Almost, Real Life

Vivian Williams needs a partner.
Not for love. Not for forever. Just long enough to survive what’s coming.

A carefully constructed lie seems simple enough, until it requires stepping back into a world she worked very hard to leave behind. The engagement is temporary, strategic, and strictly business. At least, that’s what she tells herself.

Bennett was never supposed to be part of the plan.

He’s steady, composed, and far too familiar. The kind of man who notices details Vivian would rather keep hidden. The kind of presence that makes pretending harder than it should be. Their arrangement demands proximity, shared appearances, and convincing affection. Things that blur far too easily into something real.

As the lines between performance and truth begin to soften, Vivian is forced to confront more than just the lie she’s telling everyone else. Because some histories don’t stay buried, and some feelings don’t fade just because they were never given permission to exist again.

Almost, Real Life is a slow-burn romance about pretending not to care, the weight of unfinished love, and the dangerous possibility that some stories don’t end, they wait.