Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Rugby Captain’s Secret Obsession: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Asher Donovan woke up with the taste of blood in his mouth.It was 6:15 a.m. on the rugby field. During practice, Theo’s shoulder had smashed straight into his face during a drill. It was a clean hit but it was just part of the game. No anger, no grudges, no resentment. He spat on the wet grass, saw the red stain, and laughed it off. The sting faded quickly. He jumped back up and kept moving. The field felt alive in the early morning. Boots tore through the grass, Shouts echoed around the empty stands, Finn’s speaker blasted loud music that cut through the cold air. Asher sprinted down the sideline, caught Finn’s pass, took another hit to the ribs, and still managed to pass the ball to Theo despite the sharp pain from the hit. The play was fast and smooth. Everything aligned.The whistle blew. It signaled water break.Asher dropped to one knee, breathing hard. His jersey was soaked with sweat. He poured water over his head and shook it off. The cold air cleared his mind for a moment

Asher woke up at 5:30 a.m., staring at the ceiling like it had done something to him. His room was still dark, but his mind had been awake for hours. He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind went back to the hallway again. The soft creak of the wooden floor. The small ray of light under her door. He turned his head to the pillow, face buried in it and moved his head against it, trying to push the memory away but it didn’t leave.He hadn’t meant to stand outside her door that long. He hadn’t meant to listen for any sound from inside. He didn’t even know why he had walked down the hallway in the first place. Maybe he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Maybe he just wanted to hear proof that she was still there.The worst part wasn’t getting caught. It was how much it mattered to him.He threw the blanket off and sat up, feeling restless. The apartment was silent. Too silent. It reminded him of the quiet after a bad game, when everyone avoided eye contact and the

The apartment stayed quiet for the next few days, but it was a different kind of quiet now. It wasn’t empty, wasn’t cold, just... full in a way neither of them wanted to talk about.Asher still made coffee every morning. He left the mug on the counter in the same spot. Vivi still drank it. Sometimes she rinsed both mugs and left them side by side in the sink. Sometimes she left one of his energy drinks in the fridge, label turned toward her side. Little things. No notes anymore. They didn’t need them.One Thursday afternoon, Asher came home from class earlier than usual. His shoulders ached from morning practice, and a fresh bruise was forming on his ribs. He dropped his bag by the door and headed straight for the kitchen, looking for something cold to drink.He stopped when he heard it.The soft sound of a brush moving across canvas came from Vivi’s room. The door was open just a few inches. Not on purpose, probably. She must have forgotten to close it all the way after getting water

The morning light slipped through the curtains and landed on the bed. Vivi woke first, tangled in Asher’s arm. His chest rose and fell steadily behind her. For a long minute she stayed still, feeling the warmth of him. Then she slipped out carefully and left the room without a sound.In the kitchen she made coffee for both of them. She set his mug on the counter and went back to her room. The wet floor had dried, but the mattress was still ruined. She would deal with that later.Asher found the coffee when he woke. He drank it with a small smile, then headed to practice. Neither of them spoke about the night before.Days passed like that. Quiet routines mixed with new tension. Vivi kept her door open a crack when she painted. Asher left food on the counter and sometimes sat in the living room with his laptop, music low. They didn’t talk much, but the space between them felt smaller.One afternoon Vivi came home from campus carrying her sketchbook tight to her chest. Professor Lang had

Two days later, Vivi got a call from Professor Lang.“Vivienne, there are rumors spreading in the department. Old plagiarism claims again. And some sketches posted anonymously online. They look like yours but labeled as copies. I believe you, but the exhibition board is asking questions. We need to handle this carefully.”Vivi’s world tilted. “It’s Delphine.”“I suspected as much,” Professor Lang said. “Gather evidence and stay focused on your real work.”When Vivi hung up, she sat on the edge of Asher’s bed and put her head in her hands.Asher found her like that when he came home. He knelt in front of her. “Talk to me.”She did. The words came out short and hard. The stolen sketchbook. The emails. Delphine’s threats. The fear that her entire thesis would be ruined before it even opened.Asher listened. When she finished, he took her hands. “We fight this. Together. You paint. I’ll watch your back.”She wanted to pull away. To say she didn’t need him. But she didn’t. Instead she lean