The Woman He Chose

POV: Ava Bennett

"Are you sure you want to stand right here near the center ice ?" my friend Sarah asked as the final horn sounded, and thousands of fans started shouting and throwing confetti into the air around us.

"Yes, because Noah explicitly told me to wait right here near the tunnel as soon as the game finished," I replied, holding the railing while watching Noah drop his stick, raise his hands, and hug his teammates in the middle of the rink.

"I still cannot believe how much time and energy you put into helping him reach this exact moment," Sarah said, shaking her head while we stepped through the side gate on the ice.

"It was six long years, but every single hard choice was worth it to see him succeed," I told her, remembering how I worked two separate jobs to pay our monthly rent after he injured his knee, skipped meals so he could buy better training gear, and even sold the engagement ring my mother left me so he could pay for his second surgery.

"Well, he promised you that the very first thing he would do after holding that trophy was marry you, so you should get ready," Sarah smiled, giving my arm a small squeeze before stepping back into the gathering crowd.

Noah stepped up to take the microphone from the arena presenter, and the whole crowd went silent while his face appeared on the television screens hanging above the rink.

"First off, I want to thank all the fans who bought tickets to support us every week, and I want to thank my teammates for fighting until the final second of this game," Noah said into the microphone, his voice echoing loudly through the speakers.

"He is going to call you up any second now," Sarah whispered, nudging my shoulder while I took a small step forward on the ice.

"I know, he told me this morning that our whole life would change after tonight," I said, holding my hands together while waiting for him to look in my direction.

However, instead of turning toward the tunnel where I was standing, Noah turned around and walked directly toward Vanessa Sterling, who was standing near the team bench in a customized jersey beside her father, the billionaire team owner.

"There is one specific person who made all of this possible for me tonight," Noah spoke into the microphone, taking a deep breath while looking directly at Vanessa.

"Wait, what is he doing over there?" Sarah asked, her voice dropping as we both watched Noah drop down one knee right in front of Vanessa on the ice.

Noah pulled a small black box out of his pocket, opened it, and held up a large diamond ring while looking up at her.

"Vanessa Sterling, will you marry me?" Noah asked clearly into the microphone.

"Yes, of course I will," Vanessa screamed, stepping forward to throw her arms around his neck while the entire arena erupted into loud cheering and applause.

I stood completely frozen on the ice while the large television screens above us suddenly switched from their faces to show my pale face to the entire stadium.

"Isn't that the girl who was sitting in the seats during the regular season?" a fan standing nearby asked, holding up his phone to record me.

"She looks so embarrassing standing there, like she actually thought he would pick her over the owner's daughter," another person replied, laughing while showing the video to his friends.

"Ava, we need to leave this place immediately," Sarah said, grabbing my arm firmly and pulling me toward the exit doors before more fans could cluster around us.

"I cannot believe he just did that after everything he said to me this morning," I whispered, following Sarah through the hallway while tears started pouring down my cheeks.

"He lied to you, Ava; we are going home right now," Sarah said, pushing open the door that led out to the parking lot.

As soon as we stepped outside, a group of reporters noticed us, ran over, and shoved several microphones directly into my face before Sarah could push them away.

"Miss Bennett, how does it feel to see Noah propose to another woman after you supported him for six years?" a reporter asked loudly, holding a camera in front of me.

"Did you really believe he was going to marry you tonight, or were you just refusing to accept that he moved on?" another reporter demanded, blocking the path to Sarah's car.

"Please just leave me alone, because I do not have anything to say to any of you," I sobbed, covering my face with my hands while trying to step around them.

"Is it true that you came here tonight expecting a ring?" the first reporter asked again, refusing to move out of the way.

"I just want to go home, please let us through," I cried out, breaking down completely in front of the flashing cameras while Sarah pushed through the reporters and opened the passenger door for me.

We pulled out of the parking lot while my phone continuously vibrated with messages and social media notifications from people calling me an obsessed ex-girlfriend who couldn't let go of the past.

Meanwhile, back inside the team locker room, Noah sat on a wooden bench with a towel around his neck, staring silently at the television mounted on the wall where my tearful interview was playing on the news channel.

"Everyone is upstairs in the private lounge waiting for you to come drink champagne," his teammate Dylan said, walking into the room and stopping beside Noah.

"I just need a minute, Dylan. I want to see what the news is saying about the game," Noah muttered, refusing to look away from the screen as the reporter talked about my breakdown outside the arena.

"She looks completely wrecked out there, man," Dylan noted, looking at the screen before turning back to Noah to ask, "Are you going to go out there and talk to her, or are you just going to sit here and watch this?"

"There is nothing for me to say to her now, because things are different now and I have to think about my career," Noah replied, staring at his shoes while taking a deep breath.

"Well, you made your decision tonight, so there is no point in sitting here staring at her on the screen," Dylan said, reaching over to pick up the remote control off the table.

"Yeah, you are probably right about that," Noah said quietly, sitting completely still on the bench as Dylan pressed the power button and turned the screen completely black, leaving the locker room in total silence as Noah made no effort to follow me out into the night.