Chapter 28
~BLAIR
I only wanted to use the bathroom.
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The post-game crowd in the corridor was filled with staff, media, and lingering fans, and I had slipped away from Olivia with a quick excuse, needing two minutes of quiet and cold water or my wrists.
I didn’t expect the hand that closed around my arm and pulled me into a narrower side hallway away from the main flow of people.
I turned, already tense, and found Chase standing over me.
His jaw was clenched tight as his eyes moved over my outfit, the same fitted Blackridge jersey with Grayson’s number, the one that still carried the public statement of MRS. SHAW whether I wanted it to or not. The sarcasm in his voice arrived before any greeting.
“Supportive wife,” he said. “You’ve really committed to the role.”
I pulled my arm free. “What do you want, Chase?”
I couldn’t remember the last time I saw him this close to me..
He didn’t step back. Up close he looked more agitated than he had on the ice, the loss still sitting under his skin. “You look unhappy. You can smile for the cameras and sit in that section all night, but I can see straight through it. You are not happy, Blair.”
Anger flared within. How dare he stand there and accuse me of being unhappy?
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m happier than I ever was with you.”
Chase’s mouth twitched. “Stop lying. You miss me. We both know it.”
I hated the small, traitorous part of me that flinched at the accuracy. Of course some piece of me still missed him. We had been together for six years. He had been the center of my life for most of my recent memory. Missing the version of him I thought I knew was not the same thing as wanting him back. It was just the leftover ache of something that had ended badly and without closure.
“You don’t get to tell me what I feel,” I said. “Not after you threw everything away for the coach’s daughter without even a conversation. You shouldn’t even be here. I do not want anyone to see us together and get the wrong impression.”
“I’m here for something important.” His voice dropped. “I came to tell you to stop talking to Shaw about my game.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“You heard me.” Chase’s eyes were hard. “You sat in that box tonight watching me like you used to, and somehow he was a step ahead all night. The reads. The pressure. He even cut off lanes I only run in certain situations. That doesn’t come from studying my moves alone. Someone fed him information.”
A short, disbelieving laugh escaped me. “You think I sat around drawing up your plays for Grayson?”
“I think you know how I act on the ice better than most people ever will,” he said. “Six years, Blair. You watched enough of my games. You came to every practice. You heard me talk through enough habits. And now you’re married to the one captain who benefits most from knowing exactly how I move under pressure. Convenient timing.”
“You’re serious.”
“I’m saying it looks a lot like you used what you know about me to help him embarrass me in front of everyone.”
Help embarrass him? He’s truly blaming me for his loss?
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Chapter 20
The accusation was no ridiculous and so insulting that for a second I couldn’t find words.
all the things he could have confronted me about-the marriage, the truth about my family, the years i had quietly supported him, this was what he had chosen.
“You’re unbelievable, I said “didn’t tell Grayson a single thing about your game. I didn’t talk about your habits. I didn’t sit in his living room breaking down your plays. He simply beat you because he’s better.”
Oh, that felt good to say.
Chase’s expression darkened. “Better than me? Ha. How convenient.”
“No. What’s convenient is you finding a way to make your loss about me instead of the fact that you got outplayed.” I stepped closer, anger taking over. “Grayson doesn’t need information from me to beat your ass on the ice. He did it the old-fashioned way-by being faster, smarter, and more disciplined while you spent half the night chasing him into the boards out of frustration.”
I was definitely getting to him. And I was enjoying every bit of it.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to stop inventing conspiracies because you can’t handle that your ex-girlfriend’s husband just took you apart in a game.”
My voice stayed low. “You are not my problem. And I am definitely not obligated to protect your ego after you betrayed me in public. Do not contact me again.”
Chase’s throat worked. For a moment something that almost looked like regret flickered across his face before the defensiveness covered it again.
“You really have changed,” he said.
“You forced the change.”
We stood there in the narrow hallway with the muffled noise of the arena still traveling through the walls, the distance between us wider than the physical space suggested.
Whatever version of us had existed for six years felt unreachable now. He had made sure of that the day he married Sophie without warning.
Chase looked at me like he wanted to say something else but the moment passed.
“Stay out of my game,” he said finally..
“I was never in it,” I replied. “You’re just a terrible player.”
I stepped around him before he could answer and continued toward the bathroom, pulse racing, the taste of old hurt on my tongue.
Behind me I heard him exhale hard, but he didn’t follow.
Good.
I had already given Chase Holt enough of my life. He had taken advantage of that and treated me worse than an enemy. Tonight, he proved what an asshole he truly was. He didn’t come to apologize; he came to accuse me of feeding his plays and blame me for losing the game. He’s pathetic, and I can’t believe I ever loved him.
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.