登入BACK TO PRESENTEthan's POV:When my teammates left, it was just Marshall and me in the meeting room. The atmosphere felt tense and awkward.Coach Marshall stared at me for minutes. The look in his eyes wasn't friendly, and his gaze swept over me, scrutinizing me from top to bottom.I felt uncomfortable, but I couldn't complain. I just stood still.“How do you do it?” He suddenly asked.I furrowed my brows. “Do what, sir?” “Get the men and women in love with you. Politicians, businessmen, mafias, and even pastors. They all want you. They're not watching hockey because they like the sport. They're watching it because they're in love with the player. Most of them even donate and invest their life savings just to be one of our biggest sponsors,” he paused, and slowly moved closer to me. “There must be something in your body. Something no one is aware of,” he concluded.I looked at him for a while. Is that supposed to be a compliment?I didn't have all day to sit down and joke around wit
END OF FLASHBACKCarl's POV:I didn't like how tense the atmosphere was, and I quickly tried to come up with a joke.“Yo, brother, why don’t hockey players ever get lost…?” I asked.Kane furrowed his brows. While Alexander Sr watched us in silence.“...Because they always follow the rink,” I said, and burst into laughter.I was the only one laughing. Kane and Alexander Sr kept looking at me, their eyes burning with rage.“Are you fucking kidding me, Carl? Was that a joke?” Kane asked and rolled his eyes at me.I chuckled. At least, I managed to change the atmosphere, even if it was just for a minute.“Have you ended things with that player?” Alexander Senior suddenly asked.At first, I thought he was talking to me, and I wondered who the player he was talking about was.But when I watched him closely, I noticed his eyes were fixed on Kane. Alexander Senior doesn’t trust me like he used to. Over the years, Kane and I got so close that I stopped reporting all of Kane’s activities to hi
HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING ROOM Carl's POV:I furrowed my brows the moment Alexander Sr stepped into the room.“Hello, grandson. Your little sister and I missed you.”Kane looked… terrified. I had known Kane for years, and I’d seen him handle dangerous situations without blinking, but this was different. His entire body had gone stiff, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that I could see the tension in his arms. His eyes turned cold when they landed on his grandfather, but the moment he looked at Shula, some of that sharpness faded.“What are you doing here, old man?” Kane asked flatly.I blinked in surprise. Kane had never spoken to his grandfather like that before. Sure, Alexander Sr was old, so the nickname itself wasn’t shocking, but the tone behind it felt wrong. There was no humor in it. No affection either. Just bitterness.Something definitely happened during that family dinner. That was the only explanation that made sense.“Brother!” Shula squealed before throwing her
Ethan Oliver Harrison's POVThe meeting room buzzed with disbelief, voices overlapping loudly enough to make my head hurt.“An American player?”“How is this even allowed?”“He definitely came here to spy on us.”I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed while everyone else complained. Most of them were too busy staring at Carl to notice the second player standing quietly beside him, but I noticed immediately.His name was Felix. One of Ethiopia’s best defenders.Tall, broad shoulders, calm expression, the type of player that made forwards panic before a match even started. My brows slowly furrowed because players like Felix didn’t randomly leave their teams unless something bigger was happening behind the scenes.My eyes shifted back toward Carl, and unfortunately, he was already staring at me.That stupid smile on his face irritated me instantly. At that moment, his resemblance to Kane was so obvious. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve sworn they were twins.I don't hate Carl
Ethan Oliver Harrison's POVWhen I got to the team's meeting room, most of my teammates were present. Austin was the first to notice my arrival, and he scowled, murmuring something under his breath.Coach Marshall stood in the center of the room. Two people were at his back, a woman and a man. They looked like they were in their mid-thirties, and they kept looking around, suspiciously.Coach Marshall smiled when Daniel and I entered, and he gestured for one of my teammates to close the door.“You guys surely took your time, again,” Marshall said. His eyes were fixed on me, so I knew that his words were directed specifically at me. “You did the same thing during the training in New York. But I kept quiet. Don't forget, I'm now in charge. Things have to change,” he continued with a mischievous smile.“You're now in charge. Really?” Martin, the youngest player asked with an excited voice.Coach Marshall nodded, and I noticed that my teammates' eyes lit up. I was the only one who was sa
Ethan Oliver Harrison's POVMy fists clenched beside me, and I quickly put my hands inside my pocket. Daniel was watching me closely, and it fueled my nervousness.“Is something on my face? Why are you staring?” I asked, feigning ignorance.Daniel smiled, and quickly looked away. “You look worried. Is it because I said new players are joining our team? Are you scared of getting overshadowed?” He asked.I shrugged, acting unaffected. But Daniel had just said what was on my mind. I was scared. Scared of being left behind. Scared that the new players would be better than me, and my fans would abandon me just like Kane did.Another part of me was wondering who the new players were and if I'd met them before.“What if it's Kane? Maybe he switched teams just to apologize to you,” a voice whispered in my ears, but I quickly shut it down. Because I knew it wasn't possible.“But what if…?”“What if what?” Daniel asked, his brows furrowed.“Oh!” My eyes widened, and I realized that I'd said it
Ethan Oliver Harrison’s POVThe applause for the awards was still going on when I stood up. I didn’t remember deciding to stand. My body just… moved.“Ethan,” Daniel called softly, but I walked past him.I couldn’t sit there any longer. Not after that speech. Not after that look on Noah’s face. Not
Ethan Oliver Harrison's POV“He's gay? And he plays sports? What a pervert!” One of the baseball players said, and his teammates nodded in agreement with him.I felt embarrassed, not because of my sexuality, but because I was becoming the real center of attention. I looked down the hall, and I saw
Kane Hau Alexander's POVI looked at the six people in the restaurant, and I smirked. They actually chose the wrong time to mess around.Crazy people think that they are ruthless narcissists, but only because they haven't met a psychopath… oh, I meant sociopath.When I was ten years old, my parents
Ethan Oliver Harrison's POVHe pouted his red lips, and his eyes squinted, wrinkling his nose. His hands were on his waist, and he looked wet from playing in the ocean. His long hair was let down, and the wind carried it.He must have noticed that I was staring because he turned to face me, his bro







