chapter 1

Lila POV

"RYAN! PLEASE!" I screamed until my throat burned, my voice cracking with desperation.

My heart was breaking as I watched my stepbrother struggle on the ice below. This wasn't just any game. This was THE game. The one that would decide his entire future. College scouts filled the arena, notebooks ready, waiting to choose the next hockey superstar.

And Ryan was losing.

"Come on, Ryan" I whispered, gripping the cold metal railing so hard my knuckles turned white. "You can do this. You have to do this."

I had been in love with Ryan for three long, painful years. Every morning I watched him eat breakfast, wishing he would look at me the way he looked at his hockey trophies. Every night I dreamed of him holding me, kissing me, wanting me back.

But Ryan only saw me as his annoying little stepsister. Nothing more.

The arena was so loud I could barely think. Thousands of people were on their feet, screaming, cheering, hoping. The championship game was tied with only two minutes left. Ryan's whole life depended on these next 120 seconds.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer's voice boomed like thunder. "This is it! Two minutes to decide who becomes the next college hockey sensation!"

My stomach twisted into knots. Ryan was skating hard, sweat dripping down his beautiful face. He looked so focused, so determined. God, he was gorgeous even when he was exhausted.

Then I saw him.

Derek Stone.

The devil himself gliding across the ice like a predator hunting prey. Derek was everything parents warned their daughters about - dangerous, wild, and absolutely ruthless. He had been kicked out of his last school for fighting, and now he played for our biggest rival.

Derek hated Ryan. Ryan hated Derek. They had been enemies since junior league.

"No, no, no," I breathed, watching Derek move toward Ryan like a shark smelling blood.

In one swift, brutal move, Derek stole the puck right from Ryan's stick. The crowd gasped. My heart stopped beating.

"DEREK STONE HAS THE PUCK!" the announcer roared. "HE'S FLYING DOWN THE ICE LIKE A MAN POSSESSED!"

Time slowed down. I watched Derek dance around our defenders like they were standing still. He was fast, graceful, and completely unstoppable.

"Please miss," I prayed desperately. "Please, God, let him miss."

Derek pulled back his stick. The arena held its breath.

He shot.

"GOOOOOOOAL!"

The sound hit me like a physical blow. Half the arena exploded in celebration while our side sat in stunned, heartbroken silence. Derek threw his arms up in victory, his teammates mobbing him like he was a conquering hero.

I felt tears burning my eyes as I watched Ryan's shoulders slump in defeat. His dream was dying right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to save him.

"AND DEREK STONE DOES IT AGAIN!" the announcer screamed with excitement. "THAT'S HIS SECOND GOAL OF THE NIGHT! WHAT A SUPERSTAR!"

The clock kept ticking down. Ryan tried desperately to score, but it was too late. Derek had destroyed everything Ryan had worked for his entire life.

When the final buzzer sounded, Derek's team erupted like they had won the World Cup. The crowd chanted Derek's name like he was some kind of god. I watched him remove his helmet, his dark hair damp with sweat, that cocky, arrogant smile spreading across his handsome face.

Derek Stone was now the star everyone would remember. Not my Ryan.

I felt physically sick. This was supposed to be Ryan's moment of glory. The scouts were supposed to fight over him, not that arrogant jerk Derek.

I ran down from the bleachers, pushing through crowds of people, desperate to find Ryan and comfort him. The hallways were chaos - celebrating fans mixing with devastated supporters.

Finally, I found him.

Ryan stood alone by the exit, still in his gear, staring at nothing. He looked broken, defeated, like someone had ripped his soul out of his body.

"Ryan," I whispered, approaching him like he might shatter if I spoke too loud. "Baby, I'm so sorry. You played amazingly. Derek just got lucky, that's all."

Ryan looked up at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen.

"It's over, Lila," he said, his voice flat and empty. "Derek won. The scouts saw everything they needed to see."

"No!" I said fiercely, my heart breaking for him. "You're ten times better than him! This was just one bad game. You'll get other chances, I promise!"

Ryan shook his head slowly, like even that small movement hurt.

"The season's finished," he said. "This was my only shot, and I blew it."

"Please don't give up," I begged, reaching for his arm. "You've worked so hard for this dream. I believe in you, Ryan. I've always believed in you. I love-"

He pulled away before I could finish.

"Lila, I appreciate you trying to help," Ryan said coldly. "But it's done. Derek Stone is the new golden boy now, and there's nothing anyone can do to change it."

Then he walked away. Just left me standing there like I meant nothing to him.

Tears poured down my face as I watched the only person I had ever loved disappear around the corner without looking back.

"Why?" I whispered to the empty hallway. "Why don't you ever see me? Why don't you care that I'm dying inside?"

For three years, I had loved Ryan with every piece of my heart. I went to every game, cheered until I lost my voice, supported him through everything. But to him, I was invisible. Just his annoying stepsister who got in the way.

I was so lost in my heartbreak that I wasn't watching where I was going. I clutched my notebook against my chest like a shield - the notebook that contained my most dangerous secrets.

Inside those pages, I had written everything I could never say out loud. Stories about Ryan's perfect body, about touching his muscles, about kissing him until we both couldn't breathe. I also wrote about other hot guys on campus - their abs, their arms, their lips.

Everyone at school was obsessed with these stories. They had been posted online anonymously, and the whole campus was trying to figure out who the mystery writer was. The one who wrote such detailed, steamy descriptions of the hottest guys at Riverside High.

They had no idea it was quiet, invisible Lila Richmond.

Suddenly, I crashed into something solid and warm.

The impact was so hard that my notebook exploded from my hands. Papers flew everywhere like snow in a blizzard. The person I had slammed into was dripping wet from a shower, and my most private thoughts stuck to his damp, muscled chest.

"Watch where you're going, you little-"

The deep, angry voice stopped mid-sentence.

I looked up in pure terror.

Derek Stone stood before me like a beautiful nightmare. Water droplets clung to his dark hair. His green eyes pierced right through me. His perfect chest was visible through his wet shirt, and my secret papers were plastered all over his body.

Time stopped. Derek peeled one of my papers off his chest and began to read. I watched in horror as his expression changed from annoyance to shock to a slow, evil smile.

"Give those back!" I screamed, lunging for the papers. "You have no right to read them!"

But Derek kept reading, his eyes getting wider with each word. The smile on his face grew more wicked and dangerous.

"Well, well, well," Derek said, his voice like silk over steel. "So YOU'RE the mystery writer everyone's been going crazy over."

My blood turned to ice.

"The one who writes those incredibly detailed stories about guys' bodies," Derek continued, reading more. "About touching them, kissing them, wanting them..."

"Stop!" I begged, my face burning with shame. "Please stop reading!"

Derek looked from the paper to me, then his smile became absolutely deadly.

"And look what we have here," he said, holding up another paper. "Sweet little Lila fantasizing about her stepbrother Ryan's body. Writing about how badly she wants to touch him, kiss him, have him..."

The world started spinning around me. This couldn't be happening. Derek Stone, my worst enemy, had just discovered the secret that could destroy my entire life.

"Please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please don't tell anyone. I'll do anything."

Derek's eyes lit up with a dangerous fire as he realized the power he now held over me. My most shameful secrets were literally stuck to his body, and I was completely at his mercy.

"Anything?" Derek repeated slowly, that evil smile growing wider. "Now that's very interesting, Lila Richmond. Very interesting indeed."

My whole world had just collapsed, and the devil himself was holding the pieces.