LOGINRYAN'S POVThe screen flashed. Going Live... For a split second, I stared at it.What was I doing? I had gone live hundreds of times after matches. I had celebrated victories with fans. Thanked sponsors. Signed merchandise on camera. Never this. Never something this personal.The viewer count climbed so fast it made my head spin. Five thousand. Twenty thousand. Fifty thousand. A hundred thousand. Comments flooded the screen before I could even speak."Ryan, our hockey king!""Why are you live in the middle of the day?""Isn't that Mia beside him?""Wait... that's the gold digger!" I drew in a slow breath."This is probably the most important live I've ever done." The comments slowed for a second. "I usually come here to talk about hockey." A small smile tugged at my lips."Today isn't about hockey." I shifted the phone slightly until Mia came into view beside me. She immediately lowered her head. Her fingers twisted together nervously. I reached over and gently held one of her hands.
RYAN'S POVThe moment I saw her sitting there, everything inside me shattered. She wasn't moving. She wasn't crying anymore. She was just... staring at nothing. Cars drove past without slowing down. People walked by, busy with their own lives. No one spared her a second glance. It was as if the whole world had decided she didn't exist. My chest tightened."Mia." My voice came out softer than I intended. She slowly turned. Those beautiful green eyes I had started looking forward to seeing every day were swollen and red. Her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Strands of hair clung to her damp face as the wind blew gently around us. God... How long had she been crying? I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a slow step toward her."Mia." She lowered her gaze. "You shouldn'tbe here. I am fine." She wasn't. Anyone with eyes could see she wasn't. Without thinking, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her. For a second, her body stiffened. I held my breath. The
MIA'S POV"Gold digger.""She's using Ryan.""Throw her back where she came from.""Whore."My thumb kept scrolling. I should have stopped but I didn't. Each comment landed like another stone on my chest until breathing became harder than reading. A drop of water landed on the screen. I blinked. Another one followed. I hadn't even realised I was crying. I kept reading anyway, despite the fact that the more I read them, the more my heart broke into pieces and pain stung deeper into my stomach.I had left Sophie's house earlier, not looking back. I had told her I needed some time alone. She had forced me to stay, wanted to check on me. She had even offered to take me wherever I wanted to go to clear my mind, but I had refused. I needed to be alone, needed to know who I was without all this drama going on, without Ryan to save me. But as I walked aimlessly, the pain of the comments kept daggering deeper into my soul.I was busy reading the cruel comments when my phone started ringing. I
RYAN'S POVI swung my leg over my bike and slipped my helmet on before starting the engine. Today I didn't feel like driving my sports car. There was no press conference. No sponsor meeting. No cameras waiting outside the arena. Practice had been ordinary. At least it was supposed to be. I had changed out of my jersey into a plain black T shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers before leaving the locker room. Simple. Comfortable. All I wanted was to get home. Take a shower. Eat something. Then find Mia.A smile found its way onto my lips before I could stop it. Images of yesterday refused to leave my head. Her laugh. God... I had never noticed how beautiful someone looked while laughing. The way her head tipped back. The tiny wrinkle beside her nose. The loose strands of hair dancing across her cheeks every time the wind blew. The way my little sister had laughed together with her. She had looked... Happy. For the first time in what felt like forever."I need to see her." The words escap
MIA'S POV"Mia, you need to be careful around those people."Sophie's voice was gentle, but the worry in her eyes said everything. I lowered my head, staring at the floor between my feet. My fingers slid through my hair before falling helplessly onto my lap."I know..." The words barely came out.Breakfast at the Hayes mansion replayed in my mind. Evelyn's cold eyes. Alexander's emotionless face. The briefcases full of money. The insults. The humiliation. Then came Nyra. I closed my eyes."And those three girls," Sophie continued, shifting closer to me on the couch. "You can't keep letting them walk all over you."A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "I didn't."Her eyebrows rose."I fought back.""You what?""I met Nyra after leaving Ryan's training arena." I slowly told her everything. How Nyra had mocked me. How she had insulted my family. How she had dragged Logan into it. How she had grabbed my hair. And how, for the first time in my life... I had fought back.By the time I finished,
MIA'S POV"I am just with her to get back at Logan."Those ten words refused to leave my head. They repeated over and over until they became louder than every other thought.Why did they hurt this much? Ryan wasn't wrong. We had made a deal. He would pay me. I would pretend to be his girlfriend. That was all. So why did my chest feel so tight every time I remembered the way he had said it? Maybe because he had told Mason. He had promised no one would know about our arrangement. Maybe that was why it hurt.I hugged my arms around myself as I walked along the sidewalk, my thoughts pulling me in every direction.I had gone to see Ryan because he had left the house very early today for practice and I wanted to discuss my duties as his assistant. Instead, I had overheard a conversation I was never meant to hear. My stomach twisted."Bitch, watch where you're going."The sharp voice yanked me back to reality. I froze. Standing in front of me was the last person I wanted to see. Nyra Owen. T







