Todos os capítulos de The captain’s darkest sin: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

Bella POVThe loud buzzing horn signaled the end of the second period, but the sound was instantly drowned out by the angry roar of the home crowd. The score was tied two to two, and the game had turned ugly. The rival team was throwing cheap hits after every whistle, and the referees were turning a blind eye to half of it.I stood by the entrance of the locker room hallway, my tablet tucked firmly under my arm as the team marched off the ice.The players were cursing, slamming their sticks against the rubber floor mats in frustration. At the very back of the line came Nikolai. His face was flushed red with heat, his chest heaving under his heavy pads, and his eyes were dark with a dangerous, boiling rage. He had already drawn two penalties in that period alone, and if he took one more, the league official sitting in the box above us was going to kick him out of the game entirely.He walked past me without a word, heading straight into the main locker room where the rest of the guys w

Bella POVThe private charter plane was quiet, filled with the low hum of jet engines cutting through the night sky. It was nearly one in the morning, and almost every player in the main cabin had already passed out from pure exhaustion after the game. The overhead lights were dimmed down to a soft, dark blue, casting long shadows across the aisle.I sat near the back of the plane, my laptop open on the small folding table in front of me. My eyes burned with fatigue, but I forced myself to keep typing out the final post-game media reports and checking the schedule for tomorrow’s recovery sessions. My back was stiff, and my mind was racing with leftover anxiety from the way my father had glared at me near the elevators.A quiet footstep sounded in the aisle beside my seat.I looked up, expecting to see one of the assistant coaches looking for an extra bottle of water. Instead, Nikolai was standing there. He had taken off his jacket, leaving him in a simple dark t-shirt, his hair slight

Bella POVThe bright lights of the media room were blinding, turning the quiet press center into a hot, crowded stage. Cameras flashed every few seconds, and the sharp hum of low conversations filled the air as journalists adjusted their microphones.I stood near the side entrance with my clipboard held flat against my chest, watching the raised main table. Nikolai sat in the center seat as team captain, flanked by our head coach on one side and Chloe on the other.My sister looked perfectly in her element. She wore a stylish suit, smiling brightly for the front-row cameras and occasionally leaning toward Nikolai to whisper something in his ear. Every time she touched his forearm, a dozen shutter lenses clicked in unison. To the public, it looked like the picture-perfect image of a supportive fiancée standing beside her sports star partner.To me, standing fifty feet away, I could see the truth in Nikolai's body language.His jaw was set in a tight line, his dark blue eyes fixed stari

Bella POVThe arena was completely dark except for the sharp, white spotlight cutting across the middle of the ice.It was late, past eleven at night. The maintenance staff had already turned off the main stadium lights, and the heavy silence of the empty building felt almost suffocating. I stood near the bench, wrapping my trench coat tighter around myself against the deep, bone-chilling air rising off the rink.Out on the ice, a single player was skating.Nikolai moved like a machine. His blades cut deep into the surface, spraying fine ice against the boards with every violent turn. He wasn't wearing his jersey—just his padded pants and a dark long-sleeve shirt sticking to his back with sweat. He drove toward the net, snapped a wrist shot into the top corner, gathered another puck from the pile at the blue line, and did it again.Puck. Snap. Clang.The sound echoed through the ten thousand empty seats like a gunshot.He was pushing himself to total exhaustion. I could see the thick

Bella POVThursday night came too fast, bringing a suffocating cloud of artificial smiles and flashing cameras.The private dining room at the top of the tower was packed with people who cared far more about stock prices than human feelings. Corporate executives in dark suits stood in small clusters near the bar, legal advisors quietly checked contract papers on their phones, and press photographers lingered near the entrance, waiting for their cue to start snapping official pictures.I sat near the middle of the long dining table, holding a small notepad in my lap. My official job tonight was managing the media handlers and making sure the press releases went out to the news networks on time.Directly across from me sat Nikolai and Chloe.Chloe looked stunning, wearing a bright dress and smiling radiantly every time a camera flashed. She leaned close to Nikolai, resting her hand on his forearm as if they were deeply in love. Nikolai sat upright, stiff and silent, looking like a priso