LOGINCHAPTER 250 (EPILOGUE)HOME WAS NEVER A PLACEISLAIf someone had told me months ago that this was how my story would end, I would have laughed and cried. Because nothing about my life had ever been simple.Not losing my parents. Not living under my brother’s rigid protection. Not falling in love.And definitely not falling in love three times.Yet there I was, standing in the middle of the rink one last time before summer break officially began, watching the golden lights reflect off the ice. The place that had once been the center of scandal, whispers, betrayal and healing.The first place I'd learned to smile at a stranger. Everything had changed.The suspension didn't last forever. Eventually even the gossip truly died and Victor transferred out under the weight of his own disgrace, the team stabilized. The coach reinstated them after weeks of discipline and silence.Asher and I were… better. He no longer hovered over me like I was fragile glass, and I no longer felt like I had to
CHAPTER 249APOLOGY IS THE BROTHER OF RECONCILIATION NOAHI had never been afraid of Asher. Not when he was pissed after a lost game. Not when he threw the first punch. Not even when he looked at us like we had personally betrayed his bloodline.But as I stood there watching him hug Isla, I felt something unfamiliar settle in my chest.Uncertainty.His back was to us at first. His arms wrapped around her tightly. And for a second, I saw the version of him that existed before all this… just a brother who had lost too much too young.Rowan stood slightly in front of me, protective even now. Ellis’ posture was calm, but I knew him well enough to see the tension in his jaw.When Asher pulled away from Isla and turned toward us, his expression was unreadable. I couldn't read anything hiding behind his eyes. He walked closer to us and none of us moved. The air felt thick, like the moment before a puck drops and we were waiting to see who would take the lead. “We’ve been friends since I g
CHAPTER 248UNLEARNING THE CAGEISLAIt had been a few days since I walked out of my brother’s room and told him to go to hell. A few days since I finally said everything I had swallowed for years and got my chest lighter than it had ever been. The campus was still… harshNot as vicious as before, but not completely kind either. There were still stares, occasional whispers when we passed… but something had changed. We had stopped hiding.Rowan held my hand openly now, his fingers laced with mine like it was the most natural thing in the world. Noah would press a kiss to my temple in the middle of the quad without hesitatio. And Ellis would cup my face and kiss me slowly and deliberately, like he wanted anyone watching to understand that I was not a mistake.The first time it happened publicly, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest.I had braced myself for the gasps, yhe judgment and the disgust. And yes, some of it came, but they didn’t flinch. Not one of them. And when people reali
CHAPTER 247THE WORDS OF MY MIND ISLA I was tired of hiding. Tired of whispering. Tired of shrinking every time someone looked at me like I was something rotten they’d accidentally stepped on.For days, I had let the shame sit on my chest like a stone, let the silence swallow me whole and let Asher’s absence carve a hole straight through my ribs.But that morning, something changed.Maybe it was because of how tired my soul was and it was suddenly angry. Maybe it was because they had been suspended from the team. Maybe it was how they stood by me, regardless of the backlash they were getting. Or maybe I was just done crying. Because suddenly, I wasn’t sad anymore. I was angry.I was angry at everything. At the students who wouldn't mind their business, at the sun that shone too brightly, at Victor. But most of all, I was angry at my brother. Asher hadn’t spoken to me at all. All he had done was shut me out. I stared at my reflection in the mirror before leaving my dorm. My eyes w
CHAPTER 246CONSEQUENCESELLISVictor’s words wouldn’t stop replaying in my head. They echoed louder than the slam of locker doors and louder than Coach’s angry dismissal.Take us off the team completely?I felt it like a threat, not just to hockey, but to everything we had left that still felt normal.Rowan was standing beside me, shoulders tight and fists clenched so hard I could see the veins standing out under his skin. Noah was quiet, jaw locked. Asher stood a few steps ahead, rigid and burning with his own storm.And Victor.Victor was still standing there with that smug, calculated look like he hadn’t just thrown a grenade into the room.I saw Rowan’s shoulders shift… that slight movement he always made before he did something reckless.I grabbed his arm and he turned to look at me with burning rage, wondering why I was holding him back. I shook my head. This wasn’t the time to lose control.I stepped forward instead. The anger in my chest wasn’t explosive like Rowan’s, it was
CHAPTER 245LINES DRAWN IN THE OPENROWANWaiting outside in her room felt longer than the last two days combined.The shower had been running for a while now, steam slipping from under the door and curled into the room, thick and warm. But it did nothing to ease the tightness in my chest.I leaned back against the wall, arms folded, staring at nothing.The past forty-eight hours had been brutal. Campus gossip had teeth, and it bit hard. Every hallway we walked through felt like a courtroom, and every whisper felt like a verdict. Betrayers. Dogs. Desperate.I’d been punched twice by someone I used to call brother. and I would’ve taken ten more if it meant Isla didn’t look the way she had when we walked into that room earlier. She looks hollow like someone had scooped her out from the inside.Noah was the one that broke the silence. “You think he’s ever gonna forgive us?”Ellis exhaled slowly, staring at the floor. “I don’t know.”That was the honest answer. I didn't know either. I p
CHAPTER 33CARELESS JOY…. THEN CHAOS ISLAFor the first time in what felt like forever, my life stopped feeling like a tightrope. I didn't feel like I was balancing on the edge of a knife, this time, it felt like I was walking on a smooth, even ground. I floated between classes with a lot of ease
CHAPTER 38RULES IN SOFT VOICESISLA“I don't know… is Barack Obama Black?” I don't know when or how, all I knew was the words were flowing out of my mouth without any hindrances.When the hell did I get so bold?Rowan's lips curved into a wicked smile as she stepped even closer than he was. His h
CHAPTER 32WHEN LOYALTY SPEAKS LOUDERISLAOutside I was shocked, completely. But on the inside, it was a carnival party. I was fucking excited at what was going down. The silence after the slap was loud, loud enough for it to ring in your ears. It was solid; it felt like the entire rink had pause
CHAPTER 41AFTERGLOW AND UNINVITED EYESISLAI don't know how long it's been since I started the whole thing with Rowan, Ellis and Noah, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much they made me feel. It was clear… Something had shifted.I woke up everyday glowing more than normal, my smile wider a







