Chapter 42: Secrets in Boston

(Kieran’s POV)

The sting on my left cheek was a reminder not to tell a girl how much you care and the limits to protect her. I sat on my bed still thinking about the taste of her lips on mine and the slap that followed. She was terrified. She looked at me like I was a monster out to destroy her life. And honestly, I couldn’t even blame her. With a father like mine, I knew exactly what kind of reputation followed my last name. But she was wrong. This wasn’t a game.

I picked up the glass of water she hadn’t touched. My mind drifted back, tracing the exact moments the pieces had fallen together. It had started during the away game in Boston. I knew something was wrong the moment I carried Asher to the clinic but I couldn’t put my finger on it. So I made sure we were paired up in the same room during the away game.

I hadn’t thought anything of it at first. “Asher” was just the quiet, straight-A nerd from philosophy class who happened to wear the heavy mascot suit. But sharing a hotel room for days changed everything. I noticed the small things first. The way “Asher” would wait until the middle of the night just to slip into the bathroom to change. The way he was scared about the luggage switch. But the definitive proof happened on the day of the game.

She had woken up early, wasting time in the bathroom. I had to leave for another bathroom, and I guess she didn’t know I would forget something that would bring me back. I opened the door.

Standing in front of the mirror was Asher. Except that the heavy oversized clothes were gone. The chest of drawers was sitting on the counter. In its place was the unmistakable delicate silhouette of a girl. She was staring at her reflection, her shoulders trembling slightly from pure exhaustion. My breath had caught in my throat. I had backed away silently. My heart was hammering in a frantic rhythm. A girl. The straight-A nerd, the mascot, was a girl hiding in plain sight.

After finding out the truth, it became a living torture. Watching her interact with the school was different now. And what hurt the most, what absolutely clawed at my chest, was seeing her with Daphne. Watching Daphne play the role of the doting girlfriend, watching Theo hover around her like a protective guard dog. Every time Daphne touched her arm or smiled at her, a bitter toxic wave of jealousy burned through me. I didn’t want them near her. I didn’t want anyone else holding her secrets.

So I forced myself into her world. I made sure I was always there, an uninvited shadow, step by step.

Then came Milo’s party last night. She had been drinking to keep up appearances with the guys, playing beer pong, her laughter ringing through the crowded kitchen. But I could see the exact moment the alcohol started hitting her too hard. Her eyelids got heavy. Her balance faltered. When Milo tried to push another drink into her hand, I stepped in, taking the cup and pulling her away.

In my car, she was barely holding on, her head resting heavily against the leather seat. She looked so small, stripped of the fierce defensive walls she usually wore at school.

“Where do you live, Ash?” I had murmured, leaning over her.

She had just mumbled something incoherent, her lips parting slightly as she struggled to keep her eyes open. God, I had tried to resist. I had tried to keep my distance, to be the protective teammate she thought I was. But looking at her, knowing the massive burden she was carrying all by herself, I broke. I leaned down and kissed her.

It was soft, a quiet confession in the dark, and she had leaned into it slightly, too out of it to fight. Since I couldn’t get her address, I brought her to the only place I knew she’d be safe. My house.

And this morning… I had ruined it. Seeing her panic, seeing her look at me like a stranger, made something possessive and desperate snap inside me. I didn’t want her to run. So I kissed her again, wanting her to feel that I was real, that I wasn’t the monster she thought I was.

I walked over to the window, watching the empty driveway where she had just fled. My cheek still stung from her slap, but I didn’t care about the pain.

She didn’t believe me. I actually don’t know the reason she decided to take Asher’s place or her name, but I genuinely wanted to protect her and love her immensely. But seriously Where is the real Asher Carter?.