4

Chapter 4

Noah Boulevard

‘I'm sorry, Noah. There's nothing I can do. Your dad insisted that she must be expelled, and I didn't have a choice’

I squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers tightened on my phone as I stood before my dad in the living room.

“Dad… We need to talk—”

“We have nothing to talk about, Noah—”

“It’s all my fault, dad… I…I… I did everything. Vivianne did nothing wrong.” My voice shook, heart thudding against my ribcage.

He remained silent, his eyes glued to his phone… It was as if my presence wasn't noticeable.

“If anything, I should get punished, dad. I lured her to my room because of a silly bet with my friends…” Those words burned my tongue, down to my chest, tightening it.

Holy shit! I guess this is how it feels lying for the first time.

“I took the pictures while she was sleeping… I spread those rumours in the school because she kept acting tough. I wanted to prove to the school that she wasn't that reserved like she…”

Before I could finish my speech, a glass cup flew from dad's hand and landed right on my forehead, then crashed to the ground.

My hand instinctively flew to my forehead and I let out a wince as pain exploded through my head.

Blood trickled down my face.

He glared hard at me, his jaw tightened, and his face dripping with disgust. “I am not going to fold my arms and watch you bring shame to my family… You won't ruin the reputation I've spent years building!”

My heart stung.

I let out a scoff. “I guess throwing another person under a moving bus to save your reputation is nothing to you, right?”

I didn't know where the courage to face him came from, but for the first time in my life, I didn't want to stand and do nothing.

Colours drained from his face, and he blinked. “What?”

“You are not even going to get me punished for doing that to her, but you would rather hurt her instead?” Tears blurred my vision.

I didn't do it… Yes, I can be a jerk sometimes, but doing that to Vivianne or any other woman? That's not who I am. But I would take the fall if that's what it takes to clear her name.

“If you feel so guilty, why don't you withdraw from Stormbridge instead?” Dad shot to his feet, glaring hard at me.

I swallowed nothing, taking a step back.

“I know, right? You dare not do that, do you?” A smirk curled his lips.

“Noah…” He closed the distance between us, his eyes locked on me. “If you insist that she was wronged, I can bring her back to Stormbridge, but only on one condition…”

He straightened his back, his hands inside his pockets. “That you give up your hockey career and follow the path I've always wanted you to follow.”

I curled my fingers into my palms, tightening my fists in a way that my knuckles turned white.

“If you are not ready to do that, then I'm afraid I can't help you.”

And with that, he turned and headed to the staircase, but paused and looked back at me over his shoulder.

“I'm letting you off this time, but if you cause any more trouble for this family again, I'm afraid I won't be able to again.” Then he walked away, without another glance.

Back at my dorm room, I sat on my bed, phone in hand, and eyes glued to it, reading the text I had composed to send to Vivianne.

‘I'm sorry about what happened, Vivianne. I would never do anything to hurt you. I've always genuinely liked you, and I cherished what happened between us… I'm sorry for the trouble that I caused you. I'll bring you back to Stormbridge Academy. I promise’

Just as I was about to send the text to Vivianne, dad's words echoed in my head.

‘Are you ready to give up your hockey career?’

My grip tightened on the phone, and I bit my lip hard.

Why is this happening just when I thought my dream was about to come true?

Being a Boulevard's was like a curse to me. My life was a reality of the script my father had written even before my existence… To him, I was nothing but an actor who had to fit the perfection of the character he had created.

My life… my career… and everything has been written in this script, and the only thing I've been doing all my life, was follow it.

Be a businessman like him… That is what he had wanted, but I stood my ground. He'd take everything else from me, but not my passion to do what I loved the most… playing hockey.

And just when I was slowly getting his support, or so I thought, I got into this mess.

I stared at my phone's screen, a bitter smile creeping up my face as memories of months ago clawed back into my mind… The day I first saw Vivianne.

That was the first time I genuinely felt something for a woman… And from that moment, I'd stare at her from afar, admiring her, but never had the courage to approach her.

I was scared that I'd never get a chance with this crazy girl who had won my heart in every way.

Maybe I should never have approached her. She would've been safe if I had just kept admiring her from afar, and now that she was in this mess, I couldn't even do anything about it.

Right… Just turn away from this, Noah. You have to be selfish. For the sake of your future. Remember this is the first time you ever really want to do something for yourself… to genuinely make yourself happy… Just do this for you.

And with that in mind, I wiped the text, and tossed my phone beside me on the bed, letting out a sigh…