[Complete][90k][Contemporary Romance] Ship Happens: Online/Offline Enemies-to-Lovers, Secret Identity
Hey! I’ve just finished draft 8 (including a full POV rewrite 😅) and I’ve officially lost all objectivity. I’d love some fresh eyes on this before I call it done!
Warnings for: explicit open door sex scenes, mentions of a past controlling relationship.
The Story:
Victoria joins an online gaming world to rebuild her reputation after a very public breakup.
Instead, she ends up in a vicious rivalry with one player: R1FT.
They fight constantly.
The internet ships them anyway.
And somehow… they start falling for each other.
There’s just one problem:
R1FT's anonymity isn’t just a gimmick. He’s Theodore Spencer Lee, billionaire heir, and very much not supposed to exist online.
When they’re seen together in real life, the internet loses it.
She’s accused of dating two men.
The same two.
As the story spirals and her career starts collapsing (again), telling the truth could fix everything but it would destroy the only place Theo has ever been free.
I’m most interested in the reader experience.
Knowing how you feel about the characters as we go, the relationship, where it sags, where it goes too fast. What things I’ve left off page and confuse you. Parts you love, parts you hate. Things that I am way too close to see properly anymore.
Feelings and vibes are everything!
The First 300 Words:
>!Six months ago I was a millionaire. Now I'm sitting alone at four A.M, waiting for the internet to decide if I still exist.!<
>!I stared at the call invite, doodling in the margins of my notebook as I waited for my new colleagues. It’s either that or pick apart my hoodie thread by thread. This hadn’t been part of the dream when I was fifteen and thought YouTube fame meant freedom.!<
>!The invitation pinged. My fingers tightened around my pencil.!<
>!This was it. If they didn’t like me, my career was over.!<
>!“Evening guys,” said Alex, server leader and gatekeeper of my future. Around him, cameras flickered on.!<
>!“Mornin’?” Rosie's face appeared in the corner of my screen, hair still flat on one side. “Barely.”!<
>!“Right, it's early over there. Is that why you've not got your cameras on?” Alex asked.!<
>!I looked at my camera. I wasn’t ready to turn it on again yet, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be.!<
>!“They don't want us to see their pyjamas!” Another added.!<
>!“Bold of you to assume we're wearing any.” I only regretted saying it after.!<
>!“Oooh! I forgot. Lady Vex is here! Careful, she might curse our server!”!<
>!“I won't, but if you use Aetherfall trademarks, they might,” I said. The ghost of the indomitable Lady Vex laughed back at me with my own face. 1.2 million subscribers followed her when she left Aetherfall. Whether they'd follow me when I started posting again was the question that had stopped me being able to post anything in six months.!<
>!“Good point. Guys, I'm sending you some guidelines. Aetherfall is stringent about copyright, so be careful.”!<
>!“Can't believe you left a TV series for this.” Somebody said. “I've heard they're doing a movie.”!<
>!“That's why she's here,” Rosie said brightly. “She misses the game.”!<
>!I let her have it. Better than explaining how I'd spent two years watching the thing I built become my ex's show featuring me. It’d seemed reasonable when we were together. It had seemed like a lot of things.!<
If this sounds like your cup of tea, please drop a comment or send me a DM! I'd love to send over the first few chapters to see if we're a good fit.