LOGINDeclan’s POVI bid Asher goodbye, pulling his tiny blanket up to his chin, and slipped out of the hospital suite. I drove straight to the private hotel suite where Marcus had asked me to meet up.He was already there when I walked in, pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor with a stack of Manila folders in his hands."Alright, Marcus," I said, setting my keys on the counter. "Can you tell me what exactly happened?""You remember our original plan to expose your dad's shell companies to the league board that night if not for the bone marrow procedure?" he asked, stopping in his tracks."Yes, I know," I replied, pulling out a chair. "How does this involve Azrielle in any way?""Specifically... she got close to you after the day your dad and her spoke, just to get information about those shell companies from you," he said cleanly.I let out a sudden, dry laugh, shaking my head. "Do you even know what you're talking about, Marcus? Don't play that kind of joke right now. I know sh
Mireille’s POVI felt my entire body shiver beneath his, my fingers twitching against his wrists as if deciding whether to push him away or pull him closer."Reyes..." I finally whispered, my voice trembling just a fraction as I locked my eyes onto his. "You're not drunk at all, are you?"His smirk widened, leaning in until our lips were practically touching."Does it really matter?" he rasped softly, his thumb caressing the soft curve of my cheek with maddening slowness. "Or are you finally going to stop fighting what's right in front of you?""Reyes, you are out of your mind. Get off me," I snapped, trying to summon the strength to push his chest away.What he did next shocked the absolute hell out of me. Before I could process another thought, he slammed his mouth onto mine, kissing me with a sudden, overwhelming intensity. I was too stunned to react, my mind going completely blank as the heat radiated straight down my spine.He withdrew just a fraction, pulling back to look into
Declan’s POV"If I don't see my son tonight, Azrielle," I blurted out, my voice dropping into a low, lethal thread that froze her mid-step, "expect his name and face on tomorrow morning's front-page news."She turned around slowly to face me. "What did you just say?" she asked, her voice dangerously quiet."You heard me, Azrielle Vance," I rasped, taking a small step closer.She looked at me, her dark eyes filling once again with that familiar, stinging disgust. I knew she hated me, but blackmailing my way into that hospital room would probably make her hate me a thousand times more. At this point, I didn't care. I just needed to see my boy."You know... I knew this day would come," Azrielle said, her jaw tightening as she let out a cold, bitter breath. "But what I didn't expect was for it to come this fast. You want to see him, right? Fine. I will let you in. After all, you gave him your bone marrow. Let's just wipe that debt clean. We are even."She swiped her keycard and opened the
Reyes’s POV"Declan is going to be fine, right?" I asked, staring blankly up at the white ceiling of my private recovery suite."He said he's fine," Marcus replied, leaning back against the leather armchair with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.Now, it was just the three of us left in the room—me, Marcus, and Tobias. The heavy silence of the hospital wing hummed around us."It was all because of me," I groaned, tossing a heavy arm over my eyes to block out the light. "If I hadn't let Callum get under my skin on the ice, Declan wouldn't have taken that swing, and he wouldn't be dealing with all that media heat right now.""You know he wouldn't like to hear you talk like that," Tobias said, kicking the side of my mattress gently. "The absolute best thing you can do right now is get well fast so we can win the next game."A brilliant, million-dollar idea suddenly popped into my head. I pulled my arm off my face and looked up at both of them, twisting my lips into a master-class,
Declan’s POVI walked away with a heart so completely shattered it felt like crushed glass in my chest.Everything in me wanted to tear down the world just to make things right with her. If she wanted an empire burned, I would burn it. If she wanted blood, I would bleed. But driving aimlessly through the dark city streets, I initially planned to head to my regular quiet spot by the ocean, the only place I could ever breathe.Then it hit me.Asher.I turned the steering wheel sharply at the next intersection. I had a son—a little version of me lying in a hospital room. Even if my entire world in the sport felt completely destroyed tonight, Asher was the one real reason I had left to stand my ground against my father.I pulled over briefly, taking out my phone to check the headlines. It wasn't any better online. The sports media was having a field day, plastering photos of my suit-clad punch across every front page, questioning my sanity and demanding my suspension.Marcus’s name flashe
Mireille’s POVI was still trying to convince Azrielle when a sudden, collective gasp erupted across the arena, followed by a sharp cry of pain from the ice.My eyes snapped down to the rink just in time to see Reyes crumpled on the cold surface, clutching his leg, and Callum standing over him with that smug, dirty grin. Before anyone else could react, Declan vaulted straight over the barrier like a madman, charging into the fray to throw a punch that nearly took Callum's head off.How I wish I had gotten out there first before Declan, I thought, grinding my teeth as I rushed down the tunnel steps. If I had reached Callum first, he would have been wishing he was dead. He would have learned the hard way exactly why I hold a black belt.By the time I reached the ice, the referees were separating the teams. I immediately dropped to my knees beside Reyes, quickly checking his leg and applying a temporary compression bandage to stabilize his knee. As Marcus and I helped him up, Reyes used







