Todos los capítulos de OFFSIDE HEARTS: His Dr. Anchor : Capítulo 51 - Capítulo 60

MayaThe technical building at Westbridge is remarkably quiet by the time I finish my rounds. The media barricades have been pushed back to the main gates, and the frantic energy from yesterday has finally dissolved into a standard operational rhythm.I spend the last hour in the medical bay finishing player assessments, but my attention keeps drifting toward my phone. Ethan has already finished training and left by the time I arrive.“This stopped being fake for me a long time ago.”Ethan's voice keeps echoing through my head, rough and unyielding. I didn't sleep more than two hours. When I finally dragged myself into the kitchen this morning, the apartment was completely silent. He had already gone. The only sign of his presence was the small, blunt note le

Maya “Then tell me this is not just a contract to you. Tell me you want this.”The words hang in the warm air between us until the remaining distance completely evaporates. Ethan doesn’t look away. His eyes are dark, intense, and completely stripped of the heavy armor he has worn for months.“Ethan, I...” I whisper, my voice trembling as he reaches out.His large, warm hand doesn’t hesitate this time. His fingers slide slowly up the side of my neck, his thumb anchoring gently against my jawline. The contact is electric. A soft, involuntary gasp escapes my lips, my eyelids fluttering shut as the sheer warmth of his touch spreads beneath my skin.“Look at me,” he murmurs, his breath brushing agai

Ethan CrossMarcus doesn't say a single word. His face doesn't even change color. He slowly, deliberately lowers his tablet. He closes the folder under his arm.Then, with perfect mechanical precision, he turns entirely on his heel, walks straight back toward the private elevator, and presses the call button. The doors slide open almost immediately. He steps inside without looking back, and the soft chime of the elevator descending signals his silent retreat.For a second, Maya and I stare at the elevator.Then we both break into helpless laughter. I lean against the counter, shaking my head as I set the spatula down, while Maya buries her face in her hands.The sound of Maya’s laughter is still ringing around the kitchen when I finally track down Marcus.I don't call him. I know him too well. He won’t leave the building; he’ll be sitting in his sedan in the underground garage, furiously calculating the fallout of a public

Ethan The stadium sounds different when I am not spending half the match fighting whatever is happening inside my own head.By the time we walk out for warm-ups, the stands are already filling, the low roar from the upper tiers carrying across the wet grass while a thin mist hangs under the floodlights. I take the first pass from Ryan, open my body and send it back with one touch. The ball moves cleanly off my boot, and for once there is no second thought chasing the first.For weeks, every match has come with something extra attached to it. Chloe, Julian, the board, Maya, the contract, another headline waiting for me the moment I leave the pitch. Even when I played well, some part of me was always working against the noise.Today, I can see the spaces before they open again.Coach gathers us in the tunnel a few minutes before kickoff. Their back line plays high, and he wants us moving the ball quickly enough

EthanTraining runs twenty minutes over because Coach demands another pass through our defensive shape for Derby this weekend. They sit right behind us in the table, only three points back, and nobody on the pitch needs reminding what dropping points this late in the season could cost us.By the time Coach finally blows the whistle, my training kit is heavy with sweat, and Ryan is still arguing with one of the center-backs about a goal ruled out during the final drill. I leave them to it and head toward the first-team dressing room, pulling off my grip socks as I walk.Marcus catches me before I reach the heavy double doors, moving at a clip that tells me whatever he found has already ruined his morning. He falls into step beside me without a greeting, extending his tablet into my field of vision."Finance finished checking every internal payment route they can access," he says, his voice dropped low against the echo of the corridor. "The two hun