All Chapters of Love on the power play: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

CASSIAN.The chaos of the crowd rang long in my ears after I had pushed through the crowd. I barely remembered how I had shoved people aside, the flash of Averie’s image on the screen or the exhausted look on her face just before she collapsed. All I knew was that she was shaking in my arms when I found her—her small body trembling, and when I lifted her from the ground, I felt every bone in her shake against my chest. “Cassian—” Lena called out, her voice shaky behind me as she stumbled after, her eyes reddened from minutes of crying. “We have to leave—now!”I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust the sound that would come out of my throat. The students were still jeering, with cameras flashing. I had seen someone capture me when I ran across the stage to fetch Averie who had collapsed to the ground, and the chorus of gasps that followed—surprised gasps from students who were shocked on seeing a suspended student on campus.In the back seat, Averie’s breath came in uneven little rasps. Her

AVERIE.The days that followed the garden incident blurred together, rolling by fast like nothing had ever happened. I moved through them like a ghost — attending classes I paid no attention to, eating meals I couldn't taste, sleeping without rest. The laughter in the hallways seemed louder now, and though no one spoke to me directly, I could feel their words directed at me, clinging to me like smoke. They didn’t have to mention my name for me to feel the way I felt. The looks from them were enough—stares of pity, disgust and curiosity—all wrapped up and disguised in tight smiles and too-long stares.The professors weren’t left out. Their tone each time they called on me in class sounded shifted, gentle and cautious, as though I was made of some kind of glass that would shatter if they pushed too hard. It drove me nuts—made me want to scream my lungs out. I wasn’t fragile. I was angry, humiliated. And yet, I couldn’t even find the energy to show it.I was tired of it all, and so I dec

CASSIAN.The aftermath of the expulsion hit me harder than I had expected.Less than two weeks ago, I had been the team's anchor — the captain, strategist and the unshakable center that kept every other player in rhythm. The Wynter name carried a weight on campus. Professors smiled when they saw me, and other students nodded with respect. I had purpose. I had control.Now, I was a warning.My locker had been emptied. My access card had been deactivated. The familiar scent of cold metal and resin from the rink now came to me through the glass windows I wasn't allowed to pass. The only place that felt like home, the one place where I had come to belong had now turned into something I could only look at from a distance.I tried to brush it off, to tell myself that it didn't matter — that the ice hockey game, the leadership and the reputation was all temporary. But every vibration and message from my phone said otherwise.Messages piled up from my teammates, each one more annoying than th

ELLIOT.I had told myself a thousand times that I was done—that I wouldn't get involved again. After everything that had happened in the fall, after watching Averie’s life crumble while I stood by, helpless, I had told myself that Averie wasn't my fight anymore, and that stepping in would only make matters worse. I had tried detaching myself, tried pretending that I didn't care. But every time I heard her name whispered down the halls and every other place around campus — every cruel joke and every rumor disgusted as concern — it twisted something inside me.But by the third week, I could no longer take it. Her seat in Literature class remained empty, an observation that gnawed at me each time I got to see it. The processors glanced over it awkwardly, and her friends had begun to speak about her in past tense as if she had already disappeared. As though she was no longer a part of the school. Lena looked exhausted every single time I saw her, carrying Averie’s absence like a secret sh

AVERIE.The silence that followed the slam of the door was heavy, so thick that I found it deafening.I didn't move from where I sat on the bed, frozen in the tangle of sheets, my breath caught between a sob and a gasp that never came. The room still smelt of everything I wished to undo, and every sound stretched too long, with my heartbeat pounding too loudly within me.Lena's voice broke through the silence first, her voice sounding soft and frantic. “Averie, what happened? Talk to me, what happened? Why was he here?”I couldn't say anything—couldn't even utter a word. I couldn't look up either. My fingers clutched the blanket tighter as though I would disappear inside it if I held onto it enough. I replayed Elliot’s voice just before he left in my ears, but his voice and the sound of Lena's as she urged me to say something blurred together, like some noise underwater.I stared at the wall for what felt like hours, replaying the look on Jace’s face again and again — the disbelief f