FAZER LOGINMaxine’s POVTravis did not look convinced a bit and he didn't even try hiding it. “He’s been out long enough, Doc,” he said, pacing in front of my desk like a man trying very hard not to lose his patience. “We’ve got a big game coming up and I need my best player back on the rink.”I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest as I held his gaze steadily.“And I need him to still have a career after that game,” I replied calmly. “He’s healing, but not enough to take that kind of strain yet.”Travis huffed, dragging a hand over his face.“You’re being too careful.”“I’m being responsible.”His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he would push harder but he didn’t. “He’ll be cleared soon,” I added, softening my tone. “But not today.”Travis let out a long breath, clearly frustrated.“You better be right about this,” he muttered.“I am.”He studied me for a second longer, like he was trying to read something beneath my words, before finally nodding once.“Fine.”Wi
Maxine’s POVThe coffee from the vending machine tasted like regret.It was bitter, slightly burnt, and far from what I actually needed, but it was quick, and right now that was all I had. I wrapped my fingers tightly around the paper cup as I hurried down the hallway, my steps echoing against the polished floor.I was late again.“Perfect,” I muttered under my breath, quickening my pace as I glanced at my wrist watch.Between Creed waking up frequently in the middle of the night these days and my brain refusing to shut off for a while now, sleep had been more of a suggestion than an actual event. I had overslept, rushed through the morning, nearly forgotten my bag, and now here I was speed walking to my office like my life depended on it which, professionally speaking, it kind of did.I turned the corner too quickly. My foot slipped and for a split second, everything tilted.The coffee lurched forward in my hand, my balance gone, and my heart jumping into my throat as I braced for
Maxine’s POVThe moment I stepped into the apartment, the tension I had been carrying all day loosened, replaced with something warmer. The soft glow of the light in the living room casted a golden hue across the space. Loosening my hair band, I kicked off my shoes by the door, rolling my shoulders back as I exhaled, letting the silence settle over me.The moment I stepped into the hallway, I heard Adeline’s voice then a small, sleepy murmur. It was clear she was putting Creed to bed. Without thinking, I moved down the hallway. The door to his room was slightly open so I pushed it in gently.Adeline was seated at the edge of his bed, her laptop closed beside her and her attention fully on him. Creed lay tucked under his blanket, his tiny fingers curled around hers with his eyelids heavy but fighting sleep.The moment I walked in, he looked up. “Mummy,” he called. That one word melted everything. Every ounce of stress and lingering panic vanished completely and all I could see w
Hex’s POVThe only thing running through my head was simple.“Get him away from her.”It wasn’t logical, calm or even remotely reasonable but it was loud.It was louder than the pain in my knee, louder than the echo of Maxine’s voice telling me to stay away and louder than the image of her stepping toward him like he was the safe option.I hated the way Davian stood too close to her like he had a right and I didn’t.A bitter laugh almost left my lips, but I swallowed it down, my chest tightening with something that felt dangerously close to anger.No, not anger, it was something worse. Jealousy.It was raw, ugly and unfamiliar because I had never had to compete for her before.Back then, there was no doubt about us. She was mine and I was hers.But now everything felt like a battlefield I didn’t understand.“Hex.” Her voice snapped me out of it.I looked at her and for a second everything else faded.“Take your meds,” she said, her tone professional and detached. “And don’t put press
Maxine’s POVThe rest of the day passed in a blur. It was not the kind that came with productivity or focus, it was the kind that left you hollow while moving from one task to another without truly being present. My hands worked on autopilot as I updated charts, checked vitals, and responded to questions, but my mind kept circling back to one thing.Hex, more specifically, what almost happened.The image wouldn’t leave me; him holding my phone, his eyes scanning the screen and then that question.I tightened my grip on the file in my hand as I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. It had been hours, but yet the panic still lingered under my skin, crawling, suffocating, and refusing to settle.He was too close to finding out about Creed and Hex Mercer was not the type to let something go once it caught his attention.That was what scared me the most. It was not his anger or presence, it was his persistence.I had spent three years building a life where he didn’t exist. A life whe
Maxine’s POVThe moment I stepped back into the exam room, everything in me went on high alert.After assuring the trainers it was nothing serious, I shifted my gaze back to Hex only for my eyes to fall on my phone in his hand.My heart dropped so fast that it felt like it hit the floor.Just yesterday, I took off Creed's picture as my wallpaper and now today, he was holding my phone. “What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, my voice coming out sharper than I intended as I rushed towards him. Before he could say anything I grabbed it from him, my fingers tightening around the device like it was something that could ruin everything.I shoved it into my pocket immediately, like hiding it would undo whatever he had already seen but it was too late.The second I looked up and met his eyes, I knew he had seen something.His gaze was locked on me now, intense, and searching, like he was trying to piece together a puzzle that suddenly didn’t make sense anymore.“Who’s Creed?”The question
Hex’s POVThe moment the door opened and I saw her, I forgot how to breathe.It had been three years but somehow she looked exactly the same and completely different all at once and that hit me harder than any check I had taken on the ice.She was still beautiful.No, beautiful didn’t even cover it
Hex’s POVI didn’t sleep all through the night because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.The way she stood beside him, the way she looked at him and the way she said, “Let’s go,” like I didn’t exist.For a greater part of the night, I was staring at the ceiling of my apartment with my jaw tig
Maxine’s POV“…and then he took a hit to the boards,” the athletic trainer was giving me details about his injury. I heard every word he said but I processed none of it because my eyes were completely locked on him. After three years of being apart, he was sitting six feet away from me now, look
Maxine’s POV“Get it together, Max,” I muttered under my breath, pressing my palms against the sink.The woman staring back at me from the mirror looked composed, professional and strong but it was the opposite underneath. My dark hair was pulled into a sleek low bun, not a single strand out of pl







