LOGINLucien’s POVThe locker room still smells of sweat, but now it also feels heavy with fear. I lean against the cold lockers with my arms folded and keep my eyes on Alexio.He hasn’t moved since Aria walked out. He is still standing in the same place, his body stiff. His expensive shirt is still creased where I grabbed him earlier.His hands are tightly balled into fists. Every few seconds, he looks at the door she left through, as if he is hoping she will walk back in and tell him none of it was real.I stay quiet and let the silence grow. Soon, it feels so heavy that no one can breathe comfortably.The few players still in the room shift nervously where they stand.Coach Hunter is frozen beside the whiteboard, still holding his clipboard without even realizing it. Nobody says a word.Everyone can feel that something has broken between us, and they all know exactly whose life is falling apart.I tilt my head and look at the bruise on Alexio’s jaw, the one I gave him last night. Under t
Aria’s PovThe moment I storm out of the locker room, anger burns through every part of me. I don’t even care where I’m going.I just need to get away from Alexio, away from the team, and away from the humiliation that still feels fresh in my chest.A few seconds later, I hear footsteps behind me, they are following me.And I walk faster, my sneakers scraping sharply against the floor as I make my way into the empty service hallway behind the locker rooms.The narrow corridor leads to an old equipment storage area that nobody bothers using after training hours.It is quiet, cold, and completely deserted, my heart pounds harder with every step.I try to put as much distance as possible between myself and the voices calling my name, but my legs still feel weak after everything that just happened.Before I can get very far, they catch up with me. Devesh reaches me first, and his hand wraps around my upper arm.His grip isn’t rough enough to leave a bruise, but it is firm enough to stop m
Lucien’s POVAlexio seems to believe I would never fight back, because I’m always quiet doesn’t mean I don’t know my right.He thinks I would never lay a hand on him.The moment I grab the front of his coat and pull him tightly toward me, the entire locker room explodes into chaos.“Lucien, that's enough!”“Stop it you guys!”“What are you both doing?”Voices rise from every corner of the room, Devesh and Callum react immediately.They rush between us with their hands raised, forcing themselves into the small space separating us.It looks like they’ve done this before, as if part of them expected things to get this bad.Tomasz quickly grabs Alexio by the shoulder and pulls him backward, making him stumble a full step away from me.Priest is talking so fast that almost no one can understand him.“We’ve got the qualifiers… you’ll both get suspended… Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you two?”His words all run together.“Enough of all this mess!”Coach Hunter’s voice cuts across th
Alexio’s POVI sit in the locker room before our final rehearsal for the upcoming match.The air itself is heavy, filled with the smell of sweat, sports gear, and different colognes.For some reason, everything about this place makes me uncomfortable today. I can’t explain why, but something feels wrong.Normally, this room gives me confidence and helps me focus before a game. Today, I don’t feel that calmness at all. Instead, my chest feels tight, and an uneasy feeling refuses to leave me.I sit quietly on the wooden bench with my hockey gear only half fastened. My fingers pause as I look down at my hands.My knuckles are swollen, bruised, and still dark from the fight last night. They ache every time I move them.Without saying a word, I watch Coach Hunter walk into the locker room. He holds a clipboard tightly against his chest as if it is the only thing keeping him steady.Coach Hunter is younger than most of the players in this room. He can’t be more than thirty years old, and it
Aria’s POVI wake up before the first light of morning appears in the sky.The apartment is quiet and peaceful. The only sound I hear is Lucien’s slow and steady breathing beside me.My body still feels sore from everything that happened yesterday.My cheek no longer hurts as much, but it is still a little tender where Alexio slapped me.The memories of that terrible moment, the violent fight that followed, and the way Lucien stepped in to protect me are still fresh in my mind.They stay with me, filling my heart with mixed emotions.I slowly turn my head on the pillow and look at him. Even while he is asleep, Lucien looks strong and dependable.His broad chest rises and falls with every calm breath, and one of his arms rests loosely on the bed. As I watch him, my heart feels warm.I am deeply grateful for everything he has done for me. At the same time, another feeling grows stronger inside me.He did not hesitate to stand between me and Alexio. He brought me to his home, gave me a s
Aria’s POVLucien walks into the interview room, and I freeze where I am, standing between him and Alexio.My cheek still burns from the slap, and Alexio’s fists are still tightly clenched.My notebook has fallen to the floor, its pages spread everywhere like leaves blown by the wind.On the table, the recorder’s red light keeps blinking quietly, as if everything around it is still normal, even though everything has fallen apart.The first person Lucien looks at is me.His eyes grow slightly wider when he notices the fresh red mark on my cheek.A second later, his face hardens, and I see the muscles in his jaw tighten as he struggles to control his anger.“Aria,” he says in a low, calm voice that carries a dangerous edge, “who did this to you? How did you get those marks?”I try to answer him. My lips part, but no sound comes out.My heart is beating so hard that I can feel it pounding in my throat, making it difficult to even breathe.Alexio suddenly steps forward.His chest rises an
ELLA It will never be my home.The thought slips out under my breath, a clear denial, but there’s no one left to hear it. He’s long gone.Jax follows his teammate out of the classroom, the door swinging shut behind them, leaving me stranded in the hollow quiet. I stay frozen for a moment, staring
ELLA The rest of the morning unfolds in a way that feels strangely unreal, as though I’ve stepped into a life that was never meant to belong to me.Sophie and I completely ignore the carefully typed schedule taped neatly to the refrigerator. Wake times, learning blocks, meals it all gets forgotte
ELLAI bend over the sink again, splashing cold water onto my face until my breathing finally slows down. When I straighten up and look at my reflection, I almost look like myself again.Almost.Whatever happened here hasn’t fully faded. My scent still clings to me, it's faint and unfamiliar, hang
ELLA“Just tell me what’s next.” I mutter under my breath walking behind him.I follow a step behind him, moving carefully so I don’t disturb the sleeping child curled against my chest.Every instinct I have is on edge. I’m walking deeper into the house of the same man who watched me be humiliated







