جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 110

The trophy appeared beneath the gold lights, and the team lifted it together. Hands covered hands, shoulders bumped, and the crowd became one enormous roar. I raised my camera because that was what I did when something mattered, but after taking the shot, I lowered it and watched. Dean stood in the middle of the celebration, laughing so freely that I almost didn’t recognize him. His teammates dragged him across the ice while the trophy moved from person to person, and the entire arena chanted his name. “Dean! Dean! Dean!” He soaked it in, grinning as though he had finally been permitted to enjoy something without waiting for the cost. By the time the team reached the tunnel, the ice was crowded with players, coaches, cameras, and people trying to get close enough to touch the trophy. Arthur found Dean there, with Lucas following behind him. I stayed near the edge of the crowd, close enough to see but far enough not to intrude. Arthur pulled Dean into a hug. It was different from

By the time Dean and I reached our table, the ballroom had stopped looking like a birthday party and started looking like a very expensive argument for why rich people should be allowed near flowers. White orchids spilled across every table, a string quartet played near the entrance, and a screen at the front of the room showed photographs of children the foundation had helped.The pictures softened the room. For a few seconds, all the money and polished smiles seemed to mean something beyond impressing one another.“Happy birthday, apparently,” I murmured as Dean pulled out my chair. “Nothing says celebration like spending several million dollars on flowers for a cause you actually care about.”“He does care,” Dean said.There was no joke in his voice, so I looked at him.He glanced toward the screen. “That’s the confusing part about my father. He isn’t pretending. He really does care. He just has this incredible talent for making every decent thing look like a business strategy.”“T

Dean was laughing at something Ryan had said when I reached the bonfire. Then he turned, saw me, and lost the rest of the joke entirely. "Iris." He said my name as though he needed a moment to convince himself I was really standing there. His gaze traveled over me, stopped at my hair, and returned to my face. "What happened to your hair?" I smiled. "Surprise." He crossed the space between us so quickly that I barely had time to laugh before both his hands were framing my face. The open disbelief in his expression was so genuine that I almost felt guilty for enjoying it. "You're blonde," he said. "I am." "You're actually blonde." "That is generally how hair works." "When did this happen?" "Today, during the campaign shoot. I wanted to surprise you." "You definitely surprised me." He continued to study me as if the answer might change if he stared long enough. "You look…" He stopped, shook his head, and abandoned the sentence with a helpless smile. "You look incredible. I need

Class ran twenty minutes over because apparently my media law professor had decided our afternoon was a reasonable sacrifice for one last point about defamation. By the time I left the building, I was tired, hungry, and questioning every decision that had led me to a major where people could assign homework about lawsuits.I called Dad on the way to the library. I told myself it was because I needed to discuss my capstone, but really, I wanted to hear his voice.“How’s the internship treating my favorite daughter?” he asked.“I’m your only daughter.”“Still my favorite.”I laughed, and the day became easier to carry. I told him about the capstone, the internship, and the strange little routine I had built for myself. It was ordinary in a way I had once thought I would never get back. Dad told me about one of his students describing the Revolutionary War as “kind of a vibe,” which he found both horrifying and, for reasons I did not understand, encouraging.We stayed on the phone until

The next morning, I drove to Ava’s dorm in the new car, still getting used to the fact that it didn’t complain every time I stopped at a red light. I had barely shifted into park when Ava appeared outside with her phone raised, already recording. “Oh my God.” She walked around the car, taking it in from every angle. “I’ve been waiting to see this in person. It’s even better than the pictures.” “It’s a lot.” “It’s romance, Iris.” She opened the passenger door and slid inside, immediately running her hand over the dashboard. “Your boyfriend is so thoughtful. I love how he loves you. I hope you’re finally letting yourself stop doubting him.” “I’ve never doubted Dean’s love,” I said as I pulled out of the lot. “I doubt everything around him. That’s different.” “Fair. Still, this is the kind of romance people write books about.” “Hopefully with better dialogue.” She laughed, and I turned up the radio before she could argue. The drive to campus became exactly what I needed. We sang b