Mag-log inChapter 172The air in the SUV went dead silent. Even Marcus froze in his seat, his jaw tightening as he looked at Raphael.Raphael breathed heavily, his dark eyes burning with a painful, suffocating vulnerability he had kept hidden for months. "You set me aside the second things get inconvenient, Liam. And every time you do it, every time you tell me we need a 'break' so you can focus, I'm sitting there wondering if this is just how easy it is for you to give up on us entirely."Liam blinked, stunned, his voice barely a breath. "Raph...""You were straight before me, Liam!" Raphael fired back, the raw insecurity pouring out of him, exposed and aching. "You had a normal, easy life before you took a chance on this. On me. So when you look me in the eye and tell me I'm a distraction, how the hell am I supposed to feel? It makes me think you're just looking for an exit! It makes me think one day the pressure is gonna get too high and you're just gonna decide it's too hard to be with a g
CHAPTER 171Liam blinked, the rigid Captain armor cracking just a fraction as pure, unadulterated confusion took over. "Marcus? What the hell are you doing here?"Marcus let out a soft, flat scoff. "Ouch. But I should probably be asking you two that, considering I just got a text message from Coach saying my top line is currently having a silent standoff and he needs someone to act as the fun, insulating glue for the press so you don't scare off every potential scout in the building."Marcus threw his hands up slightly, shaking his head. "I had to pause my very important mid-day sleep schedule to come out here and save face for you two babies in front of the international cameras."Liam let out a breath, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "I'm sorry, man. Really. We've got it totally covered, you don't need to babysit us. You can just catch an Uber back—""You got it? you two?" Marcus interrupted, his dark eyes snapping back and forth between them. He gestured sharply to the empty s
CHAPTER 170It had been two days since Marcus dragged him into that greasy diner, but the cold, heavy weight of that conversation was still sitting right on Raphael’s chest.He was still sleeping on Big Mike’s sofa—waking up every morning with a stiff neck and the stale smell of Kowalski’s laundry floating through the hallway. Marcus’s words kept looping in his head like an annoying background track. He’s terrified, Raph. He reached for the emergency brake because he was drowning.Raphael knew that. Deep down, he knew Liam was losing his mind under the pressure. But every time Raphael looked across the locker room and saw Liam’s face—stone-cold, impassive, completely locked behind that rigid Captain armor—his jaw just tightened right back up.It wasn't even about petty pride anymore. It was the fear.If Raphael just backed down now, if he brushed it under the rug and let Liam off the hook, what happened the next time things got heavy? Was Liam always going to push him out whenever li
CHAPTER 169The overhead projector clicked off, plunging the film room into a brief, dim twilight before the fluorescent ceiling lights hummed back to life.Around Raphael, the guys were already stretching their legs, groaning as they stood up from the padded folding chairs, tossing empty foam cups into the trash can by the door. Raphael took his time zipping his notebook into his duffel bag, keeping his shoulder turned firmly toward the wall.He didn't look across the room. He didn't have to. He could feel Liam’s presence over by the whiteboard like a localized weather system—cold, heavy, and full of static.Raphael stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder, his mind involuntarily sliding back over the last fourteen hours.Sleeping on Big Mike’s lumpy couch had been hell. The apartment smelled like stale protein powder and cheap body spray, Kowalski had snored loud enough to rattle the drywall until four in the morning, and Raphael had spent the entire night staring at the water s
CHAPTER 168Liam was the first one on the ice.He had his skates tied ten minutes before the scheduled team practice, his helmet snapped tight, gliding in tight, aggressive circles around the center ice logo. He was trying to get his mind right, trying to force the heavy, suffocating beating out of his chest and replace it with the cold, familiar rhythm of the game.He was the Captain. He had made an executive call for the sake of the team, and he needed to set the pace from the second the rest of the squad stepped onto the ice.The double doors near the entrance swung open, and soon the heavy stomping of skates hit the ice.Liam slowed his stride, turning his head to watch the guys filter out. Kowalski was loudly arguing about some fantasy football trade, and right beside him was Big Mike—and Raphael.Raphael was leaning in toward Mike, a low, genuine laugh rumbling out of his chest, his eyes crinkled at the corners as Big Mike gestured wildly with his stick. He looked completely re
CHAPTER 167The drive back to the apartment was dead quiet. Probably because this was the first time he was driving alone in a long time.He didn't turn on the radio. He just gripped the steering wheel at ten and two, his knuckles turning white, staring straight down the empty asphalt. The heater hummed a low, steady drone in the dashboard, but the cold, prickly irritation under his skin wouldn't go away.He had done the right thing. He knew he had. It was a logical, adult decision made under insane pressure. Coach was breathing down his neck, the scouts were going to be there, and the team needed a solid Captain, not someone whose brain was turned to mush. If Raphael couldn't see that Liam needed a clear head for the biggest scouting weekend of their lives, then that was on him.Liam pulled into the complex parking lot, killed the engine, and grabbed his gym bag off the passenger seat. He took the stairs instead, two at a time, shoved his key into the lock, and pushed open the front
Liam’s eyes snapped open at 4:07 AM, the same time his internal alarm had gone off for years. The room was still dark, the city outside the window quiet except for the occasional distant hum of traffic. He lay there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling, before the weight of the new realit
Liam paced the length of his apartment like an animal on heat, the city lights glittering mockingly through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The victory high from last night had curdled into something sour and heavy in his chest. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard Raphael’s voice, low, mocking, f
The locker room smelled like sweat, icy gel, and adrenaline. Liam Lannister sat on the bench, lacing his skates with sharp, precise tugs, jaw tight as he listened to the distant roar of the crowd filtering through the tunnel.Frostbite Wolves versus Shadow Reapers. The biggest rivalry in the league
The arena lights hummed overhead as the team took the ice for morning practice. The cold air bit at Liam’s exposed skin, but he welcomed it. it sharpened his focus. He skated out first, stick tapping against the ice, calling out positions for the warm-up drills. Captain’s job. Always had been.Raph







