Chapter 2

Emilia

My phone began to buzz and to my horror, it was more news of their dating, so many pictures.

A dinner date with Athena to El-Dario, one of the city’s most expensive restaurants, God knew I was saving up for two years just so we could have our anniversary there in the next two months.

He was dressed in the most handsome way I’d ever seen him, his hair low cut, the watch I had gifted him last year strapped to his wrist and Athena…

She was breathtaking. Her dress brought the memory back, this was two weeks ago when she had informed me about a work dinner, lying it was a reward for the recent video delivery.

I choked on my own sob as I continued scrolling through the pictures, photos of them at the beach, at night taking strolls, a picnic and another of them gazing at the stars.

These made my chest tighten, this was everything I told Athena I wanted, fantasies I had nursed for years, hoping when Blake finally gets recognized we’d spend the rest of our lives achieving.

I couldn’t breathe and I began to hyperventilate, after almost five minutes of struggling, my lungs began to work.

I shut my eyes, my head spinning as I drifted into nothingness, I just wanted to remain in my cloud of my pain for however long it was going to take for everything to fade away.

“Are you okay?” I heard a deep masculine voice and peeling my eyes open slowly, words caught in my throat.

It was Zach, the star hockey player of the New York Glaciers, popularly known as alpha… violent, cruel and dangerous according to the rumors and footage of him online.

The Glaciers’ golden boy. And, if the internet was to be believed, one of the most dangerous men in hockey.

“I’m fine.” I replied coldly and without another word, I pushed myself up, forcing my numb legs to move.

They were all the same, star players with no regard for girls like me, it’s best I leave before I get caught up in his paparazzi.

He had so many irrational and crazy female fans, ladies who would go any mile just to bully any “unfit” lady found around him.

Blake and I had discussed this, he talked about how he’d make sure his fans never got crazy and make them into better people but I guess it’s all a fucking lie.

“Excuse me?” His annoying voice trailed behind me and I just wished he would go away.

He was following me, only God knows what he wants but I’m in no mood for any hockey romance prank tonight, he’s notoriously known for taking advantage of vulnerable girls.

“Watch out…” I heard a harsh hiss and I realized I was one step away from the ditch at the end of the rink.

I had let my thoughts run so wild that I didn’t glance at the stairs and just when I accepted my fate to fall and sustain a few scratches here and there, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist.

It was tight, firm and something about it gave me the chills, I had never felt this way and in one swift twirl, I moved.

My chest was pressed against that of Zach, his dark blue eyes darker than night, boring into my eyes with his nose flaring.

He let go the second my feet were steady. “You should watch where you’re walking.” His voice was low, rough at the edges.

He had been so close, close enough that I could smell his aftershave and the musky woodsy scent that clung to him.

I shook my head slowly, snapping out of whatever whirl I had been thrown in and without hesitation, I lifted my palms, hitting him as hard as I could.

“Enough with this bullshit!” I shouted. “I know your type. You save a girl when she’s vulnerable, let the cameras catch it, and suddenly everyone thinks you’re some fucking hero.”

His eyes slowly returned to mine.

“I don’t need a hero.” My voice broke.

“And I definitely don’t need another man pretending to care about me. If you wanna mess with anyone, find someone else.”

I turned around, taking one step after another. My heart was about to explode, he didn’t make any move luckily.

He was furious no doubt but I’m not going to let myself repeat the same mistake. I’m not the type of lady any hockey player should be concerned about.

Tears began to flow freely but it was the truth, I thought about the dress I’d bought for his last award show and never wore, because I had stood in front of the mirror for twenty minutes and put my regular jeans back on instead.

I’m me and he’s like every other asshole out there, I don’t need nobody to make me feel beautiful, all I just need is to love myself the right way.

Arriving at the house, I fumbled the doorknob briefly, its squeaky sound made me cringe and walking into my tiny living room that had just a little reading table and a couch for two I exhaled as I slumped on the couch.

Everything reminded me of Blake, his scent, the way he’d talk about replacing everything in this house when he becomes a star.

Made promises about buying this house from my crappy landlord just so he’d demolish it and make it into something nice.

I bit back a sob, there was no use crying over spilled milk, Blake and Athena are in the past and my future holds nothing but love and myself.

Only God knows how long passed but after a long silence, my phone began to buzz and several calls began to come in.

I frowned as I glanced at the screen, it was Blake and Athena.

“What the hell is going on!!” Blake's message appeared, making me frown.

“Is the news true? What the fuck are you trying to play at now?” Athena’s came through followed by a series of links to different blogs.

I frowned when I saw the not so blurry image of myself at the rink.

I click on the link immediately, my insides twisting with a bad feeling.

“The mysterious woman in Alpha’s life has been revealed…”

“Alpha’s secret woman ends up being a fashion disaster, is this why he kept her away from the public?”

“Knight and the pig, does New York’s star player have a thing for fat girls?”

So many disgusting headlines displayed on my screen, a video of him pulling me into his arms laid at the side along with images of me, one of my hands against his cheek, the other of his hand holding my wrist before the pull.

Everything was spinning, they had twisted the whole narrative completely. So many fans were bashing me, it was the trending topic, it had reached millions of people in less than 30 minutes.

There were numerous vile comments, curses and so many speculations.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on but you can never be around Alpha, he’s dangerous for you.” Blake’s last message made my jaw drop.

A bitter laugh escaped me, Blake had cheated on me.

Told me I wasn’t good enough to stand beside him. And now he was warning me about another man? The audacity was almost laughable.