บททั้งหมดของ SCORED HER HEART, NOT THE PUCK.: บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

THANE’S POV:"Thane, can you hear me?" Jules shook me a little to get my attention.“No, say that again?” My voice echoed off the walls, hollow, like it belonged to someone else.“You’ve been distracted since practice.” Coach’s voice came clipped. “We can’t have that. Tournament’s around the corner. You need to be present.”Present. The word was a joke in my mouth. How could I be present when my chest felt like someone had taken a hammer to it? How could my head be clear when all I saw was Madison’s face and everything breaking around her?The team’s meeting room smelled like sweat and disinfectant—long rectangular table scarred with puck marks, framed jerseys on the wall, a whiteboard full of plays in the corner. A row of windows let the late-afternoon light spill in, dust motes drifting through the beams like a thousand tiny spectators. I’d never noticed the dust before. Today they were all I could focus on.Practice had been a disaster. I'd missed easy catches, fumbled plays I coul

THANE’S POV:I'd barely finished getting ready to meet Callahan when Vaughan called."We found them," he said, his voice tight with excitement. "The culprit. We know who's responsible." His voice was thin with something close to triumph."What are you talking about?""The night of the accident, We've finally resolved what happened."Relief loosened something in my chest, almost painful in how unfamiliar it felt. My pulse stumbled, torn between hope and dread. For a second, I let myself believe maybe this was the start of putting the past to rest. At least people close to me were trying to solve what had almost destroyed me. Made up for the restless night giving room for empty places where my head replayed one thing over and over."Where?" I asked, already grabbing my keys."I'll pick you up. Twenty minutes."At first, I told myself it was coincidence, the way the turns began to look too familiar, the way my pulse picked up like it knew before my brain did. Just my mind playing tricks

MADISON’S POV:Two days. Forty-eight hours trapped in a six-by-eight concrete box that smelled of metal and rot. Each breath scraped through panic lodged on my chest like a stone.It wasn’t the small cell or the lack of sunlight that broke me but the way the world seemed to shrink around me, until even breathing felt like a privilege I had to earn. I hadn’t been allowed a change of clothes, or to wash, or even to brush my teeth. My skin itched. My body reeked of stale sweat and fear.The guards didn’t hide their contempt. A few of them laughed openly when my hands shook as I reached for the tray of cold food. One, a tall man with a crooked nose, Officer Daniels banged his baton against the bars, smirking. “You miss your country yet? Bet their jails smell better.” I didn't respond. Learned that lesson the first day when responding earned me a skipped meal. I’d turned my face to the wall and let the words rot there.But even hell had flickers of light. On the TV, anchors whispered the

MADISON'S POV:I swallowed hard, the food sitting heavy in my stomach.Eden reached across the table, her hand closing over mine. The gesture was so unexpected, so gentle, that I froze.Her eyes held something fragile like hope trying to disguise itself as strength."Madison," she said softly, "I can only help you if I know the truth. I believe you won't lie to me because I believe you're a good girl."My throat tightened."I saw everything that happened the night Thane brought you to our house. You both genuinely love each other. That much was obvious to anyone paying attention." Her thumb brushed across my knuckles. "But you have obstacles in your way. I want Thane happy. And if he finds that happiness with you, I'll use my blood and sweat to make sure you're vindicated."The words broke something inside me.A sob ripped free before I could stop it. My hand clamped over my mouth, useless against the rush of fear and loneliness I’d buried too deep for too long.Everyone else had thro

THANE'S POV:"I know that girl has been fighting to survive since the day she was born. I know the Wallaces systematically destroyed her credibility so no one would believe her when she finally spoke up. I know she fell in love with you despite every reason she had to protect herself.""She used me—"Mom's eyes hardened. "If you let your pride destroy this girl, Thane, you’ll regret it long after the headlines fade." The warning in her voice made me flinch. "I’m already talking to the best lawyers. I’ll find out who really did this because everything about her case stinks of manipulation." Rage exploded through my chest. "Why are you forcing me to be with a deceiver? You want her so bad? Adopt her. Marry her yourself."Mom stood, grabbing her handbag with sharp, angry movements. "Maybe I will if it comes to that. I didn't give birth to a weakling who could be this easily deceived." She moved toward the door, then turned back. " Why don't you marry Harper, the puppet your father want