# Chapter 39: The Ultimatum Behind the Diner Window
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 39 of "The Deal: Off Campus." This is the chapter where the aftermath of violence gives way to something even colder: a quiet, calculated threat from a man who knows exactly how to weaponize money, loyalty, and fear. So grab your coffee, take a deep breath, and let’s step back into Hannah’s world—because this chapter hurts in a very different way.
We begin the morning after the fight. Hannah wakes up with Garrett still asleep in her bed, and even though she’s shaken by everything that happened, she doesn’t regret a single word she said to him. She doesn’t blame him for losing his temper. In fact, a small, spiteful part of her is glad Rob got a fist to the face. After all, Rob lied under oath, gave testimony that helped get the case against Aaron dismissed. What kind of person does something that cruel and vindictive? Hannah knows Garrett is beating himself up over what he did, and she knows she’ll have to work hard to convince him he isn’t the monster he thinks he is. But she also can’t bail on work, so Operation Reassurance has to wait.
She gets ready quietly, sits on the edge of the bed, and touches Garrett’s cheek. She whispers that she has to go to work. He mumbles something that sounds like an offer to drive her, and despite everything, a smile tugs at her mouth. She tells him she has Tracy’s car today, that he should go back to sleep, and that she’ll be back around five. He murmurs an okay and drifts off again. Hannah chugs instant coffee in the kitchen, checks her phone, and sees a text from Allie explaining she spent the night at Sean’s frat house. At least one thing is steady.
Then work begins, and it’s chaos from the first second. The breakfast crowd floods the diner, and it takes two full hours before the rush finally dies down. Before Hannah can even breathe, Della asks her to reorganize the supplies under the counter before the lunch rush. So Hannah spends the next hour on her knees, moving napkins, sugar packets, and swapping shelves for coffee mugs and drinking glasses. When she finally hops to her feet, she is startled to find a man sitting on the stool directly in front of her.
It’s Garrett’s father. Mr. Graham.
“Hello, Hannah,” he says, his voice as chilly as the December air outside. “We need to talk.”
Hannah’s stomach drops. She tells him she’s working, but he says he can wait. And she knows there is no way she can survive a full shift with him sitting there, staring at her. So she hastily asks Della for a break. Della gives her five minutes after Hannah explains that her boyfriend’s father has something urgent to discuss. Five minutes. That’s all she gets. But five minutes is enough to change everything.
The moment they step outside, Hannah realizes this is not a conversation. It’s a warning. Mr. Graham’s body language radiates menace, and he looks so much like Garrett that it’s almost upsetting—except his voice is harsher, his eyes colder, and his presence carries none of Garrett’s warmth. He tells Hannah he bets she’s pleased with herself. She frowns, confused. He laughs without humor and says he’s been with a lot of women, and he knows what an ego boost it is when two men fight over you. Hannah weakly says that’s not why they were fighting. He sneers and asks if the fight had nothing to do with her. When she doesn’t answer, he laughs again and says, “That’s what I thought.”
He wants her to stop distracting his son. He tells her Garrett is facing a one-game suspension because of that stunt. Because of her. Because instead of concentrating on winning games, he’s panting over her like a puppy dog and fighting battles on her behalf. Hannah’s throat tightens. She says that’s not true. Mr. Graham steps closer, and for a moment she is genuinely frightened—though she tells herself he wouldn’t hurt her in public, not with the diner window right behind them.
Then he says the words that make her blood run cold: “I’ve decided you’re no longer going to be seeing my son.”
Hannah laughs in disbelief and tells him that’s not his decision to make. He agrees. It’s going to be her decision. She will break up with Garrett. Hannah gapes at him and refuses. But Mr. Graham is prepared. He studies her face and asks if she cares about Garrett. Her voice cracks as she says, “I love him.” That confession only seems to annoy him. He tells her that if she loves Garrett, she wants him to be happy, to succeed. Then he lays out the truth she’s been trying not to see.
Garrett’s entire life is funded by his father. The rent checks, the textbooks, the booze, the car, the insurance, the hockey gear—all of it comes from Phil Graham’s money. Garrett doesn’t have a job. He lives off-campus because of his father. He can train and play and study because his father allows it. And Mr. Graham says he generously allows these luxuries because Garrett’s goals align with his. But now they’ve hit a speed bump. Hannah is the speed bump.
So here is the deal: Hannah will break up with Garrett. She won’t see him. She won’t remain friends with him. It will be a clean break with absolutely no further contact. If she refuses, Mr. Graham cuts Garrett off. No rent. No books. No car. No food. He asks if that’s what she wants. Hannah’s brain races. She tries to think of alternatives. Financial aid? Mr. Graham laughs. Their family income is too substantial; Briar turned Garrett down on the spot. A bank loan? Hard to get with no credit or assets. Garrett gets paid in cash for construction work, so there’s no record of income. Not needy enough for help from Briar. Then the next option: Garrett finds a job and pays for himself. But Mr. Graham shoots that down too. To cover real living expenses, Garrett would have to work full-time. He might stay in school, but he’d have to drop hockey. And even if he somehow juggled everything—full-time job, school, and hockey—there wouldn’t be much time left for Hannah. Which is exactly what his father wants.
Hannah feels sick. She knows Mr. Graham isn’t bluffing. She also knows that if Garrett found out about this threat, he would tell his father to go to hell. He would choose her over the money. But that only makes her feel worse, because Mr. Graham is right. Garrett would either have to drop out or work himself to the bone, which means no hockey, or no time to focus on hockey. And Hannah wants him to focus on it. It’s his dream. Her mind spins in circles. If she breaks up with Garrett, Mr. Graham wins. If she doesn’t break up with Garrett, Mr. Graham still wins. Tears well in her eyes. She chokes out, “He’s your son. How can you be so cruel?” Mr. Graham looks bored. He says he’s not cruel, just practical. He has his priorities in order. He’s invested a lot of time and money in Garrett, and he refuses to see it go to waste over “a piece of coed pussy.”
Hannah flinches in disgust. Then Mr. Graham delivers the final blow. “Get it done, Hannah. I mean it. Don’t fucking test me, and don’t think I’m bluffing.” His icy stare pierces her face. “Do I look like a man who bluffs?” Acid burns her throat as she slowly shakes her head. “No. You don’t.”
And that’s where the chapter leaves us—Hannah trapped between love and fear, between protecting Garrett’s future and fighting for their relationship. It’s a brutal, gut-wrenching ending, and it sets up an impossible choice that will haunt every page after.
Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating
As a reader, this chapter made me furious in the best possible way. Phil Graham is terrifying precisely because he doesn’t shout or rage—he just quietly lays out the terms of his control. He knows exactly where Garrett is vulnerable, and he uses Hannah’s love for Garrett as a weapon against her. Hannah’s internal conflict is heartbreaking. She’s strong, but she’s also practical, and she understands what Garrett stands to lose. The chapter captures the suffocating feeling of being blackmailed by someone who holds all the power and knows it. I also appreciated that Hannah doesn’t instantly cave—she fights back mentally, searching for loopholes—but Mr. Graham is always one step ahead. The emotional weight is heavy, and the ending lands like a punch.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
Next Chapter Prediction
In the next chapter, Hannah will be forced to sit with this impossible ultimatum. She won’t want to hurt Garrett, but she also won’t want to destroy his hockey career or his future. I predict she will try to hide her pain and possibly distance herself, leading Garrett to sense something is very wrong. He may confront her, and she may struggle to lie to him. Alternatively, she might tell Allie or someone else and try to find another way out. But the cliffhanger suggests a major breakup or fake breakup is looming, and Garrett will not take it quietly. Whatever happens, this threat is going to explode into the open—and when Garrett learns what his father did, all hell will break loose.
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