All Chapters of The Hockey Star Regret : Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

COLEENThe lake air was crisp and clean, tinged with pine and the faint scent of rain. I stood on the small wooden deck outside the cabin, my sweater pulled tightly around me as the sun began to dip below the horizon. The water shimmered like glass, reflecting streaks of gold and rose.Behind me, I heard Hayden moving around inside, the clinking of dishes, the soft hum of a song under his breath. It was a domestic kind of peace, one I didn’t think either of us ever believed we’d get to have.“Dinner’s ready,” he called out, voice warm and a little tired.When I stepped inside, the smell of roasted chicken and garlic filled the small kitchen. Hayden stood there, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly damp from a quick shower, eyes meeting mine with that small, crooked smile that always seemed to undo me.“You cooked?” I teased, taking in the slightly uneven slices on the cutting board.He shrugged. “Jason left a few supplies in the pantry. I figured we could use something that wasn’t in a pa

COLEENThe apartment was too quiet without Hayden’s laugh echoing through it. Even though he’d only been gone for two days for the regional tournament, the silence already felt too loud.I sighed and tied my apron. “Another day, another double shift,” I muttered to myself.The morning rush at the café was chaos. Students coming in half-awake, mumbling coffee orders. I took them all with a smile, but my mind wasn’t there. It kept drifting to the tournament, to the possibility that by tomorrow night, Hayden could be standing on a podium as the MVP.He deserved that.During my fifteen-minute break, I sat at the corner table by the window, sipping a cold coffee I made for myself. My phone buzzed, and Alicia’s name popped up on the screen.“Please tell me you’ve eaten something other than caffeine today,” she said as soon as I answered.“Does half a blueberry muffin count?”“Barely.” I could hear her typing in the background. “Anyway, I heard from Mark that you’ve been pulling doubles agai

COLEENThe roar of the crowd was deafening, vibrating through the metal bleachers and straight into my chest. My hands were shaking so hard that I could barely hold onto the tiny paper flag Alicia had bought from a merch booth outside the rink.The scoreboard glowed: 4–3. One minute left.Hayden’s team was leading.I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until Alicia nudged me. “You’re gonna pass out before the buzzer if you keep doing that,” she yelled over the crowd.I let out a laugh that was half-sob. “I can’t help it. Look at him!”My eyes darted back to the ice. Hayden glided across the rink like he was born there—fast, fluid, absolutely locked in. The puck flew from player to player until it landed on his stick. The crowd went wild, sensing what was coming.Beside me, Mark was shouting something I couldn’t make out, but his voice was pure excitement. Even he, who had once joked about hockey being “just men chasing frozen rubber,” was standing now, fists clenched, grinning l

COLEENThe café smelled like roasted hazelnut and cinnamon, the kind of comforting scent that used to make me think of home. Now, it just made me feel nervous. I sat at a corner table near the window, stirring my untouched latte as snow drifted lazily outside. My fingers trembled slightly as I glanced at the time on my phone.11:57 a.m.I said noon.My heart raced with every door chime, half of me hoping she wouldn’t show up, half of me terrified she would.Then, the door opened, and I knew.Even after all these years, I recognized her.My mother looked… older. Not in a frail way, but in the quiet, worn-out way of someone who had spent years running from themselves. Her hair, once jet-black like mine, was streaked with gray. She wore a beige coat and carried a small leather bag, eyes scanning the café nervously until they landed on me.For a second, neither of us moved. She hesitated near the doorway, biting her lip, a nervous habit I apparently got from her. Then she finally walked o

HAYDENThe air inside the rink was electric. The crowd was deafening, a sea of our school’s colors blurring into a single living wave. Every cheer, every chant, every banging drum rattled straight through my bones.We were seconds away from the end. It was the Frozen Four Finals and our university hosting, and somehow, after all the chaos of the year, we’d made it here.The scoreboard blazed: 3–2 in our favor.Ten seconds left.I gripped my stick tighter, lungs burning, vision tunneling in on the puck sliding across the ice. My heart thudded so hard I could feel it echo in my ears.“Defense! Defense!” Coach bellowed from the bench.Jason slammed into an opposing player, stealing the puck and clearing it down the ice. The opposing goalie shot out of the net, their last desperate attempt to even the score. Logan darted ahead, caught the puck mid-pass, and shot it toward the empty goal.The puck hit the post.“Come on!” I shouted, skating hard, snatching the rebound, and flipping it in j