All Chapters of Faking It With The Hockey Playboy: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Lila POVThe words hung in the air between us."Then do it. Release them. Expose me. Ruin my life."Derek stared at me like I had slapped him. "You do not mean that.""Yes, I do," I said, feeling a strange calm settle over me. "I mean every word. I do not care anymore, Derek. I do not care if you release those pictures. I do not care if everyone finds out about my notebook. I do not care about any of it.""Lila—""I am so tired," I interrupted, my voice breaking. "I am tired of being scared. Tired of being controlled. Tired of everyone using my secrets against me. You, Cassandra, everyone. I am just tired.""What does Cassandra have to do with this?" Derek asked sharply.I realized my mistake immediately but it was too late to take it back."Nothing," I said quickly. "I just meant—""No," Derek said, stepping closer. "You said my name and Cassandra's name together. Like we are both threatening you. What did Cassandra do?""It does not matter," I said."It does matter," Derek insisted.

Derek POVI stared at Cassandra, trying to process what she had just said."What do you mean I lost?" I asked. "What game do you think we are playing?"Cassandra smiled that same smug smile. "The game where I know everything, Derek. Everything about you and Lila. Everything about your fake relationship."My blood went cold. "What are you talking about?""Oh, come on," Cassandra said. "Do not play dumb. I know your relationship with Lila was never real. I know you blackmailed her into dating you. I know the whole thing was a performance.""You do not know anything," I said, but my voice lacked conviction."I know everything," Cassandra corrected. "I had someone investigate Lila. Find out why she would suddenly start dating you right after you had been stalking her for weeks. And you know what I found?"I did not answer."I found out that you took pictures of her notebook," Cassandra continued. "Found out that you used those pictures to force her into a relationship. Found out that your

Lila POVI lay in bed that night unable to sleep, my mind racing with everything that had happened.The breakup with Derek. Pushing Ryan away. Cassandra's deadline that had already passed.What was Cassandra going to do now? She had given me a week to break up with Derek and stay away from Ryan. I had broken up with Derek, but probably not in the way Cassandra wanted. And Ryan—I had tried to push him away but he kept fighting back.Had I done enough to satisfy Cassandra's demands? Or was she going to release those pictures anyway?My phone sat on my nightstand, silent and dark. No messages from Derek. No calls from Ryan. Nothing from Cassandra either, which somehow felt more ominous than a threat.I picked up my phone and stared at Derek's contact.I had been so cruel to him earlier. Had told him I never wanted the relationship. Had pushed him away when he tried to help. Had made him think I saw him as nothing more than a blackmailer.But the truth was so much more complicated.I did

Derek POVLila was looking at me with tears in her eyes, her confession about having real feelings for me still hanging in the air between us."I do want you," she had just said. "Even though I had ulterior motives, I do want you, Derek."The words ignited something in me. Something I had been trying to keep under control since the moment she walked into my room.I reached out and pulled her closer, my hand cupping her face."Derek—" Lila started.I kissed her before she could finish. Not the manipulative kiss she had given me earlier. This one was real. Honest. Filled with all the feelings I had been holding back.Lila kissed me back, her hands moving to my shoulders, pulling me closer.We fell back onto the bed together, our bodies pressed against each other, the kiss deepening.My hand slid under her shirt again, feeling the warmth of her skin. Lila's fingers tangled in my hair, holding me close like she was afraid I would disappear.This was what I had wanted for weeks. To have Li

Derek POVThe meeting was worse than I had imagined.Coach Reynolds sat across from me and my father in his office at the rink, looking uncomfortable as he explained my recent performance issues."Derek has been one of my best players for three years," Coach said carefully. "But the last few weeks, something has changed. He is distracted. Missing practice. Not performing at his usual level."My father's expression grew darker with each word."At the championship game," Coach continued, "Derek played terribly for most of the match. We were losing because of mistakes he never would have made before. He only pulled it together in the final minutes.""But we won," I interjected. "We won the championship.""Barely," my father said, his voice cold. "You almost cost your team everything because you could not focus.""Mr. Stone," Coach said, "I think Derek is going through something personal. I thought you should know so you could help him work through it.""Help him?" my father repeated. "Co