The Lie We Live

The worst thing about your ex getting engaged isn't the marriage itself; it is having it happen six tables away at a family dinner. Desperate to escape her family's suffocating pity and endless setups, Clara Bennett blurts out a terrible idea: she needs a fake boyfriend.

Enter Julian Mercer. He is her ex's business rival, a family friend, and the one man in the world Clara cannot easily deceive. Julian is observant, effortlessly charming, and surprisingly willing to play the role of her devoted partner for three months. To protect themselves, they draft a contract of strict rules: no lying to each other, no kissing unless watched, no jealousy, and absolutely no falling in love.

The plan is simple, but the execution is not. As Clara and Julian navigate interrogating family dinners, weekend getaways with only one bed, and dates that feel dangerously real, the lines of their arrangement blur. Julian remembers her exact coffee and wine orders, knows exactly how to handle her overbearing grandmother, and looks at her in a way that makes Clara forget they are pretending. Clara soon realizes that the hardest part of their agreement isn't convincing her family that they are together. The hardest part is remembering it is only a lie.