Chapter 53: The On-Ice Collapse

Aveline’s POV

I stood near the back entrance with my arms folded tightly across my chest, trying to ignore the way my heart kept pounding every time footsteps echoed nearby. The arena parking lot was already filling up for Crestwood’s final pre-summer showcase game. Players, parents, and students moved around the building in loud groups, but back here it was quiet enough to hear my own breathing his car pulled into the empty side lane.

The second Kieran stepped out, my chest tightened painfully.

He looked exhausted His tie was loose, and the second his eyes landed on me, relief flashed across his face so fast it almost broke me.

“Aveline.”

I looked away immediately. “Don’t,” I muttered.

Kieran shut the car door harder than necessary before walking toward me. “You aren't answering my calls.”

“I was busy .”

His jaw tightened instantly. “Seriously?”

I finally looked at him then, anger rushing back the second I remembered the message on his phone. Chelsea: Hey handsome, here are the pictures :) Pictures of them together in Paris.

“I gave you one week,” I said quietly. “One week and suddenly another girl is calling you handsome.”

Kieran stared at me in disbelief. “You really think that’s what this is?”

“I don’t know what this is!” I snapped, my voice echoing. “You went to Paris and suddenly the internet is full of pictures of you with some rich hockey princess!”

"There is nothing between us"

“That’s easy for you to say.”

His expression cracked slightly. “Why are you acting as if I cheated on you? When I didn't?".

“Because I don’t trust people like you, Kieran!” The words came out louder than I meant them to. " You lie, hide things. People like you say one thing and do another behind our backs.”

Kieran dragged a hand down his face, frustration rolling off him in waves. “Will you hear me out".

“If actually you weren't hiding something you should’ve told me".

“I didn't say anything because nothing was going on".

“No,” I shot back bitterly. “You were trying to control the situation.”

Silence dropped heavily between us. Inside the arena, the sound of cheering echoed faintly through the walls as students started taking their seats.

Kieran looked at me like I was slowly breaking him apart. “Aveline,” he said quietly, stepping closer, “look at me for one second and tell me you really believe I would touch another girl after what happened between us.”

My throat tightened.

Because the worst part was that I didn’t fully believe it. But everything was right in front of me. “You don’t understand what it feels like,” I whispered. “To finally trust somebody and then suddenly feel stupid for doing it.”

Pain flashed across his face. “I came back straight to you,” he said. “I didn’t even go home first.”

I stayed silent.

Kieran laughed once, but there was no humour in it. Just hurt. “So that’s it?” he asked softly. “You’re not even going to let me explain?”

I looked away again.

And that was his breaking point. “Why aren’t you letting me explain?” he snapped suddenly.

The anger in his voice made me flinch. Kieran immediately noticed it, but both of us were already too emotional to stop now.

“You keep pushing me away every time something gets hard,” he said, breathing heavily. “I’m standing right in front of you trying to fight for us and you keep acting like I’m your enemy.”

"Maybe you are my enemy ".

His eyes darkened in frustration. “You think I’d fly across the world and come back just to play games with you?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore!”

The words hit harder than I intended.

Kieran stared at me for a long second before taking a slow step back. For the first time since I met him, he looked genuinely defeated.

The loudspeaker inside the arena suddenly called the players to the ice. Kieran swallowed hard and looked away from me.

“Fine,” he muttered quietly. “Believe whatever you want.”

My chest twisted painfully. “Kieran..”

“No.” His voice was rough now. “I have a game to play.”

Then he turned and walked toward the rink entrance without looking back. I stood frozen behind the building while guilt started eating through me almost immediately. But pride kept my feet glued to the ground.

By the time I finally walked inside the arena, the game had already started.

The crowd was insane. Students screamed from the bleachers while drums pounded through the building. Red and black school colours covered almost every section of the arena. Crestwood’s hockey team was the biggest thing in school, and tonight was supposed to be memorable

Kieran’s father sat above the rink in a private glass suite with a cold expression on his face.

The game moved fast, but something was wrong with Kieran. Usually, he controlled the ice as he owned it. Every pass was sharp. Every movement is confident.

Tonight he looked distracted His timing was off, He missed an easy pass during the first period. Lost positioning twice during defense Even Landon looked confused.

“What the hell is wrong with Hampton today?” one student behind me muttered.

I swallowed hard.

Because I knew.

Halfway through the second period, things got worse. Kieran stole the puck near centre ice and rushed forward, but instead of passing, he hesitated for one second too long.

That was all it took A defenseman slammed into him violently from the side. The hit sent Kieran crashing hard against the boards before he collapsed onto the ice.

The entire arena gasped.

My heart stopped. “Kieran!”

I nearly jumped over the barrier before remembering I was supposed to be Asher. Kieran stayed down for a second too long while the crowd screamed around him.

Above the rink, I saw Richard Hampton stand sharply from his seat, furious rage written all over his face. Like his son embarrassing him mattered more than the brutal hit.

Kieran finally pushed himself back up slowly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

But his eyes looked empty. The rest of the game only got uglier. Silas and Barrett were already under pressure because this was their first game after transferring to Crestwood. Every mistake they made made the crowd louder. Every missed play increased the tension on the ice.

And Kieran’s bad performance dragged the whole team down with him. By the final buzzer, Crestwood had lost.

The arena exploded with angry shouting. I watched Kieran skate off the ice without looking at anyone. Fear twisted in my stomach like Something terrible was about to happen And I was right The locker room exploded with fight almost immediately.

Even from the hallway outside, shouting echoed through the walls. “What the hell was that performance?” Silas barked angrily.

“You sold the entire game,” Silas snapped. “Captain of the year, right?”

“Shut your mouth,” Landon warned.

But Silas wasn’t done. “No seriously,” he laughed bitterly. “The great Kieran Hampton suddenly forgets how to play hockey? Maybe Paris softened you up.”

The room went deadly quiet.

Then Silas said the worst thing possible “Or maybe you were too busy trying to embrass your father".

My blood turned cold. A loud crash echoed through the locker room. Then chaos erupted. Kieran moved first I heard bodies slam violently against metal lockers before shouting exploded everywhere.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me!” Kieran roared.

When I rushed toward them, I saw Kieran and Silas on the ground throwing brutal punches while coaches and players tried dragging them apart.

Blood covered Silas’s lip. Kieran’s knuckles were split open. But neither of them stopped Years of anger poured out of Kieran all at once.

“Enough!” Coach Hale thundered.

Three adults finally dragged Kieran backwards while Silas struggled against Barrett’s grip, still shouting insults across the room.

Kieran’s chest heaved violently. Then his eyes lifted and landed directly on me

For one painful second, the entire world went silent again. The anger in his face but all I saw underneath it was heartbreak.