Crossing the line
“She’s the coach’s daughter. He’s the captain. Together, they’re breaking every rule.”
Ava Reynolds has one rule—never let her life be defined by basketball. As the coach’s daughter, she’s spent years dodging whispers and expectations, determined to make her mark through journalism. But when her editor forces her to cover the university’s star team, Ava finds herself colliding with Ethan Cole—cocky, brilliant on the court, and infuriatingly impossible to ignore.
Ethan lives for basketball. It’s his ticket out, his shot at protecting the only family he has left—his younger brother. The last thing he needs is a sharp-tongued reporter questioning his every move, especially when she sees more than he wants anyone to.
What starts as a battle of words spirals into undeniable chemistry, leaving Ava torn between loyalty to her father and the pull of a boy who breaks every rule she set for herself.
But when a secret threatens to ruin them both…will crossing the line cost them everything?
อ่าน
Chapter: Something of my OwnAva’s POV Lila chose the café. She always did. Small. Intentional. Quiet enough to talk without lowering your voice but loud enough that no one could overhear you if they tried. Brick walls. Real plants. Coffee strong enough to feel medicinal. She was already seated when I walked in, laptop closed in front of her, tea untouched. Her eyes lifted once. Then narrowed slightly. “You saw the doctor,” she said. It wasn’t a question. I slid into the seat across from her. “Yes.” “And?” There was no dramatic lean-in. No squeal. No anticipatory grin. Just assessment. I set the ultrasound envelope on the table between us. Her gaze dropped to it. She didn’t reach for it immediately. “How far?” she asked. “Six weeks. A few days.” She nodded once. “And?” “There’s a heartbeat.” That made her inhale. Subtle. Controlled. “Okay,” she said. Not congratulations. Not oh my God. Just okay. The waiter came. I ordered tea I didn’t really want. She waite
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-03-02
Chapter: plans and Promises Ethan’s POV The apartment felt smaller when we walked in. Nothing had changed. Same couch wedged too close to the window. Same narrow hallway. Same scuff mark from the night we moved the bookshelf without measuring. But it felt different. Maybe it was the ultrasound envelope in Ava’s hand. Maybe it was the sound still lodged in my chest. A heartbeat at 110 beats per minute. I locked the door behind us. Ava slipped off her shoes slowly, like gravity had shifted while we were gone. She didn’t look fragile. Just recalibrated. “You should lie down,” I said. “I’m not sick.” “I know.” She went to the kitchen instead. Opened the fridge. Moved normally. I stood there and took inventory. Not consciously at first. It was instinct. Corners. Angles. Space between furniture. Obstacles. The living room had always felt open enough for two people who spent half their lives outside it. Now it felt exposed. Where would anything go? I didn’t say it. I walked down the hallway instead. T
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-02-25
Chapter: A heartbeat of Our OwnAva’s POV The waiting room was brighter than I expected. Not warm bright. Clinical bright. Fluorescent lights that made every surface look sharper than it needed to be. The walls were painted a soft neutral that was probably meant to feel calming, but under the lights it felt almost gray. Normal. Impersonal. I liked that it was impersonal. It made this feel less like something happening to me and more like something being processed. Ethan checked us in at the front desk while I filled out forms on a clipboard that was slightly cracked along the edge. Medical history. Family history. Allergies. Previous surgeries. Date of last menstrual period. I wrote it down carefully. There was something about seeing it translated into numbers that felt steadier than emotions. Weeks. Days. Measurements. “Are you okay?” Ethan asked quietly when he sat back down beside me. “I am fine,” I said automatically. He studied me. The panic I felt the first night had shifted into something else.
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-02-25
Chapter: The Man Who Taught Me SteadyAva’s POVI did not sleep much the night before dinner.Not because Ethan was restless. He slept deeply, one arm heavy across my waist like he was afraid I might disappear between breaths.I did not sleep because I kept replaying how to say it.We had decided that morning.Not to tell everyone.Not to post anything.Not to widen the circle.Just my dad.He had texted earlier in the week about dinner, a casual check in that felt ordinary at the time.Now it felt like a threshold.“You do not have to do this yet,” Ethan had said while tying his shoes.“I know,” I replied.But I wanted to.If this was real, if this was happening, I did not want to hide it from the man who had raised me to face things head on.Still, as I stood in front of the mirror that evening, adjusting a sweater that suddenly felt tighter even though nothing had changed, I felt twelve again.“Breathe,” Ethan said softly behind me.I met his eyes in the reflection.“I am breathing.”“Not like that.”He stepped closer,
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-02-18
Chapter: All the Way InEthan’s POV Two lines. I have replayed that image so many times in my head that it no longer feels like something I saw. It feels like something carved into me. Ava is asleep beside me now, her breathing slow and even, one hand curled near her face. She fell asleep mid sentence while we were still on the floor, her back against the couch, my arm around her shoulders. I carried her to bed when the light outside turned from gold to blue. She looked smaller in my arms. Not fragile. Just human. I am wide awake. The ceiling above us is dark, the city outside quieter than usual. My mind is not quiet. I turn my head slightly to look at her. There is a softness to her expression that was not there this morning. The fear is still in her. I felt it in the way she held on to me in the bathroom. But there was something else too. Trust. She trusted me with it. That realization hits harder than the test did. I sit up slowly, careful not to wake her. I swing my legs over the side of the
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-02-17
Chapter: Accepting Little ThingsAva's POV The silence in the living room wasn't empty; it was pressurized. It was the kind of silence that exists right before a storm breaks or a glass shatters. Ethan’s shoulder was solid beneath my head, his warmth radiating through his shirt, yet I felt like I was hovering several inches off the couch, disconnected from the physical world. He didn't move. He didn't fidget. Ethan had always been a man of steady frequencies, a stabilizer in every room he entered. But I could feel the question humming in his skin. He knew. Perhaps not the what, but he knew the shape of the secret I was guarding. "Ethan?" my voice was a thread, barely caught in the air. "Yeah, Ava?" He turned his head slightly, his chin brushing my hair. The intimacy of it usually made me melt, but now it felt like a tether pulling me back to a reality I wasn't sure I was ready to inhabit. "I have to show you something," I said. I didn't wait for him to respond. If I waited, I would talk myself into ano
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-02-14
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