Chapter 14
-CHASE~
I shouldn’t have been watching the game.
I told myself it was research. Knowing what the Blackridge Wolves were doing mattered.
They were our biggest rivals, and Grayson Shaw was the captain I measured myself against every time we shared ice. That was the excuse I used when I turned on the broadcast and left it playing in the background.
Then the camera cut to the family section.
Blair was sitting there, wearing a fitted Blackridge jersey with his number on it. When she stood to cheer, the camera caught the back clearly.
MRS. SHAW.
Something twisted in my stomach.
She looked good. Better than good. Her hair was down, makeup done, posture confident in a way I rarely saw when she
was with me.
She had always been quieter then, content to stay in the background, to support without drawing attention. Though, I asked her to do those things. I did not want the public knowing about us.
This version of her was different. This version smiled for the cameras when a reporter leaned in during intermission and answered questions like she had been doing it her whole life.
turned the volume up.
‘He wanted everyone to know that I’m his,” she was saying, soft smile in place. “That’s why he got this custom–made just For me.”
felt sick.
Six years. Nine years of knowing her. And somehow I was sitting on my couch watching her wear another man’s name while the entire hockey world took notes.
The jealousy was there, I could not deny it. I kept seeing the way she had looked at me at her wedding–like she was completely done with me and now this.
picked up my phone before I fully decided to.
My thumb hovered over her contact. The last messages between us were still there.
could text her. Ask her what the hell she thought she was doing. Ask her if any of it had ever been real. Ask her if she truly vas a billionaire.
typed a single word–Blair–and then deleted it.
Before I could try again, Sophie walked out of the hallway and wrinkled her nose the second her eyes landed on the screen.
Ew, she said flatly. “Turn that off.”
didn’t move.
Sophie came closer, arms crossed, watching Blair give another short comment to the sideline reporter. Her expression illed with open distaste.
I almost feel sorry for Grayson,” she said. “Imagine being stuck with that as your wife. She looks so desperate it’s embarrassing. Sitting there in his jersey like anyone believes this marriage is real.”
She’s playing the part,” I muttered.
She’s clinging.” Sophie dropped onto the other end of the couch and reached for the remote. I moved it out of range without looking at her. She noticed. “Why are you even watching this? It’s not like the Wolves are interesting when we’re not the ones playing them.”
‘It’s a game I can learn from.”
‘It’s pathetic is what it is.” She gestured at the screen as the camera returned to Blair clapping after a play. “Look at her. She went from trailing after you to forcing herself into someone else’s life in less than a week. I told you she was desperate. This proves it.”
I kept my eyes on the television.
Sophie studied my face for a moment, then let out a short laugh. “You’re not actually bothered by this, are you? Please. You
Chapter 14
75 voucher
upgraded. You’re married to the coast’s daughter. You’re captain. She’s the one who ended up in a fake marriage with a nau who already has someone else. There’s nothing to be jealous of.”
I’m not jealous.
You look jealous.”
finally glanced at her. “Drop it, Sophie.”
She held my gaze, something sharper entering her expression. “You’ve been weird since their wedding. Ever since she showed up with that invitation, If you’re having second thoughts about us, you should say it instead of sitting here staring at your ex like your life is over.”
‘I’m not having second thoughts.”
The lie sat poorly in my mouth.
Because the truth was getting harder to ignore. Blair had supported me when I had nothing. She had been there when my career was still a gamble.
She had never asked for public credit or power. And I had thrown that away the second Sophie made me feel like I needed someone who “fit the image.”
Now Blair was on national television wearing another man’s name, and the success I had been so proud of felt less than it should have. She spoke to them so naturally, like she was made for this. For the fame. For the attention. To be a hockey captain’s wife.
Fuck. I didn’t think she would shine so much while doing it.
Sophie leaned back, unconvinced. “Good. Because I didn’t marry you so you could mope over a girl who was never going to (eep up. Blair was temporary. She just didn’t know it until it was too late.”
On the screen, the camera caught Blair one more time as the period ended.
She was smiling at something a woman beside her said, completely at ease.
Where was this side of her when we were together?
looked down at my phone again.
The blank spot waiting for me to type stared back at me.
locked the screen without sending anything and set the phone face down on the table.
Sophie kept talking, picking apart Blair’s outfit, her smile, saying she “tried too hard,” but I only half heard her. The jealousy vas still there, sour and persistent. Underneath it, something worse was starting to settle in.
Regret.
And it was growing by the second.
A
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Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.