Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

ChaseThe moment I saw Allie’s face, every bit of control I had worked to keep during the game disappeared.She stood beside Mia near the restricted hallway, her hands stiff at her sides and her expression pale. Tyler Knox was too close to her. Much too close. Two of his teammates stood behind him, laughing like whatever had just happened was amusing. I did not know exactly what had been said, but I knew enough from the way Allie looked. She had that same expression I had seen after Logan’s livestream, like someone had taken every cruel thought she already carried and spoken it aloud.Tyler turned when he heard me. His smirk widened.“Here comes your newest boyfriend.”I crossed the hallway before I had time to think about anything else. My skates were gone, but I was still wearing part of my uniform, shoulder pads under my practice shirt and my gloves in one hand. Sweat cooled against the back of my neck as I walked toward them. I could hear Ryan calling my name somewhere behind me,

AllieI woke up with my fingers pressed against my lips.For several seconds, I did not remember why.Then the treatment room returned in pieces.Chase standing close enough that I could feel his breath. His hand hovering near my cheek instead of touching me without permission. The quiet way he had asked, Is this okay? The warmth of his thumb against my skin.And then the kiss.I closed my eyes and pulled the blanket over my face.I had kissed Chase Ryder.Not accidentally.Not because cameras were watching.Not because anyone had pressured me.I had looked at him, felt everything I had been trying not to feel, and closed the distance myself.The memory sent a warm flutter through my stomach.Then guilt followed immediately.It moved through me so quickly that the excitement disappeared beneath it.Logan and I had been engaged only weeks ago. The entire world had watched our relationship fall apart. People were already accusing me of moving from one hockey player to another. Tyler had

AllieThe locker room had gone quiet around us.A few players were still nearby, but everyone suddenly became very interested in their phones, equipment bags, and anything that allowed them to avoid looking directly at Chase and me. Ryan stood several feet away with an expression that said he understood this argument had been coming long before I arrived.I barely noticed any of them.My entire focus was on Chase.He stood in front of his open locker with his shoulders tense and his jaw tight. The cut on his lip looked darker than it had the night before, and the sight of it made guilt twist inside me all over again.“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.“I was going to.”“When?”“After I figured out how to explain it.”“There was nothing to explain. You were suspended. I should have heard that from you, not from the team’s official account.”“I know.”“Do you?”His expression tightened.“Yes.”I folded my arms, partly because I was angry and partly because my hands had started trembling

ChaseBeing suspended felt worse than losing.At least after a loss, there was something useful to do. Review the game. Study mistakes. Train harder. Prepare for the next opponent. Suspension gave me nothing except hours to think about the punch, the headlines, and the fact that my teammates would play without me because I had failed to control my temper.By eight that morning, I had already finished a workout in my home gym, watched old game footage, answered three calls from management, and read the team’s schedule twice.The match was not until the following evening, yet every part of me wanted to be at the arena.Instead, I stood in my kitchen waiting for Allie.I had told her ten.At nine fifty-two, I checked the window.At nine fifty-five, I checked my phone.At nine fifty-eight, I walked toward the front door just as the bell rang.I opened it too quickly.Allie stood on the other side wearing jeans, a soft green sweater, and a long coat. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponyta

AllieThe email arrived while I was still in bed.At first, I assumed it was another invitation designed to benefit from the scandal. Since public opinion had started shifting in my favor, brands that once stopped answering my calls had suddenly remembered my name. They sent careful messages about resilience, strength, and new beginnings, as though they had not quietly disappeared the moment Logan accused me of being abusive.I almost deleted the email without opening it.Then I noticed the company name.GlowHaus Beauty.They were one of the biggest online beauty and lifestyle brands in the country. Their campaigns reached millions of women, and their livestream events regularly sold out products within hours. I had dreamed about working with them long before Logan became part of my public identity.My finger hovered over the screen.Then I opened it.The message was polite, warm, and carefully written. GlowHaus wanted me to host a live online campaign focused on rebuilding confidence