Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Maeve 

Before I could say anything, Sienna leaned toward the microphone with a soft smile on her face. "I'm sure everyone has their own personal goals," she said sweetly. "Maeve will figure out what works best for her. We all want to be the best version of ourselves." Her voice sounded kind, but every word felt like another reminder that everyone was looking at my body instead of seeing me as a person.

Rowan's expression became cold the moment she finished speaking. He looked directly at the reporter without even glancing at anyone else. "The only thing that needs to change is the way people speak about my girlfriend," he said in a firm voice. "If anyone has more questions about her body instead of hockey, you can leave this room now because I'm not going to let anyone disrespect her."

The room became completely silent after that. The reporter looked embarrassed and quickly looked away, but the damage had already been done. 

I could still feel the cameras pointing at me, and when I looked toward the back of the room, I noticed two interns whispering while stealing quick glances in my direction. I looked down at my hands because I couldn't stand wondering what they were saying about me.

The interview continued, but I barely heard another question. Every answer I gave was short because I wanted everything to be over. I smiled whenever someone looked at me, even though it felt fake, and I kept telling myself not to cry until we had left the room. 

Rowan looked at me a few times, and I knew he could tell something was wrong, but there was nothing either of us could do while the cameras were still recording.

As soon as the interview ended, I stood up and started walking toward the door. Rowan caught up to me before I could leave the hallway and gently reached for my hand. "Maeve, are you okay?" he asked quietly. 

I forced a small smile even though my chest hurt. "I just need a few minutes alone," I whispered. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. 

I went into the break room and closed the door behind me. The room was finally quiet, and for the first time all day, nobody was staring at me. I sat down, took a deep breath, and unlocked my phone, hoping to distract myself until I felt better. Instead, the first thing I saw was a notification showing that Mia had uploaded a new video less than an hour earlier.

My hands felt cold as I opened the video. One old picture after another appeared on the screen. 

They were the same photos Mia had edited years ago to make my face look bigger and my body look much heavier than it really was. Across every picture, she had added cruel captions about how some people never changed and how embarrassing it was that I still thought I belonged somewhere I clearly didn't.

I looked at the comments, hoping maybe people would defend me this time, but they didn't. The insults were already everywhere. Some people called me ugly. 

Others said Rowan had to be blind to date me. More people insisted our relationship had to be fake because someone like him would never choose someone who looked like me. Every second, more hateful comments appeared, and each one hurt more than the last.

My vision became blurry as I opened my chat with Mia. I quickly typed a message and begged her to delete the video. "Please take it down," I wrote. "You've already hurt me enough. People are going to use this against me for weeks, and I honestly can't handle any more hate right now. Please, Mia. I'm begging you." I watched the screen, hoping she would finally feel sorry for what she had done.

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed with her reply. I opened the message immediately, hoping she had changed her mind, but there was nothing except a laughing emoji. 

I stared at it for a long time before slowly placing my phone face down on the table. Then I covered my eyes with both hands and sat there in complete silence until the tight feeling in my chest slowly faded and I was finally able to stop myself from crying.

By the time the last practice session ended the arena had mostly cleared out. I was packing up the treatment room when the door opened and Rowan walked in. He closed it behind him and locked it.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“I already talked enough today.”

“Maeve.” He stepped closer. “I am taking you to London. Not Sienna. The manager can fine me all he wants. You are coming.”

I laughed once, it was clearly short and tired. “No. I am not. You heard him this morning. You heard the sponsors. You heard that reporter. You are  not going to be the reason my life gets so miserable.”

“You are my physiotherapist,” he said. “You are on staff. You have every reason to be there and I want you there. The claim was not for the cameras. Not completely.”

“It felt pretty complete when you said it in front of everyone.”

“Because I meant it.”

I shook my head and went back to stacking the towels. “I am not going. Find someone else to play girlfriend for the sponsors.”

He did not move. He just stood there watching me until I finally looked up again. “I already told them. You are on the list. Pack a bag.”

I wanted to keep arguing but the look on his face said he was not going to drop it. I finished packing the supplies in silence and he eventually left after telling me he would see me in the morning. I stayed in the treatment room a little longer because I did not want to walk through the hallway while people were still around.

When I finally did leave I took the long way past the admin offices. Two of the staff members were talking near the copy machine and they did not see me right away. 

One of them said Sienna’s name and I slowed down without meaning to. The other one laughed and said the private jet seat was already confirmed and the hotel suite was booked under companion of Captain Ashcroft just like the sponsor wanted. 

They kept talking about how the whole nurse thing was probably going to get cleaned up before the trip and how Sienna always got what she wanted in the end. I stood there listening until they moved on and then I walked out of the arena with my hands in fists at my sides.

The whole drive home I kept replaying it. By the time I parked outside my apartment the anger had settled into something worse . I was tired of smiling. I was tired of being the one who had to stay quiet while everyone else decided what my place was. If she already had the seat and the suite then fine. But I was not going to sit back and let her take the rest of it without a fight.