Faking The Game Of Love Novel by Kristina Salinas _ Novel





Faking The Game Of Love Chapter 01

She was professional at being a canary. She obeyed all his unreasonable demands, while secretly planning for leaving. When he finally remembered his canary, she was already on a stage he could never reach.

Chapter 1

I was the perfect trophy girlfriend.
Sweet, curvy, and playing the part of a brainless bombshell.
The ridiculously powerful Mr. Watkins absolutely doted on me.
Until the day I overheard him talking to his friend.
“Nathan, Harper Henderson is coming back to the States soon. What are you gonna do about that little canary of yours?”
“A canary? She’s just a toy to keep me entertained.”
“Once Harper’s back, she’ll obviously have to be dealt with.”
That’s when it hit me. I wasn’t just a trophy girlfriend; I was a stand-in.
And the original was coming home.
My cushy life was about to end.
But what they didn’t know was that I was only ever in it for the money, never for love.
Four years as his canary, and I’d saved up a nice little nest egg.
I could finally bail and go study abroad!
…
His words replayed in my mind, a loop I couldn’t stop.
My heart hammered against my ribs. So, four years of Nathan Watkins’s affection had all been an act.
To them, I was nothing more than a plaything, something to be passed around and discarded at will.
I ducked back into the walk-in closet.
The wall of Hermès bags greeted me, and a smile spread across my face.
“Time for my little investments to pay off!”
I immediately contacted a luxury reseller, ready to turn my wall of designer bags into cold, hard cash.
I’m a piano major.
I came from nothing, but I was talented enough to get a full scholarship to college.
But right after I started, my grandmother, the woman who raised me, got sick.
I drowned in debt trying to save her.
In the end, she didn’t make it.
I was about to drop out to pay off the loans when I met Nathan Watkins.
For the money, I turned myself into his perfect idiot—beautiful, materialistic, and completely helpless without him.
And just like that, four years went by…
Now that I’d saved enough for tuition to study overseas, I could finally leave.
I started making arrangements, my escape plan clicking into place.
That night, Nathan came home reeking of booze.
It was almost instinct. I immediately went soft, melting against him and cooing sweet nothings about his day.
I’d been doing this for four years, playing the part of his dutiful, warm-bodied escape.
Nathan’s eyes were hazy with drink. He pulled me into his arms, his command muffled. “Kiss me.”
I obediently tilted my head up.
But then, he murmured another name, his voice full of a tenderness he never used with me: “Harper.”
My body went rigid for a second.
I lowered my lashes to hide the storm in my eyes.
For four years, Nathan had always called me Harper.
I’d corrected him once, telling him my name was Aubree.
But he just stroked my hair and said, “Everyone else calls you Aubree. I’ll call you Harper. It’s our special name.”
Back then, I actually believed him. I thought it was his special way of showing he loved me.
How fucking ridiculous.
A wave of nausea rose in my throat, but I dutifully returned his affection.
Until I was safely on a plane out of the country, I still had to keep my sugar daddy happy.
The night dissolved into a blur.
The next morning, I woke up with an aching back. Nathan was already standing by the bed, fixing his cuffs.
Unlike before, his expression was distant and cold.
There was even a hint of disgust!
*I rolled my eyes. As if I’m not the one who should be disgusted.*
He was fumbling with his tie.
I got out of bed and reached out to fix it for him.
But he recoiled like he’d been shocked, taking a sharp step back.
“Don’t touch me,” he snapped.
My hand froze in midair.
I put on a hurt expression, pouting coquettishly. “Nathan, why are you being like this?”
He seemed to realize he’d overreacted. His face was a blank mask as he pulled a black card from his wallet and tossed it carelessly onto the floor. “For last night.”
It had been a long time since he’d made our relationship so transactional.
A strange, unidentifiable emotion flickered inside me, but I put on my best money-grubbing face and thanked him profusely.
Nathan just scoffed and turned to leave.
He tossed one last command over his shoulder: “My driver is picking you up this afternoon. Be ready.”
I stared at the black card and sneered internally.
*So cheap. A check would’ve been easier. Now I have to go through the trouble of cashing this out!*
The second Nathan was gone, I emailed the professor who’d been offering me a spot to study abroad and told him I was ready to enroll this fall.
I got an enthusiastic reply almost immediately.
*Three months,* I told myself.
*I just have to put up with this for three more months, max.*

READ FULL NOVEL HERE