Chapter 81: The Double Date Trap

Aveline’s POV

Daphne called me early in the afternoon to invite me out. She called it a fun bro night out. I didn't want to go because my mind was weighed down with secrets, but I had to accept the invitation.

I had to play the role of Asher perfectly so that nobody would suspect me. But the night became much more stressful when Milo Hayes and Landon Brooks decided to join us. They turned the small hangout into a very loud, chaotic, and messy dinner at the local diner.

The diner was packed with students and local people. Milo and Landon were laughing loudly, banging their menus on the table, and shouting about cocky girls' drama. I sat near the inside of the booth, feeling completely out of place. My body was tense, and I kept my hands folded in my lap, trying not to draw as much attention as possible.

Then, the glass door of the diner swung open, and Kieran walked into the diner. Daphne had told me Kieran was not invited to this dinner because he did not care about that at all. He looked around the bright room until his eyes locked onto our group. He walked straight over to our crowded booth and slid into the cramped seat right next to me.

The booth was very small, and his long, muscular thigh pressed tightly against my thigh under the wooden table. I could feel the heat radiating from his body through our jeans.

Every single time Kieran reached across the table for the paper napkins or the salt shaker, his hand accidentally brushed against mine. My heart dropped into my stomach every single time his skin touched my skin. The chemistry between us felt like a real, living thing, moving back and forth across the table. It was heavy and hard to ignore. I had to grip the edge of my seat and keep my face completely blank so Milo, Landon, and Daphne would not notice the heat between us.

In the middle of the noisy diner, a vibration vibrated hard inside my jacket pocket. The sudden buzz made me jump. I pulled the phone out slowly and looked at the bright screen under the table.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

I opened the message. The text read: “The stage is set, Asher.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I felt a cold chill run down my spine. My hands started to shake. I slowly turned my head and looked out the big glass diner window, peering into the dark parking lot outside.

Sitting in the far, dark corner of the lot was a sleek black car. The headlights of the car were turned completely off, making it look invisible in the dark.

Someone was sitting inside that car, but the windows were too darkly tinted, and I could not see their face through the glass. They were just sitting there in the dark.

Kieran looked over at me and instantly noticed that my face had gone completely pale and terrified. He did not say a single word to the rest of the group to draw attention. Instead, he quietly reached his hands under the table. He wrapped his warm, strong fingers around my hands. He gave my hand a firm, heavy squeeze to anchor me and keep me from panicking.

I wanted to pull my hand away from his touch because the other players were sitting right across from us. But the sheer terror of the text message and the black car outside made me change my mind. I held onto his warm hand tightly under the table, using his strength to keep myself from breaking down in front of everyone.

The diner hangout finally ended after an hour of small talk. Everyone said goodbye in the parking lot, and the other guys drove away. I got into my own car alone and started driving down the dark, empty road toward my home. The road was surrounded by dark trees.

Suddenly, two very bright high-beam lights flashed in my rearview mirror. They were so bright they blinded me for a second. The dark car from the parking lot was tailgating me dangerously close. It was only inches away from my back bumper. They were trying to push my car and run me completely off the road.

My tyres shot a loud, terrifying screech as I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal to speed up. I wanted to escape, but the dark car sped up too. It accelerated fast and crashed hard into the back of my vehicle.

The heavy impact made my head snap back. My car spun out of control, hit a metal guardrail with a loud crunch, and stopped dead in the middle of the road.

Thick smoke started coming out of the cracked hood of my car. I began coughing wildly from the hot smoke, my head spinning and throbbing from the hard impact.

Before I could unbuckle my seatbelt to escape, the dark car put its gears in reverse. It backed up a few yards, accelerated, and jammed into my car one more time with full force.

The secondary crash broke the glass windows, and I felt myself losing control of my senses. I was about to pass out from the pain and smoke. Just as my eyes started to close, a familiar sleek silver sports car roared down the opposite lane. The powerful engine screamed loudly in the quiet night.

The silver car drifted across the road, blocking the attacker and threatening to hit them head-on. The dangerous manoeuvred. The dark car spun its wheels, sped up, and drove off into the dark night to escape.

It was Kieran.

He jumped out of his silver sports car before it even stopped moving completely. He ran over to my smoking vehicle, grabbed the bent metal handle, and ripped the door open with his bare hands. He pulled me out of my damaged, smoking seat. He carried me quickly over to his car and shoved me safely into his front passenger side. He slammed the door shut, jumped into the driver's seat, and drove away from the crash scene at full speed.

He did not drive toward the school or my house. Instead, he brought me straight to his private apartment located near the city sports arena. It was a secret, quiet place that his wealthy parents never visited. It was his private escape.

Inside the quiet apartment, the high adrenaline from the car crash dropped instantly. My body began to shake violently from the sudden cooldown.

Kieran grabbed me firmly by my shoulders, his hands shaking with pure, unfiltered panic. His eyes were wide and wild.

“They almost fucking killed you tonight, Aveline!” he shouted at me. His voice cracked with real fear, echoing off. “You have to stop this crazy revenge game right now! What the fuck is wrong with you? I need real answers from you right this second!”

I looked up at his angry, terrified face, and my vision blurred with warm tears. The heavy weight of almost dying tonight, combined with the constant fear of the past few weeks, finally broke me down completely. My tough exterior cracked. My fake Asher persona disappeared. I collapsed forward against his broad chest, sobbing loudly and shaking.

Kieran stopped shouting instantly. His body went soft, and he wrapped his strong arms around me tightly. He lifted me up and carried me over to the large living room couch. He laid me down gently, then ran to get a warm blanket and a glass of cold water. He placed the blanket over my shaking shoulders.

For the very first time since my revenge plan started, my facade dropped completely. I was not pretending to be Asher Carter right now. I was just an eighteen-year-old girl mourning the tragic loss of her brother and running for her life from dangerous people.

Kieran sat down right beside me on the edge of the couch. He reached out and gently pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear. His touch was incredibly soft, completely different from how he acted on the ice. He looked into my tear-filled eyes and made a serious promise.

“I will help you fight your battles from now on, Aveline,” Kieran said softly, his voice steady. “I stayed silent for a very long time to protect my family's big name and reputation. But I don't care about that anymore. I will throw my family name all away if it means keeping you alive and safe.”

I looked at his face. I realised the ultimate truth in that moment. Despite all the lies, the anger, and the secrets, he was the only person in the whole world who was truly fighting for me. He was fighting for Aveline, not for Asher's ghost.