All Chapters of THE ICE WE BREAK :Fake dating the ice king : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Maya By the next morning, the internet had apparently decided I lived at the Thorne Estate permanently. I knew before I even unlocked my phone because the notifications started vibrating across my nightstand like tiny explosions, one after another until the screen lit up nonstop beneath the dim gray morning light pouring through the guest room curtains. I stared at the ceiling for a full five seconds before finally grabbing it. Northridge Spill had already posted grainy zoomed-in photos of my car parked outside the estate gates overnight beside headlines dramatic enough to make it look like I’d eloped with hockey royalty. ICE KING’S SECRET GIRL SPENDS THE NIGHT AT THORNE ESTATE DURING STORM BLACKOUT. Underneath it were hundreds of comments dissecting everything from my hoodie to the expression on Leo’s face in a blurry photo taken through rain-covered window

Maya The moment Cassandra said the words romantic weekend getaway, I knew somebody was going to suffer, and judging by the smug satisfaction on her face inside the production office the next morning, that somebody was probably me. “You’re sending us where?” I asked slowly, convinced I had misheard her. “A private winter cabin owned by the Thorne family,” Cassandra replied without looking up from her tablet, her perfectly manicured fingers scrolling through engagement analytics like human emotions could be measured in percentages. “The audience wants intimacy now. Conflict performed well, but vulnerability performs better.” Leo leaned back in his chair beside me, jaw tight enough to crack teeth. “No.” Cassandra finally glanced up. “That wasn’t a request.” “You don’t get to use that place.” Something in his voice made me look at him properly. Not annoyed. Not angry. Cornered. Cassandra noticed too, though unlike me she looked pleased by it. “The viewers are invested in

Maya POV By the time we returned to campus, Northridge had turned into a circus. Not the fun kind either. The invasive kind. Every hallway conversation stopped when Leo and I walked past, phones followed us openly now without anyone even pretending to be subtle, and somewhere during the three days we spent trapped inside that cabin, the internet had apparently decided we were college hockey’s newest obsession. Edits of us flooded every platform. Slow-motion clips from the skating event. Photos of Leo holding me outside the cabin. Fan accounts analyzing “hidden tension.” People writing essays about the way he looked at me when he thought cameras weren’t paying attention. Which was ridiculous because cameras were always paying attention. Cassandra loved every second of it. “The engagement numbers doubled aft

Leo The locker room smelled like sweat, melted ice, and tension that refused to die. Nobody talked much after practice anymore, at least not around me. Conversations stopped when I walked past, eyes shifted away too fast, and every silence felt heavier than the last. Before the scandal, the room had belonged to me naturally, effortlessly, the way breathing belonged to lungs. Now it felt divided straight down the middle, with half the team waiting for me to crack again and the other half pretending not to notice the fracture spreading under our skates. Coach blew the final whistle and barked something about conditioning tomorrow morning, but I barely heard him. My head was pounding again, sharp pressure pressing behind my eyes hard enough to make the fluorescent lights feel violent. I shoved my gear into my bag and stood too quickly. The room tilted for half a second.

Maya The black sedan stayed behind the team bus all the way across campus.Not close enough to attract attention.Not far enough to disappear. Watching.Always watching.I kept my eyes fixed on the rain-covered window while my pulse hammered unevenly against my ribs. Beside me, Leo had gone completely still, the kind of stillness that felt dangerous because it meant he was forcing himself not to react. “You know that car,” I said quietly.His jaw tightened. “Drop it.” “That’s not an answer.” “It’s the only one you’re getting.”The bus turned toward the athletic center and the sedan slowed near the intersection before disappearing into the storm without another trace. But the damage was already done.Because now I knew Leo was scared of something.Not annoyed. Not angry.Scared. And somehow that u