All Chapters of THE ICE WE BREAK :Fake dating the ice king : Chapter 201 - Chapter 209

209 Chapters

Chapter 209: Success

Maya POVSuccess turned out to be much quieter than I imagined during the years when I believed achievement always arrived with dramatic celebrations and life-changing certainty, because instead of a single defining moment there came a steady stream of emails and invitations and conversations that gradually transformed what had once felt like an impossible dream into an ordinary part of my daily routine, leaving me to realize that the most meaningful victories often announced themselves through consistency rather than spectacle as my documentary continued finding audiences in places I had never expected it to reach.The distributor’s decision to expand the documentary beyond its original release exceeded every projection discussed during our first meetings, with universities requesting educational screenings and independent cinemas extending their schedules because audiences continued recommending the film through genuine word of mouth instead of expensive pro

Chapter 210: New Life

Leo POVThe first few months of professional hockey taught me that earning a place in the NHL and learning how to live as an NHL player were two completely different challenges, because while rookie camp had introduced me to the league’s relentless pace and impossible standards, the beginning of my professional career demanded something far broader than performing well during practices, forcing me to adapt to unfamiliar cities and unfamiliar teammates and unfamiliar routines while carrying expectations that followed me long after I stepped off the ice, making it impossible to separate hockey from the rest of my life in the way I once could at Northridge.Every morning began before sunrise with strength sessions and video meetings before moving almost seamlessly into skating drills and tactical discussions that stretched deep into the afternoon, leaving little room for distraction because every player inside the organization understood that jobs at this level w

Chapter 211: The Distance

Dual POV: Leo & MayaTime moved differently once our lives stopped revolving around the same campus and the same routines because the days that once seemed endlessly intertwined gradually separated into independent calendars filled with flights and deadlines and professional commitments, carrying Leo from one NHL city to another through practices and exhibition games and the demanding rhythm of a rookie season while carrying me across production meetings and documentary festivals and development sessions for future projects, and although the physical distance between us grew with every passing month, there remained an invisible thread connecting our lives through brief messages and occasional phone calls that never arrived according to any schedule yet somehow always appeared exactly when they were needed most.For Leo, the professional season quickly settled into a relentless cycle where every week introduced another challenge demanding complete attention, wi

Chapter 212: Jax’s Decision

Leo POVBy the middle of my rookie season the rhythm of professional hockey had finally begun to feel familiar rather than overwhelming, allowing me to focus less on proving that I belonged and more on improving the smaller details that separated dependable players from exceptional ones, yet despite how completely my life had changed since leaving Northridge, there remained certain friendships that refused to become simple memories, and among them none carried more complicated history than the one I shared with Jax, because although we had repaired enough of the damage created during our final college season to part on respectful terms, I always sensed that some wounds had merely stopped bleeding instead of truly healing.We spoke only occasionally after graduation, usually through short messages following particularly good games or major career milestones, with neither of us attempting to recreate the effortless closeness we once enjoyed because we both under

Chapter 213: Betrayal

Leo POVProfessional hockey taught me to expect pressure from opponents and criticism from the media because both came with the territory once your career became visible enough for strangers to form opinions about your life, yet nothing prepared me for discovering that the most painful blow would come from someone who once knew me well enough to recognize exactly where my deepest vulnerabilities existed, because betrayal always carried a different kind of weight when it arrived wearing the face of a friend you had already forgiven once before.The story broke late in the afternoon while our team was finishing recovery sessions after practice, appearing first as a sports interview clipped into short videos before spreading rapidly across every major hockey platform as reporters highlighted one particular section where Jax had been asked about leadership and the transition from college hockey to the professional level, and although his opening answers remained r

Chapter 214: The Last Thing He Says

Jax POVPeople always believed jealousy arrived suddenly as though it were born from a single moment of weakness, but the truth was far uglier because it grew quietly over years while disguised as admiration and loyalty and patience, feeding on every comparison and every headline and every conversation where someone looked at me only long enough to ask another question about Leo, leaving me convinced that I had accepted living in another man’s shadow until I finally realized I had merely become skilled at pretending the darkness no longer bothered me, and by the time he walked onto the empty ice toward me that night with disappointment written more clearly across his face than anger, I already understood there were words waiting inside me that could never be taken back once they were spoken.He stopped only a few feet away without raising his voice or making any attempt to intimidate me, asking why I had chosen to reveal conversations that were never meant to

Chapter 215: What Matters

Leo POVThe strange thing about losing someone who had once been one of the most important people in your life was that the pain did not arrive as dramatically as I once imagined it would, because after the confrontation with Jax ended and I walked away from the empty arena without looking back, I expected anger to consume every thought I had for days or perhaps weeks, yet what settled inside me instead was an overwhelming sense of exhaustion mixed with quiet sadness, as though I had finally reached the end of carrying a weight neither of us had been willing to admit existed until it became too heavy for our friendship to survive.For several days I replayed our conversation countless times while traveling with the team and sitting through video sessions and morning practices, wondering whether there had been a single moment years earlier when everything could have unfolded differently if either of us had found the courage to speak honestly before resentment h

Chapter 216: The Film Festival

Maya POVThe invitation to premiere my documentary at one of the most respected international film festivals arrived months after I had already convinced myself that the project had reached the peak of its journey, because the documentary had earned critical praise and industry recognition far beyond anything I originally imagined while opening doors that transformed my career from an uncertain ambition into a genuine profession, yet standing outside the historic theater on the evening of its festival premiere surrounded by filmmakers whose work had inspired me throughout my years as a student, I realized there were still moments capable of making even the most carefully controlled confidence give way to quiet disbelief, reminding me that some dreams continued unfolding long after you thought they had already come true.The festival itself carried an atmosphere unlike any event I had attended before, with streets filled by artists and journalists speaking doze

Chapter 217: The Invitation

Leo POVThe invitation arrived on an otherwise ordinary afternoon between practice and a scheduled video session, tucked among contract updates and community appearance requests that had become part of my daily routine since entering the NHL, and I almost overlooked it until the familiar title of Maya’s documentary caught my attention, followed by a handwritten note from the festival director explaining that a limited number of private guests had been invited to the final gala screening and that my presence would remain completely confidential if I chose to attend, leaving me unexpectedly still as memories I had carefully learned to carry without dwelling on them quietly resurfaced all at once.For several long minutes I simply stared at the invitation resting on the kitchen counter while sunlight filtered through the apartment windows, realizing that months had passed since I last saw Maya in person even though we continued exchanging occasional messages that

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