Semua Bab Dumped On Live TV, Claimed By The Hockey King: Bab 71 - Bab 80

CHAPTER 71LIAM"Since you clearly need to clear your head after everything that's happened, let me take you out," I offered, keeping my eyes fixed on the road.Ava didn't even hesitate. "No thanks," she shot back, shaking her head defensively. "I think I prefer Emily right now. Just drop me off at her dorm."I completely ignored her.We drove in silence for another ten minutes, the city skyline looming larger in the windshield. Slowly, Ava’s posture shifted. She uncrossed her arms, leaning forward to peer through the glass at the road signs flashing overhead."Wait. This isn't the route to the university, and it definitely isn't Emily's dorm," Ava said, turning to me with a frown of pure confusion. "Where are we actually going?"I offered a subtle, unreadable smirk, keeping my grip steady on the steering wheel. "The last time I was a mess and needed to clear my head, you dragged me out and helped me refocus. Now, allow me to return that favor."Ava opened her mouth to argue, glaring

CHAPTER 73AVAThe regional chess tournament opened today under the high glass ceiling of the university’s main hall. Rows of long tables stretched across the polished floor, each one set with identical wooden boards and heavy clocks. The air smelled of varnish and nerves. I sat at board fourteen in the first round, opposite a second-year from the engineering faculty who played the Queen’s Gambit like he had rehearsed it in his sleep.I answered with the Slav Defense, the same lines my grandfather used to force me to memorize until my fingers moved without thinking. The game lasted forty-one moves. I took his knight on move twenty-seven and closed the file with a quiet checkmate three moves later. The arbiter nodded, marked the score sheet, and I stood up to stretch while the next pairing was posted.By midday I had won my second game as well. The third round was harder….a senior ranked twenty places above me who tried to drown me in a closed Sicilian. I sacrificed a pawn for activity

CHAPTER 75AVAI woke up to an empty penthouse.Liam’s bedroom door stood open, the bed already made with military precision. No coffee brewing and no low murmur of his voice on a call. He had left early for school again.I made myself a quick breakfast, then sat at the chessboard in the living room and forced myself through a set of endgame studies.Rook and pawn versus rook. Bishop pair against knight and bishop. What’s the point? I asked myself halfway through a difficult line. I’m leaving the school soon anyway.The thought sat heavy for a few seconds. My heart sank deeply and I suddenly had the urge to cry but I had to hold it in. You haven’t been expelled yet, so no crying. I said encouraging myself.Then I reset the pieces and finished the study. Habit was stronger than doubt.By the time I reached campus the atmosphere had already shifted. No one muttered “scholarship whore” as I passed. A couple of first-years actually nodded. I pulled out my phone and opened the main camp

CHAPTER 77AVAI didn’t open the drive the moment we got back.I set it on the desk in my room and stared at it for a long time. The encryption wasn’t simple. It would take careful work, cross-referencing the old endgame notes my grandfather had left in the margins of books I still kept. When Liam asked how long, I told him the truth.“I don’t know yet. Maybe a day. Maybe more. Rushing it could lock everything permanently.”He accepted that without argument.The rest day ended and the tournament finals arrived faster than I expected.The hall felt different on the last day…quieter, heavier, every board under sharper lights. I had survived the earlier rounds with a mix of wins, one loss, and a hard-fought draw. Now only the final stood between me and securing the scholarship for another year, plus the small university award that came with the title.My opponent was a fourth-year who played with ice-cold precision. She opened with a quiet system I hadn’t prepared for deeply enough. By m

CHAPTER 79AVAThe next morning Liam was already dressed and drinking coffee when I walked into the kitchen. He barely looked up.“Morning,” I said.He gave a short nod, finished the coffee, and left for campus without another word. What happened to going together like he usually suggests?.His driver dropped me off at the campus and I went to lectures the same as always, but my attention kept drifting. After the last class I found him near the athletic building, talking to one of the assistant coaches. I waited until the conversation ended and stepped closer.“Hey. Do you have a minute?”He checked his phone. “Not really. I have film review km ten.”“It won’t take long.”“Later, Ava.” He said, as he was already walking away.The dismissal was polite and somehow that made it worse. I stood there for a few seconds feeling the familiar tightness in my chest, then turned and headed straight for the chess hall.On my way I met Emily,she took one look at my face, and pulled me beside the h