Chapter 5

MELINA’S POV

Wyatt’s eyes met mine, and for a brief second, neither of us moved. His expression barely changed, but I caught the slight tension in his jaw before he pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call.

“Yeah, I’ll see you at practice tomorrow,” he said casually, slipping his phone into his pocket as though he’d been discussing nothing more important than the next hockey session.

I forced myself to maintain a neutral expression, pretending I hadn’t heard a single word. The last thing I needed was to let him know I’d overheard his conversation with Tristan.

Wyatt was Jace’s co-captain, someone who spent nearly every day with him. If he was secretly working with Tristan, then Jace had a bigger problem than either of us realised.

“Everything okay?” Wyatt asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” I replied, giving him a small smile. “I was just looking for Jace. He said he’d be waiting outside.”

“Right.” His gaze lingered on me for another moment before he stepped away from the wall. “Well, tell your boyfriend I said hello.”

There was something about the way he said boyfriend that made my stomach tighten, but I refused to show it. “I will.”

Wyatt gave me a casual wave before walking in the opposite direction, his footsteps fading as he disappeared around the corner.

I waited until he was completely out of sight before releasing the breath I’d been holding.

What exactly were he and Tristan planning?

Hamilton is distracted. It’s time to make our move.

The words replayed in my head, refusing to leave me alone. I knew Tristan was vindictive enough to do something stupid, especially now that Jace had humiliated him in front of half the university.

But involving Wyatt meant this wasn’t just about getting revenge on me anymore. Whatever they were planning could affect Jace’s position on the team, his reputation, or even the championship.

I briefly considering whether I should tell Jace what I’d heard. It was the sensible thing to do, wasn’t it?

We were supposed to be a team, and keeping secrets from each other was against the very rules we’d agreed on.

Yet, I hesitated.

What if I’d misunderstood the conversation?

Besides, Jace already had enough on his plate. The last thing I wanted was to make him suspicious of everyone around him because of something I’d overheard in a hallway.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and headed for the exit, deciding I’d tell him if I discovered anything more concrete.

Jace was waiting outside by his car, leaning against the driver’s door with his arms folded across his chest. The moment he spotted me, he straightened and glanced at his watch.

“Finally. I was beginning to think you’d decided to abandon me for a more interesting companion.”

I rolled my eyes as I approached him. “You’ve been waiting for five minutes, Hamilton. Try not to make it sound like I left you stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

“Five minutes too many.” He opened the passenger door for me, wearing that infuriating half-smile that made it difficult to tell when he was teasing me and when he was being serious.

“Get in, Townley. We have things to discuss.”

“Of course we do. Apparently, pretending to be your girlfriend is a full-time job.”

“You’re catching on.”

I climbed into the car, settling against the leather seat as he walked around to the driver’s side. I watched him start the engine, wondering whether I should tell him about Wyatt.

The words were right there, sitting at the tip of my tongue, but every time I tried to speak, I found another reason to wait.

Maybe I should’ve trusted my instincts. Instead, I spent the next few minutes staring out the window, replaying the conversation in my head while Jace navigated the afternoon traffic.

He said something about the upcoming championship, but I barely registered it. My thoughts were too occupied with Wyatt’s suspicious behaviour and Tristan’s endless determination to make our lives miserable.

“Melina?”

I blinked and turned towards him. “What?”

Jace glanced at me briefly before returning his attention to the road. “I asked whether you’d listened to anything I’ve said in the last five minutes.”

“Some of it.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“I’m listening now,” I insisted, sitting up straighter. “Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

“Wonderful. Then perhaps you can explain why you’ve been staring out the window like you’re planning a prison escape.”

I scoffed. “Maybe I’m regretting this entire arrangement.”

“Too late. You signed the contract.”

“Contracts can be broken.”

I almost told him about Wyatt then, but he began explaining something about how we needed to handle questions from reporters and make our relationship look more believable.

I let him talk, promising myself I’d find the right moment to bring up what I’d heard.

Unfortunately, that moment never came.

By the time I noticed the familiar buildings outside the window, Jace was already turning into the private driveway of his apartment complex.

I frowned, sitting forward as he pulled into the underground parking garage..“Wait a minute. What are we doing here?”

He switched off the engine and glanced at me. “We’re going upstairs.”

“I can see that, Jace. Why are we going upstairs?”

“Because we need to go over a few things before our next public appearance.”

I stared at him. “I thought we already covered everything. We have rules, a contract, and a whole fake relationship planned out. What else is there to discuss?”

“Quite a lot, actually.” He unfastened his seat belt and turned towards me.

“You’d be surprised how quickly people notice inconsistencies. If we want everyone to believe we’ve been dating for a month, we need to know the little details about each other. Favourite food, first date, how we met, the usual.”

I groaned, letting my head fall against the seat. “You cannot be serious.”

“Dead serious.”

“We could’ve discussed that over the phone.”

“And miss the pleasure of watching you struggle to remember my favourite food?” He grinned. “Never.”

I shot him a glare before reaching for the door handle. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”

I climbed out of the car, still muttering under my breath about arrogant hockey players and their ridiculous ideas.

My phone vibrated before I could say anything else, and I pulled it from my pocket, expecting another message from Maya.

Instead, I was greeted by a flood of notifications.

My eyebrows rose as I opened the campus gossip feed. A picture of Jace and me walking into The Roasted Bean filled the screen, our hands linked and his face tilted towards mine.

Someone had captured the moment just before he kissed me, making it look as though we were sharing some private, romantic moment rather than trying to convince an entire university that our relationship was real.

The headline beneath it read: JACE HAMILTON’S SECRET GIRLFRIEND REVEALED — AND SHE’S HIS RIVAL’S EX!

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me.”

I scrolled through the comments, my expression growing more incredulous with every passing second.

She really moved on quickly. Tristan must be losing his mind.

Wait, they actually look cute together. Am I the only one shipping them already?

Melina bagged the hockey captain after getting dumped. Good for her.

I pressed my lips together.

A few comments were downright nasty, questioning my character and suggesting I’d been waiting for an opportunity to get close to Jace long before Tristan cheated on me.

I locked my phone, refusing to let strangers ruin my afternoon.

“Let me guess,” Jace said, appearing beside me. “We’re famous again.”

“Your fans are terrifying. They think I’m a gold digger.”

He leaned over to glance at my screen, his expression hardening slightly as he read a few comments. “Ignore them. They’ll find something else to obsess over tomorrow.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re used to having people talk about you.”

“And you’ll get used to it too.” He took my phone gently from my hand, locked the screen, and returned it to me.

“Don’t let strangers decide how you feel about yourself, Melina. They don’t know you.”

I didn’t have a sarcastic response. I simply looked at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice.

Then my phone vibrated again.

I glanced down, expecting another notification from the gossip page, but the name on the screen made my stomach drop.

Tristan McGreggor.

I hadn’t blocked him yet, mostly because I hadn’t decided whether I wanted to erase him from my life completely or keep the number as a reminder of the person I’d never allow myself to trust again.

His message was short.

We need to talk, Melina. Meet me. Just you and me.

I stared at the screen, my fingers tightening around the phone.

After everything he’d done, what could Tristan possibly want from me now?