Chapter 107: The Return

Daphne’s POV

My chest was still heaving from what I heard in the closet. I had just spent the most terrifying five minutes of my life squeezed in a closet, listening to Theo talk to the two worst guys on the hockey team.

Theo, Silas, and Barrett. They were working together Theo was completely out of control at this point, splitting arrogant Kieran and Asher's friendship doesn't mean planning something dangerous with Silas and Barrett or harming Kieran.

Get out of the way," I muttered, shoving past a group of drunk sophomores who were laughing and spilling cheap beer on the floor. The guys were still screaming about the championship win. But I couldn't care less about the trophy right now. I needed to find Asher. I needed to warn him that Theo was losing it.

The house was packed to absolute capacity. I scanned the crowd in the living room, my eyes frantically darting over the people. Finally, I spotted a familiar, slender frame standing near the edge of the kitchen.

It was Asher. He looked like he was fucking tired of this party, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Asher!" I gasped, finally cutting through the crowd and grabbing his sleeve. "Thank God. Asher, you need to listen to me right now. I heard Theo talking with Silas and....."

Before the words could fully leave my mouth, the front door kicked open. The music kept blasting, but the whole room suddenly went quiet.

A girl stepped through the door. She stood there for a moment, shaking out the whole place with her perfectly styled hair, looking around the room like she owned every single square inch of the house.

My stomach completely dropped.

"Whoa..., who is this?, That is keeping everyone on their toes" Asher asked playfully.

That's Katty, "Why are you acting as if you don't know her". I was confused as hell cause katty was with through out grade 1 but relocated in senior year.

"I barely know everyone in my 10th grade to keep up with another " Who is she?

"That's Kieran’s toxic, clout-chasing ex-girlfriend. The entire school knows her history. She was the only girl Kieran had ever actually claimed back when he was flirting around with half the campus, and they had been locked in a toxic relationship for longer than anyone could remember."

"She never actually loved him, she was just completely addicted to his hockey fame and the attention that came with being the captain's girl. And then, without warning, she had packed up and left the country with her family, leaving Kieran stranded without a single word of closure. It had taken a brutal mental toll on him, a dark period that lasted for months".

And now, she was back, walking into the championship party like a queen returning to her throne.

Wild... that was the only thing Asher said.

Knowing Katty, she is still expecting Kieran to still be the obsessed, broken boy she left behind.

Asher blinked, his brow furrowing as he looked at the girl and then at Kieran’s suddenly frozen face.

Kieran's face turned to stone. The corners of his mouth twitched, and his fists clenched so hard. He looked at Katty.

Who the fuck invited you here?" Kieran growled, his deep voice slicing right through the murmuring crowd.

Milo raised his hands, looking guilty as fuck. "She came back and was forcing me to tell her if you would be here, you know katty She wouldn't take no for an answer, man. Sorry, champ."

Katty didn't even look at Milo. A slow, predatory smile spread across her glossed lips the exact second her eyes landed on Kieran. She shifted her weight, strutting confidently through the parted crowd, she stepped straight into Kieran’s personal space, letting out an obnoxious, high-pitched giggle.

"I heard my baby got injured and couldn't play in the finals," Katty purred, her voice dripping with fake, exaggerated sweetness. She reached her hands up, completely ignoring the tension radiating off him, and tried to wrap them around his neck. "So I came back as fast as I could. I missed you so much, Kieran."

Kieran didn't hesitate for a single fraction of a second. Before her fingers could even touch his shirt, his hands clamped firmly onto her shoulders. With absolute indifference, he shoved Katty backwards, forcing a solid, unyielding distance between them.

"Don't touch me, Katty," Kieran said, his tone dropping to absolute zero. "We are done. There is nothing between us."

Katty staggered back half a step, her flirty smile faltering as a flash of genuine shock crossed her face. She looked at his hands, then up at his eyes. She clearly hadn't expected this. She thought she could just breeze back into his life and reclaim her spot as the star player's girlfriend.

But as she stared at him, she noticed something else. Kieran wasn't looking at her with anger or heartbreak. He was barely looking at her at all. His eyes were already darting back to where Asher and I were standing.

Katty’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits. She looked at us and then looked back at how closely Kieran was looking.

Driven by an instant flare of jealousy and a desperate need to get the room's attention back on her, Katty completely snapped. She crossed her arms, her chest heaving as she launched straight into a toxic, screaming public meltdown right in the middle of the crowded room.

"Are you serious right now, Kieran?" Katty shrieked, her voice echoing violently over the blasting music.

"You're pushing me away? I see what's going on. I've been checking the campus group chats since my flight landed. Everyone online is shipping you two like a couple! It’s completely pathetic. You’re the star captain of this team, and you’re letting people spread these weird, disgusting rumours about you?"

The accusation hit the room like an explosion. The remaining conversation in the house died instantly. Drunk students nudged each other, whispering furiously, and several people immediately pulled out their phones, aiming their cameras straight at the kitchen.

"Shut up, Katty," Kieran warned, his voice shaking with pure, murderous rage as he took a massive step forward, completely placing his body in front of her

But the damage was already done. The crowd was staring, the phones were flashing, and the heavy, suffocating weight of the rumours was pressing down on the room.

Asher’s face was filled with anger. I watched as his jaw tightened, a look of pure, overwhelming fury and panic flashing across his face. He couldn't play the part of the calm, indifferent teammate anymore. He couldn't stand here and let this crazy girl turn him into a public spectacle.

Without saying a single word to me, Asher turned and violently shoved his way through the crowded living room, pushing past Landon and Milo, and stormed out the front door.

Katty let out a loud, triumphant laugh, turning to the crowd. "See? At least someone knows I'm telling the truth."

Kieran didn't even let her finish. He didn't give her another syllable of his time. He didn't care that his ex-girlfriend was standing in the centre of the room. He turned around, abandoned Katty on the spot, and walked out the open front door.

I stood there frozen by the kitchen counter, my heart pounding against my ribs. Theo’s trap was moving, Katty was back, I couldn't tell Asher the truth and everything was spinning completely out of control.