CHAPTER ONE

​Lysandra’s POV

​The backstage hallway of the arena smelled like stale ice and expensive champagne, and I kept twisting my wedding ring around my finger because my palms were sweating from the sheer excitement of the night. Atlas had just won the league championship, the crowd outside was still screaming his name, and I could hear the camera shutters clicking rapidly from the press room just down the corridor.

​One of the team coordinators walked past me with a clipboard, and I smiled at him, stepping forward to ask, "Hey, Julian, do you know when Atlas is coming off the stage? I want to surprise him before the team head to the afterparty."

​Julian stopped, blinking at me with a completely blank expression, and he looked down at his clipboard before looking back up at me, saying, "I'm sorry, who are you looking for?"

​"Atlas," I said, laughing a little because I thought he was just exhausted from the game, "My husband, Julian. Did you lose your memory on the ice tonight or something?"

​"The players are busy with the media right now, miss, so you need to step back into the waiting area," he replied, his voice entirely flat and formal, and he didn't even smile before he walked away, leaving me standing there alone by the concrete wall.

​I frowned, thinking it was just the chaos of the championship win making everyone crazy, and I walked closer to the heavy double doors that led straight onto the media stage. 

I cracked them open just an inch so I could watch him, and I saw Atlas standing at the center podium under the bright television lights, looking incredibly handsome in his team jersey with his dark hair damp from sweat, while reporters shoved microphones into his face.

​"Atlas! Over here!" a reporter from the front row shouted, and when Atlas nodded at him, the man asked, "The rumors have been flying all season about your personal life, so now that you have the cup, are you ready to tell the world who the lucky woman is?"

​I smiled, pressing my hand against my stomach, expecting him to finally announce my name to the world and call me out onto the stage, but Atlas just cleared his throat, leaned into the microphone, and said, "There is no mystery woman, I am completely single, and my only focus has been this team and this championship."

​The entire room erupted into cheers, reporters started laughing and shouting more questions, and my heart stopped beating completely as I gripped the edge of the door. 

I stared at his face on the giant monitor above the stage, waiting for him to break out into a grin and say he was joking, but his expression stayed totally serious, and he didn't even look toward the doors where he knew I was waiting.

​Before I could even process the words, a beautiful woman in a designer dress walked right onto the stage from the opposite side, and the head coach stepped up to the microphone, smiling widely as he announced, "Actually, we have another big celebration tonight, because Atlas has recently become engaged to my daughter, Vivian Vance."

​Vivian walked right up to Atlas, slipping her hand into his arm, and she looked up at him with a perfect, practiced smile while the camera flashes turned blindingly bright, and the reporters went absolutely wild, shouting their congratulations.

​"Atlas, no," I whispered to myself, and I pushed the double doors wide open, stepping out into the backstage light because I knew this had to be some insane publicity stunt his manager had forced him into, or maybe I was having a literal nightmare.

​I took three steps toward the stage, my eyes fixed on my husband, and I called out, "Atlas! What are you doing? Atlas, look at me!"

​He didn't even turn his head, but two massive arena security guards immediately stepped into my path, blocking my view of the stage completely, and one of them grabbed my upper arm so tightly it bruised, while the other pushed my shoulder back toward the exit.

​"Let go of me!" I yelled, struggling against their grip, and I pointed toward the stage, saying, "That is my husband! I am Atlas Devereux's wife, you know who I am, I was with him in the locker room before the game started!"

​"Ma'am, you need to calm down and come with us right now," the first guard said, his voice loud and aggressive, and he started dragging me down the hallway toward the back exit doors while people turned to look at me, some of them pulling out their phones to record the scene.

​"Julian! Tell them!" I screamed as we passed the coordinator again, but Julian just looked away, ignoring me completely as if I were a ghost, and the guards pushed open the heavy metal doors, shoving me out into the cold, empty alleyway behind the arena.

​I stumbled on the pavement, nearly falling over, and I gripped the sleeve of the guard closest to me, crying openly now as I pleaded, "Please, just let me go back inside to talk to him, there is a huge mistake happening, I have my wedding ring right here, I am Mrs. Devereux."

​The guard pulled his arm away from my grip, looking down at me with cold, empty eyes, and he locked the heavy metal door from the inside, but right before the latch clicked shut, he looked through the small glass window and said, "There has never been a Mrs. Devereux."