جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

~~~Soraya~~~The morning after Riley’s suspension, the ice felt like a battlefield. Northpoint had scheduled a joint practice for both teams, a Team building exercise the coaches were calling it. But everyone knew what it really was,damage control. The university wanted to show unity after the scandal. Declan and I were expected to be the shining example of ‘Rivalry turned romance.’I hated it.I laced up my skates in the Storm locker room while Maya paced behind me.“Half the girls think you sold out. The other half are jealous you’re getting all the attention. This is going to be ugly.”“Tell me something I don’t know,” I muttered, pulling my hair into a tight braid.When I stepped onto the ice, the tension hit me immediately. The Blades were already warming up on one end. Declan spotted me instantly and skated over, looking every bit the arrogant captain in his practice jersey.He stopped close, way too close and leaned in like a loving husband for anyone watching. “Try not to ch

~~~Declan~~~I was done playing defense.The athletic director’s office smelled like stale coffee and panic at 8:07 a.m. Soraya sat beside me, jaw tight, eyes exhausted. The director and two sponsor reps looked like they’d been up all night. A thick folder sat in the center of the table, the new evidence package.I didn’t wait for them to speak.“I want to see everything,” I said, voice calm but commanding. “Now.”The director slid the folder over. I opened it slowly. Screenshots. Audio files. Photos. And worst of all several short video clips taken from inside our penthouse. One showed Soraya and me arguing heatedly in the kitchen. Another caught us in a charged moment near the windows. Nothing explicitly damning on its own.But together? Devastating.Soraya’s breathing grew shallow beside me. I closed the folder and leaned back in my chair. “This is illegal surveillance. Hidden cameras in a private residence. Whoever did this crossed every line.”One of the sponsor reps cleared he

~~~Soraya~~~We had thirty-eight minutes until the 10 a.m. deadline. The live feed of my parents’ hotel room played silently on my phone. Mom was humming while folding laundry. Dad was reading the newspaper by the window. They had no idea someone was watching them. Violating them.Declan paced the living room like a caged animal.“We’re not breaking up. We continue the usual. Post something emotional about working through challenges but staying committed.”“And if they release the footage?” I asked, voice tight. “My parents will see everything. The counter. The fights. The fake parts.”He stopped pacing and looked at me. There was no smirk, no arrogance. Just raw determination.“Then we deal with it. But we don’t give this bastard what they want.”My phone buzzed with another message.“28 minutes. Tick tock, Soraya. Break up publicly or your parents get front-row seats to your little whore show.”I felt sick. Declan took my phone and typed a reply from my account.“Give us until 11

~~~Soraya~~~The locker room smelled like sweat and frustration after the joint practice. I sat on the bench, unlacing my skates slowly, trying to ignore the whispers circling around me. Caleb Voss had made sure I don't breathe in peace today. He’d spent the entire session skating too close, flashing that easy smile, dropping comments loud enough for half the ice to hear.“Looking good out there, Rivera,” he’d said after one drill, loud and deliberate.“You move like someone who knows exactly what she wants. Shame you’re tied down.”Declan had heard it. Everyone had.Now, in the hallway between the two locker rooms, the tension followed me like a shadow. Declan appeared from the Blades side, still in his practice jersey, hair damp with sweat. His jaw was tight as he walked straight toward me.“You let him talk to you like that,” he said, voice low.I straightened, meeting his eyes. “I didn’t let him do anything. He’s just running his mouth. Same as always.”Declan stepped closer, to

~~~Declan~~~The photo was burned into my brain. Caleb’s hands cupping Soraya’s face. His lips inches from hers. Her hands on his chest. The angle made it look like they were devouring each other right there in the equipment room while I was ten feet away talking to Coach. I stood in the tunnel, phone gripped so tight I thought the screen might crack. My chest felt like someone had taken a slap shot at it from point blank range. How the fuck did we get here? Three weeks of fighting for her. Lying to her parents. Taking the heat from both teams. Risking my entire future. And the second I turn my back, she lets him put his hands on her? The worst part wasn’t even the photo. It was the small, traitorous voice in my head whispering that maybe she’d finally realized this fake marriage wasn’t worth it. Maybe she’d rather have someone who actually wanted her instead of someone chained to her by a contract.“Declan.” Her voice behind me made my shoulders tense. I turned slowly.Soraya looked