All Chapters of FAKE DATING MY EX'S RIVAL HOCKEY STAR: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

MIA'S POVMy fingers curled into fists. My eyes dropped to the money. For one dangerous moment I imagined paying every hospital bill. Buying my mother a home. Helping Gerry finish university. Clearing my own name. Returning to Michigan. Starting over. The temptation lasted only a heartbeat.I lifted my head again. Evelyn still smiled. Alexander still looked at me as though I were another business deal waiting to be settled. I smiled back. Slowly. Then took a steady breath."And you think my love for Ryan is so cheap that you can compare it to money?"The words left my mouth before I could second guess them. To my surprise, my voice did not shake. It came out calm, clear, and steady. For the first time since walking into this mansion, I refused to let them see my fear.The smile on Evelyn Hayes’ face slowly disappeared. It was almost fascinating, like watching expensive crystal crack.“James,” she called without taking her icy eyes off me. “Bring more.” Her tone remained elegant, almos

RYAN'S POVCoach Titus's whistle sliced through the rink."Move!"Twenty players pushed away from the boards at once. The sharp scrape of skate blades echoed across the ice as everyone accelerated into the first warm-up laps. I pushed off with them. My body moved. My mind did not. Cold air stung my face as I skated around the rink, but I barely noticed it. My eyes drifted toward the rows of empty seats towering behind the glass. Empty. I looked away.The whistle shrieked again."Passing drill!"Everyone paired up. Mason glided beside me, spinning a puck on the blade of his stick before flicking it in my direction. Normally, I would've trapped it without thinking. Today, it bounced off my stick, slid between my skates and smacked against the boards. A few teammates looked over."So unlike Hayes," someone muttered.Heat crawled up my neck. I skated after the puck, grabbed it and passed it back. The return was weak. Mason stretched his stick just to keep it from sliding away. He raised a

MIA'S POV"I am just with her to get back at Logan."Those ten words refused to leave my head. They repeated over and over until they became louder than every other thought.Why did they hurt this much? Ryan wasn't wrong. We had made a deal. He would pay me. I would pretend to be his girlfriend. That was all. So why did my chest feel so tight every time I remembered the way he had said it? Maybe because he had told Mason. He had promised no one would know about our arrangement. Maybe that was why it hurt.I hugged my arms around myself as I walked along the sidewalk, my thoughts pulling me in every direction.I had gone to see Ryan because he had left the house very early today for practice and I wanted to discuss my duties as his assistant. Instead, I had overheard a conversation I was never meant to hear. My stomach twisted."Bitch, watch where you're going."The sharp voice yanked me back to reality. I froze. Standing in front of me was the last person I wanted to see. Nyra Owen. T

RYAN'S POVI swung my leg over my bike and slipped my helmet on before starting the engine. Today I didn't feel like driving my sports car. There was no press conference. No sponsor meeting. No cameras waiting outside the arena. Practice had been ordinary. At least it was supposed to be. I had changed out of my jersey into a plain black T shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers before leaving the locker room. Simple. Comfortable. All I wanted was to get home. Take a shower. Eat something. Then find Mia.A smile found its way onto my lips before I could stop it. Images of yesterday refused to leave my head. Her laugh. God... I had never noticed how beautiful someone looked while laughing. The way her head tipped back. The tiny wrinkle beside her nose. The loose strands of hair dancing across her cheeks every time the wind blew. The way my little sister had laughed together with her. She had looked... Happy. For the first time in what felt like forever."I need to see her." The words escap

RYAN'S POVThe moment I saw her sitting there, everything inside me shattered. She wasn't moving. She wasn't crying anymore. She was just... staring at nothing. Cars drove past without slowing down. People walked by, busy with their own lives. No one spared her a second glance. It was as if the whole world had decided she didn't exist. My chest tightened."Mia." My voice came out softer than I intended. She slowly turned. Those beautiful green eyes I had started looking forward to seeing every day were swollen and red. Her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Strands of hair clung to her damp face as the wind blew gently around us. God... How long had she been crying? I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a slow step toward her."Mia." She lowered her gaze. "You shouldn'tbe here. I am fine." She wasn't. Anyone with eyes could see she wasn't. Without thinking, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her. For a second, her body stiffened. I held my breath. The