All Chapters of Claimed By The Hockey Captain: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

LoriMy heart began slamming against my chest while the accusation hung in the cool evening air like a cloud of pure poison. The plaque in my hands felt leaden, its weight pulling down on my exhausted arms as I stared back into Lucas’s bloodshot, tormented eyes.“Is any of it true, Lori?” he repeated, his voice cracking on my name, the sound laced with a desperate agony that tore right through me.“No!” I shouted, the word exploding from my throat before my brain could even register the impulse. I slammed the plaque onto the flat edge of the stone fountain behind me, the loud thud echoing across the quiet courtyard. “No, Lucas! None of it is true! How could you even stand there and ask me something like that? How could you believe a word of what those jealous girls were whispering?!”“Because of the way he was looking at you!” Lucas yelled back, taking an aggressive step forward, his chest heaving as tears glistened in his dark eyes.

LoriI stirred lazily, shifting against the crisp sheets as the lingering, sweet ache in my muscles reminded me of last night. For the first time in weeks, my mind felt light. I reached my arm across the mattress, expecting to feel the solid, reassuring heat of Lucas’s chest beside me, but my hand met only cool, empty linen.I blinked my eyes open, pushing myself up on one elbow.The faint, muffled sound of a low voice echoed from behind the cracked door of the en-suite bathroom. I sat up, pulling the bedsheet securely around my bare chest, my brow pulling into a subtle frown as I listened closely.Lucas was on the phone.“I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it right now,” he was muttering into the receiver, his voice hushed, and strained with a sharp edge of agitation. He was pacing back and forth his heavy footsteps echoing softly. A sudden chill cut right through the lingering warmth in my veins. My pulse

LoriI grabbed my purse from the bedside table without offering Lucas another glance. He stood frozen by the door of the hotel room, his hand hovering near the frame, his mouth opening as if to call my name. But no sound came out. The silence between us had turned cold and immovable. I didn't wait for him to find his voice. I brushed past him, pushed open the door, and walked out into the cool morning hallway.I took a taxi straight back to the fashion camp campus. The familiar stone buildings and green lawns felt entirely different now that the high stakes finale was over. The suffocating anxiety that had ruled my life for the past month was gone, replaced by a quiet, hollow exhaustion. I needed to get my life back on track, clear out my room in the camp hostel, and figure out my next moves.As I walked through the main archway toward the studio building to collect my final portfolio sketches, a tall, imposing figure stepped out f

LoriI stood in front of the tall, wood framed mirror in my hostel room, staring blankly at my reflection.I had changed clothes three times already. I finally settled on a simple, dark emerald slip dress paired with a light beige cardigan; stylish enough to look put together for dinner with someone like Richard Rashford, but understated enough to keep my promise of a low key evening. I picked up my favorite gold hoop earrings, but my hands were trembling so much I dropped one onto the rug.I leaned over to pick it up, resting my forehead against the cool edge of the vanity. A heavy, suffocating wave of guilt crashed over me, making my throat tighten.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lucas’s expression right before I pulled my hand out of his grip and walked out of that hotel room. He had looked so hurt, so bewildered, so completely undone. I had left him standing there in the cold silence, nursing his bruised pride after demanding

LoriI practically threw my weight against the front door of my hostel room, slamming it shut behind me and turning the lock three times with shaking hands.My whole body was trembling. I leaned my back against the hard wooden panel and slid down until my knees hit the rug, clutching my knees tight against my chest. The suffocating smell of Richard’s heavy cedarwood cologne still clung to my skin and cardigan like a toxic stain, making my stomach churn with a sickening wave of nausea.A hot, fat tear escaped my eye, tracking down my cheek, but I aggressively wiped it away with the back of my hand. I refused to cry over him. I refused.“You know why you came out with me.”His low, raspy voice echoed over and over in my head, overlapping with the suffocating memory of his hand gripping the back of my neck, his fingers twisting into my hair, and his palm sliding aggressively up my thigh.I had managed to shove him off me, blurted out some frantic, breathless lie about feeling suddenly si