جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

NOAH'S POVThe next morning, I was sitting on the edge of a sofa in my father's office, staring blankly down at my hands. My phone had been ringing nonstop since last night. The internet was in a frenzy. Every sports blog, local news channel, and university forum was posting about the leaked video. Everyone was talking about the ‘Ice King and his boy toy,’ throwing wild theories back and forth about the Northcott captain and the Kensington hockey star.I flinched slightly when the office door suddenly flung open. Two burly security guards walked in, dragging Tobias between them.Tobias looked like a wreck. His neat hair was sticking up in different directions, his jacket was wrinkled, and there was a dark bruise swelling right under his swollen left eye. He wasn't acting like the arrogant king of the school anymore, he was shaking like a frightened dog, his knees barely holding him up as the guards dragged him past my sofa. My father, George Kensington, stood near the window, hold

NOAH'S POV The rain was coming down hard, slapping against the visor of my helmet as I sped through the city streets. My power bike engine roared loudly under me, spraying rainwater behind my back as I pushed the speed past eighty miles an hour. My father had warned me. He had told me that if I touched Calix again, he would ruin his mother's business and tear down the Northcott rink by tomorrow noon. I knew the danger. I knew George Kensington never made empty threats. But as I sat alone in my room, watching the rain hit my bedroom window, my mind kept showing me Calix's face. I knew what was happening at Northcott right now. I knew the university board was throwing him to the wolves. I was losing my mind. Driven by panic, I had grabbed my bike keys, jumped onto my ride, and sped through the downpour toward the Northcott campus. I turned the final corner and slammed on my brakes, skidding across the wet pavement right outside the campus courtyard steps. Through the

NOAH'S POVEvery single day was just something to survive until the next one came.My mother, Gwen, was currently locked away in the abandoned side of our estate, so heavily sedated by my father’s private doctors that she could barely open her eyes. George had pushed her aside, locking her out of every public event. Meanwhile, I was being dragged around like a guy on a string, forced to smile for the cameras and play the doting father-to-be for the media.I was standing in the secondary living room of the Kensington penthouse, watching Ariana check her lipstick in a mirror. She turned around, resting her hands over her flat stomach with a proud grin.“Stop doing that,” I frowned. Ariana blinked, staring at me through the mirror. “Doing what” “Holding your stomach like that,” I said, stepping closer, glaring down at her. “You're acting like there's actually a baby in there. We both know you are not actually pregnant.” Ariana turned around to face me now, resting her hands on her

NOAH'S POV My father didn't waste time making Mary and Calix to pack their bags and move into the Kensington Estate immediately. Less than twenty-four hours after that disaster of a dinner, a large moving truck was already parked outside our front driveway, unloading boxes into our house. I stood on the second-floor balcony, leaning my hands on the railing, watching from above at Calix walking into the house below. He was carrying a bag over his shoulder, wearing a faded black hoodie, and looking like a prisoner being marched into jail. Mary walked in behind him, wearing a white coat, looking around everywhere. “Mary, go upstairs and let the maids show you your room,” My father’s voice echoed from the doorway. Mary nodded quickly, offering George a small, timid smile before hurrying up the staircase, leaving Calix standing all alone near the front door. George stepped out into the open space. He pulled a folder from his jacket and tossed it at Calix's chest. Calix

NOAH'S POVIt was past midnight, and a thunderstorm was rolling over the estate.Bright flashes of lightning lit up my bedroom every few seconds, followed by booms of thunder that shook the windows over and all over again. I couldn't sleep. I was tossing and turning on top of my bed, staring at the wall that separated my bedroom from Calix's.I couldn't get his face out of my head. I had seen the spray paint on his locker earlier today. I had heard the disgusting comments the other hockey players were making in the halls. I knew what everyone on campus was saying about us, and I knew Calix was carrying every single drop of that shame all by himself.After a deep breath, I sat up from the bed, and walked over to the shared wall.I leaned my side wall, pressing my ear flat against it, listening closely through. At first, all I heard was the drumming of the rain outside. But then, a low sound reached my ears.Calix was crying. Pain sliced immediately through my heart. I couldn't tak