he made mistakes

Evelyn’s P.O.V.

“What the fu*k is wrong with him today?” The coach, Mark Sinclair, yelled at the top of his lungs, frustrated and angry to death while watching the match slip out of our hands because of the way Zack was playing.

I still bit my nails out of habit while watching the match, but I wasn’t anxious about Zack.

But I was anxious about the game.

This was not only about Zack. I had no grudge against the rest of the team members.

This match was also crucial for them.

This was the final match of the tournament.

This match would open their way to the national ice hockey team.

If they lose this match, they will have to wait a whole year to get this opportunity.

“Don’t you think that Evan is playing better than in earlier matches, coach?” My grip on my tablet tightened when I heard someone whispering to the coach.

So far, the match was just like it was in the past life.

Our team still had the lead, but they were struggling.

The Black Raven was giving our team, the Mountain Hawk, a hard time with almost every goal scored.

Zack scored two goals instead of five like in the past life.

The other three were scored by Evan and two other players on our team.

“Damn, Zack. Don’t let them take this away.” Couch Mark yelled nervously when Zack got the rink again.

In my last life, I also screamed at the top of my lungs to cheer him up at this time, but right now….

My heart was completely cold.

But as I expected, he gave the opponent a good chance to snatch the puck by trying to block him with his left side.

He grunted, thrashing his stick on the ice, but ran behind the player who snatched the puck from him.

He had an accident when he was ten, leaving some problems with his left shoulder.

My eyes followed the player who was now gliding among our players like water, securing the puck with his stick.

Our players tried to stop him, but he didn’t stop.

My heartbeat raced when Zack approached him from behind and attacked Kaelen.

My throat tightened.

Without any warning, the memories of that night rushed forward.

Kaelen had cradled my remains in his arms as though I was something precious, even though there had been almost nothing left of me.

Then he buried me himself.

And after that...

He had hunted down everyone responsible for my death.

I had seen it all.

Because I hadn't disappeared when I died.

I remained behind.

A ghost no one could see.

I followed Kaelen everywhere after he buried me, desperate to understand why a man I had never spoken to cared enough to seek justice for me.

But I never found the answer.

How foolish had I been?

I had judged Kaelen through Zack's eyes without ever bothering to see the man for myself.

Now, standing here with the memory of Kaelen holding my broken body haunting the back of my mind, I couldn't look at him the same way.

Why did you care about me?

The question surfaced again.

This was the same question that I had asked him as a ghost when he was burying me.

But there was no time to search for an answer.

Kaelen suddenly accelerated.

My breath caught.

He slipped past one defender, twisting his stick expertly around the puck before sending it flying toward our net.

For a heartbeat, the entire rink seemed to slow.

I watched the puck spin through the air.

Harold, our goalkeeper, reacted instantly.

He lunged across the crease, raising his stick with everything he had.

Clang!

The puck slammed against the shaft of his stick and ricocheted away from the net.

A deafening roar erupted from our side of the stadium.

I released the breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

I didn’t want Zack to get the glory he got in our past life after this match, but it didn’t mean that I wanted my team to lose it.

This match was crucial for everyone.

So, yes, I was happy that Kaelen snatched the puck from Zack, and Harold stopped the puck, saving the goal.

My gaze fell on Kaelen, who was also about to move away.

When our gazes met.

Something inside me cracked when his cold silver eyes held our gazes for a few seconds, and then he moved away, rushing to get the puck again.

My attention also shifted to our players.

Zack was furious. He followed the puck aggressively, trying to block it with his body and stick when Black Raven’s players approached him.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.

I warned him to stay calm.

Two more minutes before the final whistle.

So far, Zack had only made mistakes and managed to score two goals.

He scored six goals in the past life, earning the glory that became my doom later.

It was impossible to see his expression through the helmet, but I knew every change in his body language.

Zack hated losing.

But more than losing, he hated losing to Kaelen Thorne.

All his moves were wrong, and he was forcing his left shoulder more than he should.

I stopped looking at him and followed Kaelen instead.

The crowd was hyping both Zack and Kaelen.

Zack accelerated, shielding the puck with his stick, sliding effortlessly towards the net.

The crowd was screaming his name.

His teammates were clearing the path.

I knew what was coming.

My stomach dropped.

He crossed the centre line, exposing his left shoulder, exactly like before.

For one terrible second, everything looked exactly like my memory.

He had adjusted his position a second before he hit the puck, scored the goal, and changed the momentum of the match.

It had been the beginning of his rise.

But this time...

I hadn't given him the information.

Yet he still remembered his own strengths.

He was still a talented player.

My palms were sweating, but I pressed them against my thighs.

My fingers started drumming over my right thigh when Zack pushed the puck towards their net.

“Don’t give him the room, Zack. Don’t give him the room,” Coach Henry shouted again; his body was now glued to the fibre wall.

Then Kaelen appeared.

He came from the side with terrifying speed.

Zack tried to dodge him.

Kaelen intercepted the puck.

The crowd erupted.

Kaelen never played aggressively, and this was his biggest advantage.

Zack stumbled.

His face twisted with rage.

He immediately turned around and chased Kaelen.

“What the f**k?” Coach Henry screamed at the top of his lungs.

Zack spun and tried to hit Kaelen’s leg with his stick, but three of the Black Raven team's defencemen surrounded him.

Something felt different about watching Kaelen now.

I wasn’t watching my enemy.

I was watching the man who painted his hands with blood for me.

And suddenly, an unfamiliar thought entered my mind.

What if I had met him before Zack?

I immediately pushed it away.

No.

I came back for revenge, not for another foolish love story.

I had already learnt what love could cost.

I instantly looked for Evan.

Evan blocked Kaelen before he could cross him.

They fought for the puck while Kaelen continued approaching our net again.

He hit the puck to pass it to another player on his team, but Evan was quicker.

He slid swiftly on the ice, swiping his stick to the ice floor, and blocked the puck.

“That’s it.. That’s it. Come on, Evan. Come on, boy.” Coach Henry continued shouting but sounded anxious this time.

My heart raced again.

“Come on, Evan. This is your time to shine,” I muttered in my heart, my fingers drumming hard against my thigh.

Evan passed the puck to the second player on his left and then ran forward.

Zack also approached them, ready to take the puck from the player at any time, but the player passed it to the third player, and he passed it to Evan instead.

My eyes darted at the digital clock, then back to Evan.

Thirty-one more seconds.