All Chapters of HOCKEY ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN AFFAIR: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Hu:It’s been a week since I told Ginger I loved her. I can’t tell how I’ve been holding back, but today, it feels like my heart will explode. I’ve noticed she’s been avoiding me. When I see her at school, she won’t meet my eyes, and she always walks in groups, making sure I don’t get the chance to pull her aside. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and it’s killing me.She said she still thinks about that night too, so why is she acting like I’m some kind of disease? It’s like she’s messing with my head, and it’s fucking working. I want to go to her house, but I’m wary of her mom, and her curtains have been shut for an entire week.“You need to wait for her to come to you,” I tell myself, tossing a ball against the wall in front of me.At first, the steady rhythm soothes me, but the more I think about her, the more it grates on my nerves. When the ball bounces back toward me, I catch it and crush it in my hand. Sitting up, I swing my legs off the bed and let my hands hang between my

GINGER: For a moment, I try to convince myself that nothing bad has happened to Hu and that he is probably at his apartment, needing space to process what I said to him. “Ginger, are you there?” Hana’s voice snaps me back to reality. “Please put Caspian on. I’ve been calling him, but he isn’t answering. Hiram went to Hu’s apartment in town, but he’s not there. Everyone is worried, and I don’t understand why he keeps doing this.” Her voice cracks, and I can feel her pain. “Hold on, please,” I say, my mouth barely able to form the words. I tap Caspian’s arm lightly, causing him to stir. “Babe,” he groans. I roll my eyes with a sigh and tap him harder, making his eyes snap open. “Hana wants to speak with you. Hu is missing.” His body shoots upright like a robot given a command. He grabs the phone from me and brings it to his ear. As I watch him take the call, a sinking realization settles in—I am the villain in this story, and there is no sugarcoating it. I shouldn’t have come to

HU:A week goes by again, and just like Hiram promised, he makes sure I don’t see Ginger or speak to her. I stay in the hospital wing of the house, far from her room, far from temptation. Every night, he checks on me to make sure I don’t sneak out. And to be honest, it’s helping. Everything seems to be going great—including therapy.Hiram secretly hired a different therapist, not wanting Hana to find out and risk her telling Ginger, which might cause her to spiral and text me. Therapy has grown on me, because it’s easier to tell her how I want to rip off Caspian’s head, claim Ginger as mine, without being judged for it.Today is Hiram’s wedding, and I have a therapy session too. I contemplate skipping it until Hiram walks into my room.“I’ve arranged for a driver to take you to therapy. You’ll be back just in time for the wedding,” he says.I nod without a fight. Ever since I let him take charge, things have been better, and I won’t mess that up now.I throw on a shirt and some pants,

HU:Ginger’s reaction is instant the moment Ruby pulls me to the table. Her back stiffens, fingers curling as she grips her lap as though she is trying hard to compose herself. She avoids meeting my eyes, and I try to compose myself too, but I cannot help but shut my eyes slightly, inhaling her scent. Fuck, I shouldn’t be doing this. I open my eyes at once, then pull out a seat for Ruby, trying to be the perfect gentleman.“Thanks, babe,” she mouths, and God, I wish she would stop calling me that.Caspian, on the other hand, leans forward, extending a hand.“Hu,” he greets, and I take his hand, shaking it briefly because I do not know what else I will do if the handshake lingers.“How’s your health?” he asks, tilting his head slightly, and I force a smile.I force a smile because I am not truly happy, and it is killing me. Caspian has been nothing but a good friend. He wrote my not

HU:The second I step into my room and see Caspian with the burner phone, I realize how badly I’ve messed up. I want the ground to swallow me or to turn back time to the first night I walked in on Ginger in that room so that I can undo everything. But the damage has been done, and I know I will probably be losing my best friend, so I brace myself for it.Caspian stands in the middle of the room, shoulders squared, breathing unevenly. I want to apologize for what I’ve done, but god, that would only make things worse. The fact he knows slowly sinks in, and it feels like my entire body is ripping apart.The tension in the air is suffocating. I force my expression to stay neutral, pretending I don’t see the storm brewing in his eyes. I take a slow step forward. Maybe he doesn’t know, and he just found the burner phone and is reminiscing about old times. It’s stupid, but I try to convince myself.“Had no clue you would still be into the burner phone.” My voice comes out low, and he glares