All Chapters of THE STAR PLAYER IS HER EX : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The moment the school's number flashed across her screen, Olivia felt her whole body go cold. She was in the car before she'd even finished the call, running red lights she'd normally never risk, her hands locked so tight around the wheel her knuckles ached.She found Charles sitting on a bench outside the principal's office, his small shoulders hunched, his knuckles scraped raw and his eyes glassy with unshed tears. Relief and terror crashed into her at the same time, relief that he was standing upright, terror at the sight of blood dried along his fingers."Charles." She dropped to her knees in front of him, cupping his face, checking every inch of him for damage. "Baby, are you hurt anywhere else?"He shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes, his jaw locked tight in a way that reminded her, painfully, of someone else."He punched another student during recess," the teacher explained gently, crouching beside them. "This isn't like him at all, Mrs. Hart. He's never so much as raised

Rain hammered the pavement in relentless sheets, and Olivia stood frozen at the curb, staring at the open window of Killian's SUV like it might vanish if she looked away. Every instinct told her to refuse, to turn and walk into the storm rather than climb into that car and sit inches away from a man who despised her.Seven years ago she would have climbed in without a second thought, would have reached for his hand before he even offered it. Now the space between them felt wider than the entire city stretched out around them.Killian didn't push. He simply waited, one hand resting easy on the wheel, the wipers sweeping steady arcs across the windshield."You'll catch a fever if you keep standing there," he said through the open window, his voice flat, practical, giving nothing away.Olivia glanced down at her ruined bicycle, tires slashed beyond saving, rain already soaking through her jacket to her skin, and something in her resolve finally cracked. She circled the front of the SUV a

CHAPTER 16The stadium roared before the ball even snapped, sixty thousand fans on their feet, cameras flashing across the sideline like distant lightning. Every network in the city had a crew positioned somewhere along that field, all of them chasing the same story, whether Killian Ashford could actually save a franchise that had been bleeding wins for two straight seasons, or whether this whole homecoming would end up another expensive headline about a superstar who couldn't deliver outside a championship system built around him.The game started badly, worse than badly. A fumbled snap on the second drive. A blown coverage that let the opposing receiver walk untouched into the end zone. By the end of the first half, the Thunderbirds trailed by two touchdowns, and the frustration on the sideline had curdled into something close to panic, players avoiding eye contact, shoulders slumped under the weight of a deficit that felt bigger than the scoreboard.Killian gathered them in the loc

CHAPTER 18The reporters surged forward the instant the doors gave way, a wall of cameras and shouted names crashing into the lobby all at once."Killian! Are you dating Olivia Hart?""Is the woman in the photo your girlfriend?""Did this relationship start before you even joined Hart Sports Agency?"Olivia's legs took a step back before her brain caught up, her face going pale as flashbulbs popped in rapid succession. Seven years she'd spent hiding from exactly this kind of attention, disappearing into mop buckets and janitor's closets, and now half the city apparently knew her name and none of the truth behind it.Before another question could reach her, Killian moved, planting himself between her and the wall of cameras like it was the most natural thing in the world."No more questions."His voice wasn't loud, but it carried, firm and final, and something about the way he said it made the whole chaotic crowd hesitate just long enough for security to finally get a grip on the situa

CHAPTER 20The clinic wound down slowly, kids trickling toward the exits with autographed jerseys clutched against their chests, but Charles refused to budge from the middle of the field. While the other children compared signatures and traded stickers, he kept lining up the same pass over and over, jaw set with the kind of determination that made him look, for one unsettling second, exactly like his father.Killian spotted him from across the field, already heading toward the cluster of sponsors waiting near the tunnel, and changed direction without really thinking about it."I thought practice was over," he said, jogging back over.Charles shrugged, dead serious. "You said real players don't quit after making mistakes.""I did say that." Killian huffed out a laugh, crouching down to adjust Charles's stance one more time. "Alright. Feet a little wider. Plant your back foot before you release."This time, when Charles let the ball go, it spun clean and tight through the air, landing s