My Fake Boyfriend

It all started with a wedding invitation and a big fat lie.

When Emily Clarke received the ivory envelope in the mail, her heart sank. Her ex-boyfriend, Noah, was getting married—to her former college roommate. The wedding was in two weeks, set in California wine country, and everyone from their old college crew would be there. Including Aunt Linda, who treated Emily’s love life like a mystery novel—one she really wanted to solve.

The thought of arriving alone, sitting through speeches and slow dances while people whispered “Still single?”, made Emily want to vanish. So, in a moment of desperation and way too much wine, she opened her laptop and typed:

“Hire a fake boyfriend.”

And that’s how she found Theo Brooks.

Theo was a part-time actor with sharp cheekbones, a confident smile, and a surprisingly legit-looking website offering professional plus-one services. Two weekends, one wedding, no complications. That was the deal.

The moment they arrived at the rustic vineyard venue, Theo slipped into the role so well it was like watching a live rom-com. He brought her coffee in the mornings, remembered everyone’s names, and told stories about their “trip to Paris” with a wink that made her laugh more than she had in months.

People were buying it—hard. Emily’s friends adored him. Aunt Linda nearly proposed to him. Even Noah’s bride, Hailey, raised a suspicious eyebrow. For a moment, Emily felt...powerful.

But somewhere between pretending to be in love and dancing under twinkling lights at the rehearsal dinner, Emily realized something terrifying.

She wasn’t pretending anymore.

Theo asked about her dreams—not just the ones she told people at parties, but the ones she kept locked up. He listened. He made her feel like she wasn’t just enough—she was extraordinary.

The morning after the wedding, as they sat on the porch sipping coffee, she turned to him.

“I think I need to tell you something.”

He smiled. “I was about to say the same thing.”

She paused. “Go ahead.”

“I quit doing this,” he said. “The fake-date stuff. After you booked me, I realized I didn’t want to keep showing up in other people’s stories. I wanted one of my own.”

Emily blinked. “Why me?”

He hesitated. “Because you weren’t hiring a show. You were hiring a shield. And I saw you. I liked you.”

Her heart flipped. It felt like the beginning of something real.

But reality had other plans.

An old classmate had posted a video of them dancing. It went viral. Someone recognized Theo and exposed his “boyfriend-for-hire” gig. Overnight, Emily was part of an internet scandal. Headlines. Comments. Jokes.

Friends texted. Strangers speculated. Aunt Linda went silent.

Feeling betrayed and humiliated, Emily blocked Theo. She buried herself in work, deleted social media, and avoided all questions.

Weeks later, in a local bookstore, she spotted him again—standing in the fiction section, holding a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice.

He looked up. Their eyes met.

“I never wanted it to end like that,” he said. “But I meant every moment.”

She crossed her arms. “Was any of it real?”

He nodded. “It was the only part of this job that ever felt real.”

There was a long pause.

Then, to her surprise, she smiled.

“This whole thing started because I was too scared to show up alone,” she said. “But maybe being honest about where I’m at is braver than pretending I’ve got it all together.”

He smiled gently. “So… no more fake?”

She nodded. “No more fake. But if we do this… we take it slow.”

He held out his hand. “Deal.”

Lesson:

In a world obsessed with perfection, being real is the boldest move. Sometimes, love doesn’t begin with fireworks—it begins when you stop pretending.