All Chapters of Fake Dating My Ex's Favourite Hockey Player: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

TESSAI know I’m screwed before I even check the caller ID.But when I do, I take a deep breath, let the self-pity simmer, and force my voice into something that sounds like warmth. “Yes? Tessa speaking.”“Of course it’s you. Whose number did I dial, if not yours?” My mother’s voice slices through the line, sharp and annoying all at once. I tilt my head back, staring at the ceiling of my home office, hoping God gives me strength or strikes the phone tower down. “Твой отец тоже был не очень умным, жаль, что ты пошла в него.”(Your father wasn’t very smart either. It’s a pity you take after him.)That gets a crooked smile out of me. “Ой, мама, это ты?”(Oh, Mum, is that you?)“Taisiya Ivanovna Orlova.”“Wow, the full government name. We’re serious today.” I mutter while turning back to my laptop, where Liam’s latest Instagram post is still up. One picture of Emilia stirring something on a stove. Another of her curled up against him, nose in a book.I read the book title and Google it. S

TESSABy the time I finally work up the nerve to text Lyle, the workday’s over — and for once in my life, I don’t stay late.Mr. Harris looks at me like I’ve just announced I’m leaving to become a wizard’s assistant in Hogwarts. Full confusion. Slight concern. Mostly disbelief.But I don’t even register it. I’m too busy spiraling into what is absolutely not a mid-life crisis. Just a very responsible, slightly dramatic, late-twenties breakdown.Totally different thing.“Oh— Cam! Wait up!” I brighten as soon as I spot that familiar mop of reddish-brown hair turning the corner.He glances over his shoulder, spots me, and immediately grins. One of those big, golden-retriever kind of smiles that makes you feel like sunshine. He throws an arm around my shoulders like it’s second nature.“Tessie Bear,” he says, shaking his head. “I’d be excited to see me too, but reel it in. People are gonna start rumours.”I snort. He smells like body wash and fresh sweat, like he just got out of the shower

EMILIAI instantly get defensive, momentarily forgetting that if this basket in the sky decides to tilt, I’ll be falling to my death. “Are you seriously trying to blame me for your mistakes?”His lips twitch. “I wouldn’t dare. Truly.” He’s trying not to laugh, but he’s failing miserably — his shoulders are shaking, and his mouth is twitching like he’s choking on a smirk.“Besides,” he adds, eyes dancing, “you’re the one who mocked me when the balloon lady asked if you were scared.”“That was before the adrenaline wore off.”He grins. “You mean when you climbed in first and said, and I quote, ‘It’s okay if you’re too scared. Not everyone’s built for conquering their fears’? That was just the adrenaline talking?”“I’ve grown since then,” I hiss. “It was a lapse in judgement. A temporary ego high.”“Well, colour me inspired. I’m so impressed I can barely speak,” he mocks, cupping my cheeks with that infuriatingly smug smile spreading wider. “Truly, the arc on you.”“Does this mean we can

EMILIAThere’s probably something mildly concerning about how the second Liam and I start competing, I lose all sense of my surroundings.I stop noticing the crowd pressing in around us, the blaring sounds from a dozen machines, the fact that the smell of popcorn wasn’t, in fact, just a delusion born from hunger and adrenaline. A group of kids huddle by the claw machine, yelling as a stuffed bear slips from the metal pincers, and I’m hit with this weird, almost bittersweet déjà vu.“Have you ever noticed every place you take me is wildly fun?” I say, scanning the room with him in search of the air hockey table. Liam mumbles something about them having moved it since he was last here. “You’re either losing at arcade games, failing to win me stuffed animals, or crashing weddings. It’s all very moving. And, somehow, always deeply humiliating — for you.”His brow twitches. For a brief second, I wonder if this is the one jab too many and his face is about to shatter into stone chips. “Soun

EMILIAThe blood drains from my face so fast I feel dizzy.A staff member rushes over, drawn by my scream, panic already flickering in his eyes. I’m still stumbling backwards, chest heaving, my pulse thundering in my ears.“There’s a man,” I gasp, pointing toward the restroom, “in the women’s bathroom— he has a knife. A pocket knife— he— he was dressed like—”I can’t even finish the sentence.The staff member doesn’t wait. He bolts toward the bathroom, yelling something into his walkie-talkie. Everything else becomes a blur. A group of teenagers nearby are staring, wide-eyed. Someone grabs their friend’s arm and pulls them away. A siren begins to sound faintly in the distance — or maybe it’s just the ringing in my ears.And then—“Emilia!”Liam.He barrels through the crowd like a storm, eyes locked on mine — wild, frantic, like nothing else matters.The second he reaches me, his hands are on my arms, grounding me, steadying me, like he’s worried I’ll vanish if he blinks.“Emilia,” he