Pretend You're Mine

Izabella's life was serene and pleasant with just her father. She had a background she could not discuss with anyone, not even Shanda, her best friend, beyond the fence of their house. Her scientist parents had been selected for a government project to launch a spacecraft to investigate the frequency a tracking device had picked up in the air.

The government believed that unusual creatures were at large. Since her mother did not accompany her father back from that journey, he believed she had perished in space. After two years of missing her mother, her father married his twice-divorced secretary, who had two children, Camilla and Jerry.

Izabella developed a bond with Jerry, the eldest son of her aunt Esmeralda, who was seven years her senior. Camilla, however, became her competition in everything, and her stepmother constantly supported her biological daughter.

Izabella searched for her father in the area as the stadium was chaotic after the graduation ceremony.

"Izabella...!"

She swiftly spun around when she heard a man's baritone voice reverberate through the large stadium. But nobody was looking her way.

Ah, I heard that voice again...

She regrettably realized she had heard the voice once more. She had heard it before—usually at night when everything was calm, especially in bed. She thought it was one of her strange moments. Since her parents had brought her along on their final galactic mission, she had grown accustomed to mysterious things. No one else knew of them, as she feared people would think she was mentally ill.

Suddenly, she heard that voice beckoning her again. Upon seeing them, she grinned.

"Iza, please accept my congratulations on receiving the Magna Cum Laude Award."

"Thank you, Shanda, and congratulations on becoming Cum Laude. I also congratulate your friend, who appears to be tongue-tied."

"Hey, Robert!" yelled Shanda. "You'll melt my pal with your eyes, so speak up and quit drooling."

Izabella noticed how he elbowed her friend's arm and said, "Congratulations, Robert. You're wonderful... You've earned the greatest honor."

"I just inherited a little from you," Robert chuckled. "You might have become Summa Cum Laude had you come in earlier."

"Oh, you've still got that humble charm," she said.

"Anyway, my friend," Shanda chimed in, "Robert would like to invite you to their event."

"Oh, that's doubtful because our family is also hosting a party," Izabella replied.

"Yeah, I thought about telling you because you'll have the same thing going on."

"But once I have an excellent job, I'll treat you well because you always treat Shanda and me well."

Again, the man laughed.

"Perhaps another time," she offered.

"Okay. Catch you later," Robert nodded at her.

Shanda gave her a quick wink before turning to leave with Robert.

Izabella shook her head because she was aware that her best friend liked him—a one-sided feeling. She felt sorry for her friend.

In addition to being the only child of a wealthy family, Robert was also gorgeous, six feet tall, graceful, and had an incredible physique. The hardness of his fists made it appear as though he was always at the gym.

She appreciated his unusual eyes, which were yellow-orange and resembled tiger eyes. Even with his shoulder-length wavy hair, his black eyebrows were dense.

He liked her, but she could not feel the same way about him. Once, when she visited her family's sizable ranch, she refrained from going out with them when he attempted to kiss her. Although there were multiple occasions when he insisted on bringing Shanda along, she was unable to object.

Izabella turned around when she heard someone calling her name.

The sweet smile on Izabella's lips evaporated when she saw her father waving to her with her stepmother and stepsister. As usual, Jerry couldn't show up because he must be busy with his birth father's business, where he lived and only visited his mother and sister on special occasions.

"I'm so glad you made it, my dear daughter," Dr. Jansen said to his college-educated daughter. "You did an excellent job," he added while holding his daughter.

"But then, I'm sorry... I did not receive the top honor, Dad. Though I don't have any complaints since my buddy Robert received it," she said, looking up at her father with remorse.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm happy with what you have, Iza. While you missed it, you are still the leader in my book. Please remember, I'm honored to be your father."

"I'm happy to hear that, Dad. I'm so grateful," she laughed and gave him another hug.

"That's my child," Dr. Jansen exclaimed with laughter.

The smile Izabella had on her face before giving her father a bear hug disappeared as she turned to face the companion beside him. She immediately noticed Camilla's nondescript appearance—her stepsister. She could see the rage in her stepsister's eyes, knowing she had been hurt by their father's words.

Age-wise, she and Camilla were two months apart. Ever since their parents' marriage, they had never been close.

"Hello, Aunt Esme," she murmured, hugging her stepmother the same way she had her father. "Thank you for making an effort to attend my graduation."

Her stepmother just nodded. She was over a decade younger than her father, who was approaching his sixties, while she was forty-eight.

In addition to spending time with their biological father, she and her brother Jerry also had a mysterious stepbrother from their mother's first marriage—a person she had never met and about whom no one wanted to talk. She was away when this elusive brother visited, or so Jerry told her.

"Esme, what did I tell you?" her father said, looking at the woman beside him. "My daughter will receive the distinction, and I was right."

Her stepmother appeared disinterested in what her father had said and only nodded. "If possible, I want to accompany you, so please let me know later which school you plan to enroll in. She should have selected a short and introductory course, like culinary, to serve her future spouse better if all she ends up becoming is a simple wife."

Izabella creased her forehead. It was not the first time her stepmother mentioned that idea. She recalled what her stepmother had told her about finding a wealthy spouse to help her father recoup the money he had spent on her education.

"Quit saying that. I have never accepted your suggestion, or your ridiculous idea that Iza ought to wed Judas right away—whoever he may be. I'm not selling my daughter's life for money, Esme. You might be right, but please don't make me sad, especially now."

She said gently, "Dad, Aunt Esme is right. Most people who finished college merely became simple housewives." In front of her stepmother, she had learned to always stand by her to avoid conflict with her father. She didn't want to be attacked when she was alone, as verbal abuse was often the result of such disagreements. Over time, she had mastered dealing with her stepmother diplomatically.

"Your daughter is intelligent enough to get my argument," her stepmother continued.

"Argh. Mom, Iza is only sucking up to you," Camilla interjected. "She constantly pretends to be on your side, but you still believe what she says."

Izabella merely regarded her stepmother's daughter. That was typical behavior for Camilla in such situations. She always sought to undermine her, managing to gain their father's approval despite having a strained relationship with his second wife.

Mrs. Jansen warned in a tone that caused Camilla to pout, "Don't get in the way. Keep quiet if you don't want Uncle Theo to reprimand you both. Be kind to your sister and be appreciative of her. She deserves it."

Izabella curtailed her smile as soon as it started to form. She knew her stepmother was engaging in the same tactic she herself practiced: being an ass-kisser in front of her father. She hoped her father was perceptive enough to see what was happening behind his back, in addition to being a brilliant scientist at his lab or in his furniture business.

Camilla muttered under her breath until they entered the vehicle. She took the driver’s seat while Izabella sat in the back beside her father in the middle, with his wife on the right. Izabella gazed out the window as she considered her plans. After clipping job listings that had caught her attention from the classifieds, she had already decided on her next steps. She was preoccupied with organizing what she would do the following day.

Would she land an excellent job? The thought occasionally danced in her mind. She knew she could easily support herself by returning to modeling, which had been part of her life for three months straight the previous summer but had failed spectacularly.

That summer’s incident stood out in her memory, as it almost prevented her from finishing her first semester. Nevertheless, she managed to enroll with the help of medical certifications, and although she applied more than two months late, her academic record secured her acceptance. It would have been a failure not to graduate with her class.