Chapter 2

_Lyra's POV_

I was not prepared for how fast everything fell apart.

It started with my phone buzzing nonstop before I even reached the Frostfang office that morning. At first, I ignored it because I thought it was just spam or normal news alerts. But then I saw the headlines and my steps slowed without me realizing it.

**FROSTFANG CAPTAIN RYDER KANE UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER ON-ICE INCIDENT**

My stomach dropped.

I stood still in the middle of the sidewalk as people walked past me. Cars moved. Wind blew. Life continued like normal. But my world felt like it had just shifted out of place.

I clicked the article with shaking fingers. There were photos from last night’s game. Blurry images of a fight. A player on the ground. Ryder standing over him with blood on his glove. The headlines made it worse. Words like “assault” and “dangerous behavior” repeated everywhere.

My chest tightened. I didn’t even know him properly but something about it felt wrong.

“He is going to be a PR disaster,” someone behind me said.

I turned and saw two interns standing close together, both staring at their phones as if they couldn’t look away.

“They might suspend him,” one of them said.

“No, it’s worse than that. Sponsors are already pulling out,” the other replied.

My hands went cold at that, even though I didn’t understand why it was affecting me so much. I told myself I shouldn’t care at all, especially after the way he had spoken to me. He was so cold, rude and arrogant, telling me to stay away from him like I meant nothing. But even with that in mind, my feet still moved faster toward the building, like something inside me was pulling me forward anyway.

___________

When I entered the Frostfang office, everything felt louder than usual. Phones rang without stopping, people spoke over each other in sharp and fast voices, and every screen I passed showed Ryder’s face on breaking news clips again and again. It felt like chaos had filled every corner of the building and made it hard to think clearly.

A woman in a black blazer hurried past me, then suddenly stopped and turned back.

“Lyra Storm?” she asked quickly.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Come with me. Now.”

I followed her through long hallways. My steps were getting faster as we moved deeper into the building, until we reached a meeting room where the door was already open. Even before I stepped inside, I could feel the tension coming from within.

Ryder was there.

He stood near the window with his arms crossed. His expression was cold but I could feel something different in him today. It was as if he was holding back his anger with difficulty.

Around the table sat the coach, Marcus Hale and several staff members I had not met yet. The woman who brought me in closed the door behind me.

“Sit,” the coach said.

I sat down slowly. My heart was already beating too fast. No one spoke for a moment. Then a man in a suit spoke first.

“Sponsors are reacting quickly,” he said. “We are losing deals by the hour.”

Another added, “Media is calling him dangerous. If this continues, the team will be in crisis.”

Ryder didn’t move. He didn’t even look at them. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said flatly.

The room went silent for a second. The coach sighed.

“You broke a player’s jaw during a match, Ryder.”

“He started it,” Ryder replied.

“That is not how the media sees it,” the PR manager said quickly.

Ryder finally turned his head slightly. “I don’t care how they see it.”

My chest tightened at his tone. It wasn’t just confidence. It was something deeper....like he didn’t fear consequences at all.

The coach leaned forward. “You don’t get to not care,” he said. “You are the face of this team.”

Ryder laughed once but there was no humor in it. “Then maybe the face should change.”

Silence fell again. I stayed quiet. I was not supposed to speak. I was not even sure why I was here yet. I was just PR staff. But then the woman beside the coach looked at me.

“Lyra,” she said. “You are new in PR, correct?”

“Yes,” I said carefully.

“We need a solution fast.”

I felt my stomach tighten. Something about the way she said it made me feel like I was already part of the problem.

She continued, “You will be working directly with Ryder from now on.”

My eyes widened slightly. “Excuse me?” I said before I could stop myself.

Ryder’s eyes moved to me instantly. That familiar pressure returned. It was the same feeling from before, like the air around him shifted when he looked at me.

“You can’t be serious,” I said quietly.

“It is not a request,” the coach said.

Ryder let out a low breath. “Absolutely not,” he said.

I turned to him quickly.

“I agree with that,” I said.

He looked at me like I had just confirmed something he already believed.

“See?” he said. “Useless.”

My jaw tightened. “I haven’t even spoken yet."

“You don’t need to,” he replied.

The room grew tense again. The PR manager cleared his throat.

“We are out of time. If we don’t fix his image, the sponsors are gone.”

The coach rubbed his forehead. “There is one option left,” he said.

No one spoke. I had a bad feeling immediately. The coach looked around the table slowly.

“A fake relationship strategy,” he said.

I blinked. For a moment, I thought I misheard him.

“What?” I said.

Ryder’s head turned slightly. Even he seemed surprised but he didn’t say anything yet.

The PR manager continued quickly. “It has been used before in sports PR. If Ryder is seen in a stable relationship, it reduces aggression perception. Fans respond better. Sponsors calm down.”

“This is ridiculous,” I said immediately.

Ryder nodded once. “I agree.”

The coach looked at both of us. “It is either this,” he said, “or suspension, loss of contracts and media destruction.”

There was silence again and my heart kept beating too fast. I looked at Ryder and at first, he was staring down at the floor with his jaw tight, like he was holding something back. Then, suddenly, he lifted his head and looked at me again. Something in his expression shifted...like interest had replaced hesitation, as if he was thinking about something he hadn’t considered before.

“The girl,” he said.

Everyone turned to him at once.

“What about her?” the PR manager asked.

Ryder’s eyes stayed fixed on me as he spoke again.

“Why her?”

My stomach dropped slightly at the question and I spoke quickly before I could stop myself. “I didn’t choose this.”

He didn’t react to me at all as if I hadn’t spoken.

“Because she is new,” the coach said instead. “No public history. It is easier to control the narrative.”

Ryder leaned back slightly. “So she becomes my fake girlfriend,” he said, like he was testing how the words felt.

I felt heat rise to my face before I could stop it. “I am right here."

He finally looked at me directly. “And?”

That one word annoyed me more than I expected. I stood up slightly. “This is not something you just decide."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he spoke quietly.

“I don’t like it either.”

The room went silent again after that but something about the way he said it felt different. He wasn’t rejecting the idea anymore. He was thinking about it.

Even the coach seemed to notice. “Ryder,” he said carefully, “this is temporary. Only for media control.”

Ryder didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed on me for too long like he was still weighing something in his mind. Then finally he said, “Fine.”

My breath stopped for a second.

“Fine?” I repeated.

He nodded slightly. “But I set the rules.”

My chest tightened again. “What rules?”

He stepped forward slightly. “No interviews without me."

I frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“Rule two,” he continued. “No private meetings alone with reporters.”

“This is insane,” I said.

“Rule three, you do what I say when cameras are on.”

I crossed my arms. “I am not your employee.”

He tilted his head slightly. “No. You are my girlfriend now.”

The words hit differently when he said them. He was not being playful or romantic but it was as if he had already decided my fate without needing my permission.

My heart started beating faster but I forced myself to stay still.

“I did not agree to this yet,” I said firmly.

He stepped closer again and closed the space between us without hesitation. I didn’t move back, even though every part of me felt the pressure of his presence.

“You don’t need to agree,” he said simply.

My breath caught. “That’s not how this works.”

His expression didn’t change. “It is now.”

The room stayed silent but I could feel everyone watching and waiting for me to react. I was waiting for him to back down but he didn’t.

He looked at me for a moment longer, then spoke again, slower this time, like he was laying out something already decided.

“This is the only way the media narrative survives. You stay close to me, you play the role and this dies down.”

My fingers tightened at my sides. “You can’t just decide that for me.”

“I already did,” he said.

That single sentence made my stomach drop. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t argue. He just stated it like a fact as if my opinion wasn’t part of the equation.

He studied me for a moment longer, then finally spoke again, quieter this time.

“But I set the rules and you will follow them.”

The air between us felt heavier now and something in my chest tightened as I realized that this wasn’t a discussion anymore.

This was no longer just a job.

And Ryder Kane was no longer just a problem.

I had already stepped into something I could not control anymore.