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Chapter 15: The Arrival
Date de publication:
2026-11-06 23:12:25
Dernier chapitre
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 20: The Unbreakable Line
CLARA’S POV The blinding flash of camera strobes sliced through the cold morning haze as we rounded the corner of the athletics concourse. It was exactly eight o'clock, and the plaza outside the St. Jude varsity arena looked like a media circus. At the center of it all, perched on the top step of the arena entrance, stood Ethan Miller. He was dressed in a crisp navy suit, his hair neatly styled, and his posture practically dripping with calculated innocence. A makeshift bank of microphones from local news stations, sports blogs, and campus journals was clustered in front of him. Tier-B players stood scattered near the pillars, while several members of the university athletic board watched from the sidelines with stern, uneasy expressions. Even from inside the cab of the truck, I could hear Ethan’s voice carrying over the portable loudspeaker system. "Clara and I have shared a deep, committed relationship for years," Ethan was saying, his tone thick with rehearsed sincerity and
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 19: The Shield and the Sword
CLARA’S POV I stood frozen in the doorway, my fingers clutching the canvas strap of my heavy duffel bag until my knuckles turned bloodless. The melting snow on Jaxon’s broad shoulders gave off a sharp, crisp scent of winter pine, but his dark eyes were burning with an intensity that cut straight through the freezing draft of the hallway. He did not look at me with disgust. He did not look at me like I was a broken mistake. Before I could take a step back or stammer out another miserable excuse, Jaxon closed the distance between us in one long stride. His large, warm hand reached up, taking the strap of the bag from my shoulder. He pulled it away without breaking eye contact and let the heavy duffel drop to the floor with a loud, final thud. With a swift backward flick of his boot, he kicked the bedroom door shut. Then, before I could even draw breath to protest, his arms wrapped securely around my waist and pulled me hard against his chest. The cold dampness of his s
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 18: No More Secrets
CLARA’S POV Jaxon’s large, calloused fingers slowly reached down and picked up the black-and-white sonogram from the bathroom tile. The room became dangerously, suffocatingly still. The only sound left was the frantic, shallow rattle of my own breath. I watched, paralyzed, as his dark eyes scanned the bold clinic header, the date from yesterday afternoon, and the tiny, grainy blur of new life captured in the center of the thermal paper. Every single drop of blood rushed out of my face. "Jaxon—" My voice was nothing more than a broken gasp. Panic surged through my veins like pure electricity. I lurched forward on my hands and knees, reaching out desperately to snatch the paper away, desperate to shove it back into the dark where it belonged. But the moment I pushed up from the floor, my knees gave out completely. My strength vanished, and I collapsed sideways against the cool porcelain of the bathtub, shaking uncontrollably as a fresh wave of exhausted tears spilled dow
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 17: Three Years
CLARA’S POV Leo’s question hung in the warm, cedar-scented living room like a dropped barbell, instantly freezing the air between us. My brain completely short-circuited. My lips parted slightly, but not a single sound came out. A picture? In his hockey locker? For three whole years? I slowly turned my head toward Jaxon. The fierce, untouchable captain of the Tier-A hockey team—the guy who had stare-downs with university boosters and slammed opponents into the boards without blinking—was visibly flustered. A sudden flush of dark crimson crept up the back of his neck, staining the tips of his ears. Jaxon cleared his throat loudly, a harsh, awkward sound that had nothing of his usual ice-cold composure. "Leo," Jaxon said in a low, warning growl. "That is enough out of you." "What?" Leo asked, holding his hands up with an innocent, completely unbothered grin. "I am just stating facts! You literally threatened to break Miller's ribs if he ever touched your gear bag, but
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 16: Standing Guard
CLARA’s POV Marcus let out a sharp, choked gasp of pain. Under the crushing force of Jaxon’s grip, my father’s fingers reflexively unclenched, releasing my bruised forearm. Marcus stumbled back two steps toward the conference table, clutching his reddened wrist against his ribs, his face contorting with a mixture of shock and outrage. "Who the hell do you think you are?" my father hissed, his voice trembling with furious indignation. "You just laid hands on a St. Jude booster and a senior managing partner! I could have campus security and the police drag you out of here in handcuffs!" Jaxon did not flinch. He did not even blink. His imposing frame filled the center of the doorway, casting a long, intimidating shadow across the polished suite floor. His chest rose and fell in slow, controlled breaths, radiating a cold, predatory menace that made the luxurious hotel room feel suddenly claustrophobic. His dark eyes barely glanced at my father before scanning the rest of
The Hockey Player’s Pretend Girlfriend Chapter 15: The Arrival
CLARA’S POV My mother did not even wait for the heavy hotel room door to latch behind me before the interrogation started. "Look at you," Eleanor Bennett gasped, rising swiftly from the cream-colored sofa in Suite 402 of the St. Jude Campus Inn. She clutched her designer handbag against her ribs like a shield, her manicured fingers trembling with frantic energy. "You are pale as a ghost, wearing an oversized sweatshirt that clearly does not belong to you, and avoiding our calls. Do you have any idea what your father and I have been through in the last two hours?" I stood frozen near the entryway of the private conference suite, my fingers still wrapped around the strap of my purse. I had slipped out of Jaxon’s apartment the moment he stepped onto the balcony to argue with Coach Hayes. I left a short, scribbled note on his kitchen counter, threw on my coat, and took a frantic cab ride across campus. I knew my parents would cause a massive scene if I ignored them, but se
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