تسجيل الدخولمشاركة
Chapter 28
تاريخ النشر:
2026-09-23 17:13:55
أحدث فصل
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 29
Something GoodSophie's PovTwo more clients cancel their contracts with me by Wednesday morning, citing vague concerns about brand association that everyone involved understands are really about the gossip still swirling online despite Ethan's public denial weeks ago.I sit at my desk staring at the cancellation emails, a familiar, exhausted grief settling over me. I built this business slowly, carefully, over three years of consistent, reliable work, and watching it erode because of rumors I did not create feels like a particular kind of cruelty I was not prepared to weather on top of everything else currently unraveling in Ethan's family.I think about the early days of my business, cold-calling venues, undercutting my rates just to build a portfolio, staying up until two in the morning fixing seating charts for clients who barely remembered to thank me afterward. None of that mattered right now to the strangers online deciding my entire career amounted to nothing more than a schem
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 28
The DinerEthan's PovPriya Chandran agrees to meet in person, but only somewhere public, neutral, and far enough from the arena that nobody is likely to recognize either of us together.We settle on a small diner two towns over, the kind of place with cracked vinyl booths and a waitress who does not so much as blink at a professional hockey player sliding into a corner booth on a Tuesday afternoon. Priya arrives ten minutes late, glancing nervously over her shoulder before finally sitting across from me, a woman in her forties with sharp, wary eyes that suggest she has spent years being careful about exactly this kind of conversation."I almost didn't respond to your message," she admits, wrapping both hands around a coffee cup she does not drink from. "I spent two years rebuilding my career after everything fell apart with the Ridgeline organization. I don't particularly want to relive it.""I appreciate you agreeing to talk at all," I say carefully. "I won't pretend this isn't aski
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 27
Diane FosterSophie's PovClaire shows up at my apartment with her laptop bag slung over one shoulder and an expression I have learned to recognize as her about-to-propose-something-slightly-reckless face."I want to bring in my editor," she says, dropping onto my couch without preamble. "Not to publish anything yet. Just to have someone with real investigative resources helping us build this case properly."I hesitate immediately. "Claire, if word gets out that a journalist is actively investigating Marcus before we have everything locked down, he could destroy evidence before we're ready.""I know the risk," she says. "But Sophie, what we're doing right now is essentially amateur detective work. Mason's good with numbers, and Ethan's motivated, but none of you actually know how to build a case that survives public scrutiny. My editor has broken three major sports corruption stories in the past five years. She knows exactly what kind of evidence holds up and what kind falls apart the
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 26
Building the CaseEthan's PovMason spreads three different colored folders across my kitchen table, each one labeled in his careful, blocky handwriting: FINANCIAL, TIMELINE, WITNESSES."I've been organizing everything we have," he says, tapping the first folder. "The shell corporation payments, Gerald Voss's connection to both Marcus and your family trust, the disabled security camera logs. It's compelling, Ethan, but a defense attorney would tear holes in it inside of ten minutes if Marcus decides to fight this publicly instead of folding quietly."I drag a hand down my face, staring at the neat stacks of evidence that represent weeks of careful, quiet investigation. "What are we missing?""Motive, mostly. We can prove opportunity and access. We can even prove suspicious timing. But we don't have anything that directly proves Marcus intended to defraud your family or sabotage your career deliberately. Everything right now is circumstantial." Mason leans back in his chair, exhaustion
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 25
Ryan's ConfessionSophie's PovRyan shows up at my office two days later, and this time, I do not immediately try to send him away.Something in his posture stops me, a genuine, shaken quality that looks nothing like the confident, careless man who once told an entire ballroom that I taught him what he wanted in a partner. He looks smaller somehow, uncertain in a way I have never witnessed from him before."I need to tell you something," he says, before I can even greet him properly. "About Marcus."My stomach tightens immediately. "What about him?""He's been talking to me for months," Ryan says, dragging a hand through his hair. "Asking questions about Ethan, about our family history, about the shares Dad supposedly promised us both. I thought he was just trying to understand the family dynamic to help manage Ethan's image better. I didn't realize until recently that he might have been using that information against him."I usher Ryan into my small office, closing the door behind us
Fake dating my ex’s Hockey-star Brother Chapter 24
The ThreatEthan's PovMarcus calls three times before I even make it back to my apartment, and by the fourth call, I finally answer, forcing my voice into the same casual tone I have been performing for weeks now."Ethan, we need to talk about your schedule," he says, without any greeting at all. "I've booked you for two additional sponsor appearances next week, plus a sit-down interview I think will really help solidify the positive narrative we've been building.""That's a lot added to my plate all at once," I say carefully, watching for any hint of the calculation Mason and I now know lurks beneath his polished professionalism."Trust me, this is exactly the momentum we need right now," Marcus says smoothly. "Especially with the shares situation potentially becoming public soon."My blood runs cold. "What shares situation?"There is a brief pause, just long enough for me to register it as a mistake on his part. "I just meant, family business matters can complicate a public image i
قد تعجبك أيضًا
Two Can Play
Rosa Kane1.9M وجهات النظرThe Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins
Artemis Z.Y.776.8K وجهات النظرONLY YOU
Rosa Kane782.1K وجهات النظرYou're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Cora Smith692.7K وجهات النظرThe Billionaire Sinful Pact (The Club Seduction)
Lucy90 وجهات النظرSystem Error: The IT Boss's Possessive Glitch
Priyada104 وجهات النظرI Accidentally Married The Billionaire Alpha
Law93 وجهات النظرMy Stepbrothers Dirty Little Secrets
Speedwriter42 وجهات النظر
