Lahat ng Kabanata ng Offside hearts: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

Ethan's POVThe gala was already winding down. Most of the guests had migrated to the ballroom, where a live band was playing something slow and jazzy. The dance floor was half-full…couples swaying under dimmed lights, the clink of champagne glasses punctuating the music.Noah and I stood near the edge of the room, watching them all."We should dance." I turned to Noah with a smile.He looked at me. "Why?""Because Daniel's watching, and because everyone expects it."He followed my gaze. Daniel stood across the room, his phone in hand, his eyebrows raised meaningfully."Fine." Noah said. He took my hand and led me onto the floor.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I wasn't a dancer. I'd never been a dancer. In high school, I'd avoided every prom and every school dance. In college, I'd stood by the wall at parties, nursing a beer and pretending to look busy. The closest I'd ever come to dancing was swaying awkwardly at a wedding three years ago.But this was different. Noah's hand settled on my wa

Noah's POVThe heard my phone buzz, while I was brushing my teeth.I spit into the sink, wiped my mouth, and picked up my phone. It was a message from an unknown number.Unknown: Your secret won't stay buried forever.I read it again, standing barefoot on the cold bathroom tile, the tap still running. The words didn't change. They just sat there, small and sharp, like a splinter under the skin.I typed back.Me: Who is this?There was no reply, so I typed again.Me: What do you want?The screen stayed blank. No typing dots. No response. Just my own words hanging there, unanswered.I called the number. It rang twice, without any response.I stood in the bathroom for a long time after that. Your secret won't stay buried forever.Which secret?Could there be a secret, that I couldn't remember?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ethan's POVSomething was off. I knew and felt it the second I walked into the kitchen.Noah was already there and that was the first sign. He never got up before nine on Sundays.

ETHAN'S POVThe network wanted an ice session.They weren't asking for a game or a practice. They just needed Noah, alone on the rink, skating for the cameras. Something cinematic, that would remind people why he was the face of the sport.I stood behind the glass with the rest of the crew, with my camera in hand, watching him move.He was different on the ice.Off the ice, Noah was all sharp edges and careful distance ….. measured answers, guarded expressions, a person built out of walls. But on skates, something loosened. His shoulders dropped. His jaw unclenched. He moved like the ice belonged to him, like gravity was a suggestion he'd chosen to ignore.I'd photographed hundreds of athletes. But none of them looked like this.I raised my camera and started shooting.The crew let him skate for an hour. Then a producer called for a break, and Noah drifted toward the boards, breathing hard, his hair dark with sweat."You want water?" I asked.He nodded, and I turned heading toward the

ETHAN'S POVWe arrived at the studio at seven. Noah was quiet in the car, staring out the window. He'd been like this for days …. distant, distracted, caught somewhere inside his own head. I wanted to ask what was wrong. I wanted to tell him about the photograph, ask about Jamie, and the letter I'd been carrying in my pocket for three days.But the car pulled up to the studio, and the moment passed.The interview was supposed to be simple.A morning show. Friendly hosts. Soft questions about hockey, the docuseries, the upcoming season. Nothing about the scandal, nor about the relationship. Daniel had negotiated the terms himself … no personal questions, no ambushes, no surprises.But we should have known better.A producer met us at the door. Young guy, nervous energy, talking too fast."Captain Ashford, we're so excited to have you. I'm a big huge fan of yours.” He smiled shaking Noah's palm.“We've got a great segment planned. Just a few questions, nothing too heavy, and then we'

NOAH'S POVThe docuseries moved locations every two weeks.That was the format. Two weeks at the mansion, two weeks on the road. The network called it "dynamic storytelling." Daniel called it "brand expansion." I called it what it was ….. another way to keep cameras on me at all hours.This time, the location was a lakeside town four hours north.I didn't think anything of it when Priya handed me the schedule. But then we drove into town, and something shifted.It wasn't a memory, not exactly. More like a feeling. A pull in my chest, like a hook buried somewhere deep, tugging me toward something I couldn't name.I rolled down the window.The air smelled like pine, water and something I'd forgotten."Are you okay?" Ethan asked from the back seat.I didn't answer. I just stared out the window and tried to remember how to breathe.>>>>>>>>>>>>>The town was small. One main street. A handful of shops. A dock that stretched out into the lake. The kind of place that people come to, when the