling out for la
PRETEND PRINCESS REMIND HIM
Zara's POVI was furious. No — furious didn’t even begin to cover it. I was livid, seething, burning so hot I thought my skin might melt off my bones.After everything I did, after everything I exposed… Creed didn’t even react.I expected rage. I expected him to throw that lying, pathetic excuse of a human being out of the building. I expected him to grab me by the arm, pull me aside, demand to know how I found out, maybe even slap me, shake me, fire me, break something — anything.But nothing happened.He stood there, looking like a statue, his eyes void of any of the fire I’d always loved seeing in him. There was no anger, no betrayal, no disgust, not even pain. Just a flat, hollow emptiness.It made me sick.He should’ve done something.I stormed into my mother’s office, slamming the door so hard a frame rattled against the wall.“Mom,” I snapped, pacing the floor like a caged animal. “He didn’t even react.”My mother barely lifted her gaze from her tablet, calm as always. “What a
PRETEND PRINCESS END IT WITH TEARS
Yuki’s POVI felt heavy. So heavy.Like my whole chest had been filled with cement, and someone left me sinking at the bottom of some endless, dark ocean. I laid there, my back flat against my tiny mattress, staring up at the ceiling like it could explain why everything had gone so wrong. My mind was… nothing. A complete abyss. Blank.I couldn’t think.I couldn’t feel.I couldn’t even see properly — everything looked foggy, like my eyes had turned into glass.It felt like a dream.A dream I’d spent years carefully stacking, one fragile piece at a time, and today it just… cracked.Shattered.And in the fallout, I couldn’t even tell where my heart used to be.Why?Why did it have to go down like this?Why did I let it happen?I planned to run, to leave before anyone really got hurt.I never wanted to break anyone.Not him.But it hurt… it hurt so much because I saw it in his eyes — Creed, that mixture of confusion and betrayal and something way worse — like I wasn’t even human to him an
PRETEND PRINCESS YOU DON'T ALWAYS KNOW
Creed’s POVHow could I be so goddamn stupid?The question kept looping in my head like a song you hate but can’t stop hearing. It was there in the way my stomach twisted, the tightness in my jaw, the way my fists clenched at my sides like I could punch the thought away.YuYu Roman.What a fucking joke.Except it wasn’t a joke. It was my life. My embarrassment. My shame.He wasn’t a she.Not even close.And the worst part wasn’t the lying — it was how it made me feel. How kissing him felt good. Too good.Soft lips, warm breath, the way my heart had stumbled in my chest like it didn’t know better. Like it wasn’t supposed to feel disgusted. And when his hand had brushed against my cheek — so light, so tender — something inside me had cracked open, a small flicker of warmth I didn’t think existed anymore.And now?Now it felt like filth under my skin.A goddamn stain.I could still feel it.Still taste it.I wanted to throw up.How could you be so blind? How could you be so easy? So… des
