Good_angel

Once Upon a Mistake – A Second-Chance, Fake Relationship Romance

Phoebe Sinclair has spent years convincing herself she’s over Damon Blackwood—the man who shattered her heart when he walked away. With a thriving career and an ironclad reputation, she’s built a life where emotions don’t get in the way. But when fate throws them together at a high-profile auction, one glance is all it takes to unravel the years of distance, reminding her that some mistakes never truly fade.Damon Blackwood was never supposed to see Phoebe again. Their past was a carefully buried wound, a regret he carried in silence. But when a tangled web of secrets resurfaces, forcing them into a fake relationship to protect what they’ve both fought to build, he realizes the hardest part isn’t pretending—it’s resisting everything he still feels for her.As old wounds clash with unspoken desires, Phoebe and Damon must confront the truth: Was their love the real mistake, or was walking away the biggest one of all?

ONCE UPON A MISTAKE

One moment where his restraint snapped.

His hand came up, fingers threading through her hair as his lips crashed against hers.

And Phoebe—God help her—Phoebe didn't push him away.

Because the moment his mouth met hers, every emotion she had buried, every wall she had reinforced, came crumbling down.

Fiercely. Desperately. Like she was still trying to fight him, but this time, with the only weapon she had left.

Damon's hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, and she let him. Let herself drown in the heat of it, in the impossible feeling of his mouth on hers, in the way he still tasted like everything she should have let go of a long time ago.

And for one reckless, foolish second—

She forgot why she had ever tried to let go at all.

Phoebe didn't look back as she stepped out of Damon's office. Her heart was still racing, her skin still tingling from the press of his lips against hers. But she forced herself to move, to breathe, to pretend that it hadn't shaken her to her core.

The cold night air hit her as soon as she stepped outside. It should have helped—it should have cleared her head—but all it did was remind her of the way Damon's warmth had felt.

She clenched her fists and kept walking.

The words repeated in her head like a mantra, like if she said them enough times, she'd actually believe them.

The way her lips still tingled. The way her chest felt tight. The way, for just a moment, she had let herself forget—everything.

Phoebe sucked in a sharp breath and pushed open the door to her apartment, shutting it behind her with more force than necessary.

She kicked off her heels, shrugged off her coat, and went straight to the kitchen. A drink. She just needed a drink.

Her fingers trembled as she poured herself a glass of whiskey. She downed half of it in one go, the burn doing nothing to chase away the way Damon had looked at her. The way he had felt against her. The way she had let herself want him, if only for a second.

Phoebe let out a shaky breath and pressed her fingers to her lips.

But as she stood there, staring at the city lights through her window, she knew—

She was already losing this fight.

Damon sat in his office long after she left.

His lips still tingled from the kiss.

His chest still ached from the way she had looked at him before she walked away.

He raked a hand through his hair and exhaled sharply.

But when she had stood there, vulnerable and hurting, telling him that this wasn't just about her job—that it was her life—he hadn't been able to hold back.

Now, she thought it was a mistake.

Damon clenched his jaw, his fingers curling into fists.

CHAPTER 9