Chapter 55 : She's My Girl
ELLA’S POV
The nerve of him. I didn't look back as I walk across the quad, but I can feel it—the echo of that kiss still burns into my brain like I didn’t just witness it under fluorescent lighting.
He wanted it seen.
The night air is colder away from the dorm lights. It bites at my skin, but it’s nothing compared to the heat simmering in my chest.
“She’s my girlfriend.”
The word replays in my head, over and over, like it means something and it’s permanent.
I let out a sharp laugh to myself.
A month ago, he was in my bed, while few days ago, Stephen was still begging me to take him back.
A month ago, I was still cheer captain.
Now Lilian has all of it.
My jaw tightens.
I stop under one of the trees near the path and cross my arms, staring back toward the dorm building in the distance. The light is still on in the lobby. I imagine her up in her room right now, smiling at her phone. Texting him. Probably replaying that kiss like she won something.
She thinks she won.
That’s the part that irritates me the most.
It’s not even about Hayden, not entirely. It’s about the shift.
About walking into practice three weeks ago and feeling it.
The whispers and the looks.
“We think it’s time for new leadership.”
Translation….Lilian. Sweet, steady, dependable Lilian.
The girl who doesn’t cause drama and who doesn’t hook up with her boyfriend’s brother and girl who doesn’t split the squad in half.
I exhale sharply.
They didn’t say that part out loud, but it was there.
The looks said it.
The coach's tight expression said it.
The girls avoiding my eye contact said it.
And Lilian….God, Lilian with her soft voice and sympathetic smile said, “I didn’t ask for this.”
But she didn’t refuse it either.
She stepped into my spot like it had been waiting for her.
My title, my squad, my spot at the front and now she has Hayden too…..No, correction. She has him publicly. That’s different.
I start walking again, heels clicking against pavement. Hayden doesn’t move on fast. He chooses whatever makes the noise stop. That’s what tonight was.
She saw something she wasn’t supposed to. He panicked and he kissed her to shut it down and I know him well enough to see the difference.
He looked tense even when he was trying to act confident. That crease between his brows never fully went away.
He’s lying to someone, maybe her or himself or both.
I smile faintly.
Stephen is still in love with me. That part hasn’t changed. He tried calling last week, twice and left a voicemail that sounded like he hadn’t slept.
“I just want to talk.” Of course he does. Stephen always wants to talk.
He wants closure and wants understanding. He wants to fix things. He doesn’t understand that I don’t fix.
And right now, survival means not letting Lilian settle too comfortably into a life that used to orbit me. Because here’s the truth no one wants to admit…She didn’t just take my captain spot. She didn’t just “happen” to start dating Hayden after everything exploded.
She benefited from it.
When I fell, she rose.
When I got labeled dramatic, she got labeled stable.
I push open the door to my own dorm building harder than necessary. The lobby is mostly empty. A couple of freshmen sit on the couch giggling over something on a phone.
I head for the stairs instead of the elevator. By the time I reach my floor, my anger has cooled into something sharper.
Revenge doesn’t work when it’s loud. It works when it’s patient.
I unlock my room and step inside, kicking off my heels. Lilian’s strength is perception.
People see her as honest and kind. So what happens if that image cracks? What happens if Hayden starts doubting her instead?
I sit on my bed and pull out my phone.
Stephen’s name is still pinned near the top of my messages.
He never deleted my number. I opened his message and read the last text.
“I still don’t understand why you chose him.”
I stare at it for a long moment. Because that’s the core of this, isn’t it?
They both think this was about choosing. Like I’m some prize they passed between them.
It wasn’t about choosing. It was about momentum and momentum can be redirected.
I haven't typed yet. Instead, I open Instagram and scroll. There’s already a story posted from one of the girls on the squad.
A blurry shot from earlier tonight.
It was the field lights with a couple of players in the background. If someone zoomed in enough, they’d see Hayden and Stephen standing close, too close.
That’s Interesting.
I smile slowly. Lilian saw that moment and spiraled which means she’s insecure and it means all I have to do is nudge.
I open Stephen’s chat again.
Then I type “Are you okay?”
It was simple and concerning.
I don’t send anything about Hayden or mention what I saw. I let him fill in the blanks because Stephen always does.
He’ll overthink it and analyze it. Then confront Hayden eventually. And when he does, cracks will form.
And Lilian? She would feel it, sense distance and push and pushing will only make it worse.
I hover over the send button, then I press it. The message is delivered instantly.
I lean back against my pillows, staring at the ceiling.
She thinks she stole my man and my title but what she really did….Was step into the middle of something unfinished.
And unfinished things? They unravel beautifully.