LOGIN"Who gave you the right to touch me like that?"The words echoed off the empty walls of the indoor pool, sharp and cold. Samuel didn't move. He was still in the water, his arms resting on the edge of the tiles, looking up at Isis. The stadium was quiet since it was so early, the only sound being the hum of the filter and the drip of water from his hair.Isis stood on the edge, her hands shaking as she clutched her phone. "I asked you a question, Sam. You had no right to pull me out of the water like that yesterday. You had no right to make me look like... like that in front of everyone."Samuel let out a short, dry laugh and pulled himself out of the pool. He didn't grab a towel. He just stood there, water running down his chest, towering over her. "You were drowning, Isis. What was I supposed to do? Let the Hades Pack star reporter sink to the bottom while the cameras were rolling?""I was fine!" she snapped, but her voice betrayed her. It wobbled. "I didn't ask for your help. I didn
Samuel couldn't sleep. He spent half the night staring at the ceiling of his hotel room, listening to the muffled sounds of the city outside. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face—not the polished version on the TV screens, but the way she looked right before he turned away in the parking lot.He got up before the sun was even out. He needed to move.He headed down to the hotel gym, hoping it would be empty, but someone was already there. Dalton was sitting on a weight bench, scrolling through his phone with a look of pure shock on his face."You're up early," Samuel said, heading for the treadmill."Sam... you need to see this," Dalton said, his voice unusually quiet. He stood up and handed the phone over.It was a clip from a late-night gossip show. The headline at the bottom of the screen read: **"SAMUEL ARMANI’S MYSTERY WOMAN: WHO IS THE NEW GIRL BY HIS SIDE?"**The screen showed a blurry but clear photo of the parking lot from the day before. It caught the exact moment F
The car was quiet... way too quiet for someone who had just broken a world record. Samuel kept his eyes locked on the road, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He could still feel the phantom heat of the stadium lights on his skin, but his mind was back in that parking lot.Fatima looked over at him from the passenger seat. She had stopped laughing the moment they pulled out onto the main road. She knew him too well. She could see the way his jaw was set... that hard line that meant he was holding everything in."You saw her, didn't you?" Fatima asked softly.Samuel didn't blink. "I don't know who you're talking about.""Don't do that, Sam. Not with me," she sighed, reaching over to turn down the heater. "She was standing right there behind the pillar. I saw her reflection in the window. You did too."Samuel let out a breath that sounded more like a growl. "Yeah. I saw her. It’s hard to miss the star reporter of Hades TV standing in the middle of a parking lot.""She
Samuel walked out of the room and didn't look back. His chest felt tight, and every breath he took felt like he was swallowing glass. He could still hear her crying through the door, but he forced his legs to keep moving down the long, quiet hallway of the stadium.He felt like a jerk for leaving her like that, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw that ring on her finger. Seven years of thinking about her, and she was still with the guy who ruined his life. It made his blood boil.He found Dalton waiting for him near the back exit, away from the cameras. Dalton looked worried, his usual goofy smile gone."Is she okay?" Dalton asked, looking toward the medical wing."She's fine," Samuel said shortly, grabbing his bag from the floor. "Let's just get out of here before the reporters find us.""Sam, the internet is blowing up," Dalton said, holding up his phone. "People saw your face when you pulled her out. They know it's you. My livestream is going crazy... everyone is asking if th
The stadium was a total mess. The noise from the crowd was so loud Samuel could feel it in his chest, irritating him madly and the heat from all those people made the air thick. It was nothing like the quiet campus life at Springfield.Backstage, Dalton was having a blast. He was leaning against a pillar, looking sharp in his gear and flashing smiles at some girls who were busy livestreaming him. To them, he was the hero of the day."They really think I'm the one, Sam," Dalton whispered, looking at his phone. "The girls are already going crazy for the 'Springfield Captain'."Samuel sat on the bench, looking at his hands. He wasn't wearing anything cheap... he had on a high-end, sleek black tech-suit that showed off his wide shoulders and the muscles he'd built up over the years. He looked like a pro who just didn't want to be noticed yet."Just keep them looking at you, Dalton," Samuel said, his voice deep. "I’m not ready for the noise."Outside, the lights dimmed for the main event.
SEVEN YEARS LATERHe turned with grunts at the blare of the alarm clock. "Shut up!" He growled, reaching out to slap the annoying device out of his way. The twenty-nine-year-old Samuel Armani yawned, thinking he was free from the alarm, but his phone took over, vibration through his body even though it was on the table."Now what is it?" He reached out to grab it only to hear Fatima's loud, shrill."Hey! Did you want to sleep your big day off?"Samuel rubbed his eyes quickly, the yell jerking him awake, "I'm up, Fatima. Calm down. It's not as if anyone still remembered I was still alive." "I can't calm down! You should be having your morning exercise now and...." "Alright," Samuel calmed her down. "I will be at the gym soon. What of Dalton?" Fatima scoffed. "That punk is busy livestreaming now to make more people troop to the stadium." Samuel sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his hands as Fatima said this. His mind thumped. 'Am I really going back to the spotlight?' His ha







