OFFSIDE HEARTS: His Dr. Anchor
"I don't care about your Number 9 jersey, Ethan. I signed a contract to save your career. I'm standing here because of the man hiding beneath it."
Ethan Cross has everything the world envies.
A record-breaking football career. Endless wealth. Global fame.
But after a violent outburst explodes across live television, the man once worshipped as football's golden king becomes the sport's biggest scandal overnight. Sponsors disappear. Fans turn against him. One more mistake could cost him everything he's spent his life building.
The club has one last solution. Dr. Maya Bennett.
Brilliant. Unshakable. Impossible to intimidate.
As one of the country's most respected sports psychologists, Maya has built her career on one simple rule: emotions are weaknesses waiting to be exploited. She refuses to be impressed by celebrity, power, or money.
Until she receives an offer she cannot refuse.
The club will fund the spinal surgery that could change her younger brother's life if she agrees to rehabilitate the most difficult player in professional football.
When another scandal threatens to end Ethan's career for good, the club forces them into an arrangement neither of them wants.
A fake relationship.
One public image to protect.
And one rule neither of them is allowed to break:
Don't fall in love.
But cameras only capture smiles.
They don't see the panic attacks hidden behind Ethan's perfect image.
They don't see Maya's own carefully buried scars.
As jealous teammates, ruthless executives, and relentless media pressure close in around them, Ethan and Maya realize that the biggest threat to their carefully planned fake relationship isn't the headlines; it's what they're beginning to feel for each other. A dangerous attraction is growing between two people who promised themselves it wasn't real.
Because sometimes the most dangerous thing an elite athlete can lose isn't the championship.
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Chapter: Chapter 60EthanTraining runs twenty minutes over because Coach demands another pass through our defensive shape for Derby this weekend.They sit right behind us in the table, only three points back, and nobody on the pitch needs reminding what dropping points this late in the season could cost us.By the time Coach finally blows the whistle, my training kit is heavy with sweat, and Ryan is still arguing with one of the center-backs about a goal ruled out during the final drill. I leave them to it and head toward the first-team dressing room, pulling off my grip socks as I walk.Marcus catches me before I reach the heavy double doors, moving at a clip that tells me whatever he found has already ruined his morning. He falls into step beside me without a greeting, extending his tablet into my field of vision."Finance finished checking every internal payment route they can access," he says, his voice dropped low against the echo of the corridor. "The two hun
Last Updated: 2026-10-31
Chapter: Chapter 59MayaThe compliance portal for my commercial account has spent three days displaying the same amber status bar: Transaction Under Internal Review.I scroll through the PDF receipt for the third time this morning, checking the timestamp on my formal escalation notice to Westbridge’s corporate finance department. The paper trail is clean, timestamped, and completely unambiguous.I have done everything I can reasonably do with the transfer, which should make waiting easier. It doesn't. Documentation gives me proof that I acted correctly; it does nothing about the fact that I still have no idea who put the money there.A mug of black tea settles onto the kitchen island next to my la
Last Updated: 2026-10-30
Chapter: Chapter 58EthanThe stadium sounds different when I am not spending half the match fighting whatever is happening inside my own head.By the time we walk out for warm-ups, the stands are already filling, the low roar from the upper tiers carrying across the wet grass while a thin mist hangs under the floodlights. I take the first pass from Ryan, open my body and send it back with one touch. The ball moves cleanly off my boot, and for once there is no second thought chasing the first.For weeks, every match has come with something extra attached to it. Chloe, Julian, the board, Maya, the contract, another headline waiting for me the moment I leave the pitch. Even when I played well, some part of me was always working against the noise.Today, I can see the spaces before they open again.Coach gathers us in the tunnel a few minutes before kickoff. Their back line plays high, and he wants us moving the ball quickly enough
Last Updated: 2026-10-29
Chapter: Chapter 57MayaAt eight-thirty the next morning, the £250,000 is still sitting in my account, untouched and impossible to explain.I have already checked the transaction twice, not because I expect the number to change, but because I want to rule out every ordinary explanation before I give the extraordinary ones any room to breathe. The reference still reads CONSULTANCY ADVANCE, and the amount is still large enough to make my stomach tighten every time I look at it.Ethan is standing on the other side of the kitchen island with a mug of coffee in one han
Last Updated: 2026-10-28
Chapter: Chapter 56Ethan CrossMarcus doesn't say a single word. His face doesn't even change color. He slowly, deliberately lowers his tablet. He closes the folder under his arm.Then, with perfect mechanical precision, he turns entirely on his heel, walks straight back toward the private elevator, and presses the call button. The doors slide open almost immediately. He steps inside without looking back, and the soft chime of the elevator descending signals his silent retreat.For a second, Maya and I stare at the elevator.Then we both break into helpless laughter. I lean against the counter, shaking my head as I set the spatula down, while Maya buries her face in her hands.The sound of Maya’s laughter is still ringing around the kitchen when I finally track down Marcus.I don't call him. I know him too well. He won’t leave the building; he’ll be sitting in his sedan in the underground garage, furiously calculating the fallout of a public
Last Updated: 2026-10-27
Chapter: Chapter 55MayaThe morning light filters through the rain-washed windows in pale, dusty gold streaks. I wake slowly, the deep, heavy warmth enveloping me and instantly reminding me I am not in my own room.I am tucked completely against Ethan’s chest. His large, muscular arm is still wrapped securely around my waist, anchoring me flush against his side. The steady thudding of his heart beneath my cheek is the only sound in the quiet bedroom, a solid and grounding counterweight to the frantic world outside these walls.I let out a soft, contented breath, closing my eyes for just a moment longer to soak in the sheer safety of his embrace. There is no lingering panic, no shadow of regret, and absolutely no room for misunderstanding. Last night wasn't a mistake born of adrenaline; it was the moment the fake lines we drew v
Last Updated: 2026-10-26
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