All Chapters of Ice Between Rivals : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

POV: Ava CarterMaya adjusted herself on the sofa and looked at me with eyes that were trying very hard to appear casual and not quite managing it.“Look brother,” she said. “When you go back to the academy. Please let me meet Kai.”I froze.“He’s all I have now,” she continued quietly. “Our older brother died. Kai is the only one left.” Something moved across her face that was too genuine and too painful to look at directly. “He’s my only brother now.”I sat with that for a moment.If someone took Noah away from me I would burn the world down looking for him. That was the plain truth of it. The thought alone made something in my chest contract sharply. I understood exactly what Maya was carrying and I understood it completely and immediately.But then Noah’s voice came back.Just avoid him. Make sure he doesn’t meet his sister before we figure this out.I exhaled slowly.“Sure,” I said. “I’ll help you.”She looked up with a smile that made me feel terrible.“Did sister Ava leave?” sh

POV: Ava CarterBella appeared in front of me like she had been waiting for the right moment.She grabbed my hand before I could step back.“Noah.” Her voice was thick and unsteady. She was already fighting tears and losing. “I know I treated you badly. I know that. But you broke up with me first. I had no choice. When Kai came to me saying he loved me I had to do something. I had to go somewhere.” She squeezed my hand tighter. “But I never loved him Noah. Not even for a second. I only did it to make you jealous. I thought maybe you would see me with him and come back. I am so sorry.”I stood completely still and looked at her and said nothing.Then Liam stepped forward.He reached out and removed her hands from mine. Not violently. But with a finality that left no room for argument. He looked at her steadily.“What makes you think you can do all of that to him and then just walk back in?” His voice was quiet and completely serious. “He has already moved on. No amount of tears or apol

“I’ll be leaving the first half of training to Noah,” Coach Merrit announced, his voice carrying easily across the rink. “He’ll monitor you while I handle something urgent. I’ll be back.” And just like that, he was gone.The weight of every pair of eyes shifted to Ava at once. For a fraction of a second, uncertainty moved through her — but she caught it before it could surface, smoothing her expression and squaring her shoulders.She hadn’t even opened her mouth when Kai’s voice cut through the silence, low and deliberate, pitched just loud enough for everyone to hear.“If you don’t know what to do, just say so.”Her blood went hot instantly. But she didn’t flinch. Instead, a slow, composed smile pulled at the corner of her lips.“Exactly,” she said. She crossed her arms and let her gaze settle on him with the calm of someone who had already won. “Let’s start with you. Come here.”The silence that followed was absolute. Every player stilled. Ava was summoning Kai — not like a captain

The second time he asked, I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t heard him.He crossed the room in two strides and pulled me close, his grip firm, his eyes searching my face with an intensity that made it impossible to look away.“Noah.” His voice dropped low. “Answer me. Last time.”I exhaled slowly. “Fine.” I pulled myself back, putting space between us, needing it. “I didn’t know either, alright? I didn’t know until I was already in this this situation. I didn’t choose this.” I met his eyes. “That woman is my father’s wife. His new wife. And that girl is her daughter.”The sound he made wasn’t quite a laugh. It was something rawer than that a short, pained scoff that seemed to come from somewhere deep and unguarded.“Do you know who she is?” he said quietly. “Do you even know who that woman is to me?”I held his gaze. “I do.” A beat. “She’s your mother.”The confusion on his face didn’t fade slowly. It collapsed all at once replaced by something that looked like total betrayal.“You knew.”

.Words failed me completely.My mouth opened and nothing came out not a denial, not an excuse, not even a sound. I just stood there, frozen, the blood draining from my face, and then my knees buckled and I stumbled sideways.Maya was out of the bed before I hit the floor. She caught me by the arm and guided me down to sit on the edge of the mattress, her hands steady where mine were shaking.She knelt in front of me and looked at me for a long moment. Not with anger. Not with judgment. Just with the quiet patience of someone who had already decided they were going to wait for the truth.“Ava,” she said gently. “Why are you here? I thought you went to Europe.”I pressed my hands over my face. Held them there. Breathed.Then I lowered them and looked at her.“Yes,” I said. My voice came out small and exhausted and completely stripped of pretense. “Yes, Maya. It’s me.”She waited.“My father wouldn’t let me pursue my dream. Not hockey, not any of it the world wasn’t going to let me eit