All Chapters of Ice Between Rivals : Chapter 191 - Chapter 198

The exhaustion hit like a freight train after the grueling morning run. By the time we staggered back to the dormitory, my legs felt like lead weights, every muscle screaming in protest. I could barely walk straight, my vision tunneling with fatigue. All I wanted was the sweet oblivion of sleep. Thankfully, Coach had barked out the orders: rest until tomorrow. No drills, no extra circuits. Just recovery.But even that small mercy came with complications. As the last ones in from the field, we discovered the other bathrooms locked tight for maintenance. Only one shower stall remained, its tiled walls fogged with steam and echoing faintly with distant drips. I went first, stripping down under the lukewarm spray, letting the water pound against my sore shoulders. The solitude was a balm—until it wasn’t.I sensed him before I heard him. A shift in the air, the soft pad of bare feet on wet tile. I whipped around, heart slamming against my ribs.“Jesus, you creep!” The words burst out befor

The night air had cooled considerably by the time we reached the edge of the path, the town lights fading behind us like distant stars. I held the flower Liam had given me with careful fingers, its petals soft against my palm, but the ache in my chest had nothing to do with the long walk or the exhausting practice. It was time to return to my dorm, yet every step felt heavier than the last. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay with him—wanted it so badly the longing twisted like a vine around my ribs—but the words lodged in my throat. Instead, I stared down at my hands and said nothing.“Noah.” His voice was gentle, pulling my gaze upward. He tilted his head, studying me with that quiet intensity that always saw too much. “Why are you so quiet?”I sighed, forcing a weak smile. “Just tired. From the walk.”“Really? Is that so?” His tone was flat, disbelieving. He knew. Of course he knew. Liam had always been able to read me like an open book. He let out a long breath. “You’re lying to

The tension in the room thickened the moment I grabbed his hand as he tried to rise from the bed. I was still smiling, hoping to lighten the mood, but his expression remained clouded.“Liam,” I said softly, “please don’t. Don’t be too weird. I just met Camilla. I didn’t—”“Exactly,” he cut in, anger sharpening his voice. “That is your girlfriend, and I’m sorry if I’m misinterpreting anything here.”Before I could respond, he pulled away and stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind him with a finality that echoed through the apartment. I sighed, utterly confused. Why was he acting like this? Who had even told him I was meeting Camilla? Nothing made sense. I rushed to the top of the stairs, calling after him.“Liam, don’t go!”But he was already gone, the front door shutting with a heavy thud. I sighed again, a sad weight settling over my chest. Why was he acting so weird? And why did it hurt so much to see him angry at me? The ache felt deeper than it should, twisting something

A hand on my shoulder. My heart lurched. Kai — the thought arrived before I could stop it, the specific, desperate hope that he had come back, that he had turned around somewhere in the corridor and thought about it and come back to say something different— I looked up. Maya. She opened her arms without a word and I stood up and went into them and cried the way I hadn’t let myself cry in front of him — fully, without management, without keeping any part of it contained for later. “What’s wrong, Ava?” Her voice was soft against my hair. She was the only person in this building who knew who I actually was. Not Noah, not the captain, not the boy who had confessed something in a dark hallway — just Ava. Just me. I was so relieved she hadn’t heard any of it. She pulled back eventually, looking at my face with the focused attention of someone reading something important. “Why did you say Kai’s name when I touched you?” I looked at her. “I’m so confused,” I said, “that I can’t even