- 5 hours ago
A sports captain becomes dangerously obsessed.
Category
π₯
Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born with heavy breasts and too many curves.
00:04My half-sister was afraid her boyfriend Jake would lose his mind over me,
00:09so she sold me to a dying man, Ryder Calloway.
00:14Sure, Ryder's injury means he can't get hard,
00:17but at least you spared the pain of having his children.
00:22Three months later, I was begging for mercy every single night.
00:28I desperately wanted to ask Claire exactly what she meant by can't get hard.
00:36Ryder Calloway.
00:38Northgate University's undefeated ice hockey captain
00:41and the most feared name in the collegiate league
00:44was carried off the ice in blood.
00:47The hit had come from behind, illegal, brutal.
00:51By the time they reached him, he'd lost consciousness.
00:54His mother, Diana, had already lost her husband years ago.
00:58Now, she stood at the edge of losing her son.
01:02Someone on the family's legal team suggested an emergency contract marriage.
01:06If Ryder were married to a healthy young woman,
01:09legal stability and medical next-of-kin status
01:11could help the family manage his care and keep the estate in order.
01:16Claire accepted it for me.
01:18If I refused, she would pull out my scholarship funding
01:21and have me transferred to work as an off-campus cleaner.
01:24I knew she hadn't forgiven me for my history with Jake.
01:29Please!
01:30I swear Jake and I are just friends!
01:32What good is a vow?
01:34Do you know how distracting your big boobs are?
01:36Tears came without permission.
01:38Walking around campus with that body?
01:40Which man here wouldn't lose it the moment they laid eyes on you?
01:43It's not that I don't trust you.
01:45It's that I don't trust men.
01:48Do you know who he is?
01:50A billionaire!
01:54If my mother and Diana weren't old friends,
01:57you wouldn't even be considered.
01:59Claire, I don't want to be anyone's emergency wife!
02:02Please don't make...
02:06Eva, are you insane?
02:09Miss Claire, word from the Calamite house.
02:12Ryder has woken up.
02:13Claire dragged me straight to the Calloway house.
02:16I followed her through the entrance hall to a closed door.
02:20Through the gap, I caught a shape on the bed.
02:23The low sound of difficult breathing.
02:26Diana stood near the window, eyes red.
02:29She took Claire's hands.
02:31Claire, thank you for everything.
02:34He's pulled through.
02:36There's no need for the contract marriage.
02:39I won't ruin a girl's future over this.
02:42Claire's eyes moved fast.
02:44Mrs. Calloway, the arrangement should still go forward.
02:48Eva arrived the same day Ryder woke up.
02:49That has to mean something!
02:51Diana hesitated.
02:53She looked at me.
02:54Before she could speak, the family physician stepped out of the room,
02:58her expression flat.
02:59Ryder has regained consciousness, but the hit fractured his lower spine
03:04and struck deep into his inner flint, deep into his inner thigh.
03:07The nerve damage...
03:09He can't!
03:10He will not be able to get hard.
03:13Possibly ever.
03:15Diana's knees gave.
03:18Eva, knowing this, do you still want this?
03:23Of course she does.
03:25She's just a girl with no standing.
03:28She should be grateful.
03:30I didn't speak right away.
03:31My mother had been a gifted doctor.
03:33I learned my mother's healing techniques from her notes.
03:36Maybe I could take care of Ryder.
03:38Perhaps it was better to be the wife of a dead person
03:41than to be bullied by my stepsister for the rest of my life.
03:44I straightened and stood in front of Diana.
03:47Mrs. Calloway, I'm willing.
03:49I'll sign the agreement, care for Ryder,
03:52and be here as long as you need me.
03:55Diana kept her word.
03:56She had a proper wedding outfit made.
03:59She treated it with full ceremony.
04:01On our wedding day, Claire said to me,
04:04Even though Ryder can't perform,
04:07at least you're spared the pain of having his children.
04:10Don't worry.
04:11A man who can't perform there is probably exceptional everywhere else.
04:15I told myself I was simply moving to a new house.
04:19Ryder was too weak to stand through the full wedding ceremony.
04:23I completed the signing beside his team jersey.
04:27The one hanging on the wall.
04:30Number seven.
04:32His number.
04:33Diana watched the whole thing with her eyes wet.
04:37When it was done,
04:38I was Ryder Calloway's wife.
04:41A wife of a billionaire ice hockey stars.
04:44His room was quiet when I pushed the door open.
04:47He was sitting up against the headboard.
04:49Pale.
04:50He turned when I walked in.
04:52Up close, he was strikingly good-looking.
04:55Strong jaw.
04:57Dark eyes that didn't waste any movement.
05:00I never intended to take a wife in the college.
05:03If you don't mind,
05:06we can treat this like a roommate arrangement.
05:09Tonight the bed is yours.
05:11I'll take that.
05:15Tomorrow you move to the guest room.
05:22All right.
05:23He had thought of everything.
05:26It wasn't what I'd expected.
05:28Before the ceremony,
05:30an older staff member pressed a prawn book for me.
05:32She'd whispered with a strange look.
05:38There are other ways between a husband and wife.
05:41You might find this useful.
05:44I hadn't understood her until I opened it.
05:47He'd moved through me just from the first page.
05:50Is it too warm in here?
05:52Ryder was watching me from bed.
05:55Eyes steady.
05:56Direct.
05:57The formal wear is heavy.
06:00I'm a little warm.
06:05Get ready for bed then.
06:09I set the book on the dresser.
06:12I unpinned my hair.
06:14Then I changed.
06:16Layered dress off piece by piece.
06:18Until I was standing in just a thin nightgown.
06:21I looked in the mirror.
06:23The fabric was not thick enough.
06:25Heavy breasts straining against the cloth.
06:28Waists narrow.
06:29Hips full.
06:31In a thin nightgown at midnight,
06:32there was nothing left to hide behind.
06:35I moved toward the lamp
06:36and walked straight into his gaze.
06:39He wasn't asleep.
06:40His chest rose hard.
06:42The tips of his ears went red.
06:44His throat worked as he swallowed.
06:46I grabbed my hoodie and pressed it against my chest.
06:50Ryder,
06:51I thought you were asleep.
06:53I could sleep later.
06:54My breath caught.
06:57He rose to his feet slowly.
07:00Tall.
07:01His shadow fell over me.
07:03Image from that book flooded back.
07:06What did he want to do?
07:09Then Ryder turned and walked to the door.
07:13The moment cold air rushed in from the hallway.
07:17I came back to myself.
07:18He was already gone.
07:21When he'd looked at me just now,
07:24the shock in his eyes.
07:28Had I actually rattled him?
07:31He came back sometime in the night.
07:33His hair was still damp from the shower.
07:39When I woke up in the morning,
07:41he was already gone.
07:42His side of the room was empty.
07:44His assistant,
07:45Sonny,
07:45came and shook on me.
07:47Ryder,
07:47why didn't you tell someone to run you a hot shower?
07:49The water in the rain showers is freezing this time of year.
07:52I'll make you ginger soup.
07:54You're going to catch something.
07:56Does Ryder,
07:57Ryder usually take cold showers?
07:58Not that I know of.
08:01I went to greet Diana that morning.
08:03Ryder was already sitting beside her.
08:08She smiled like spring had come early the moment she saw me.
08:11Her face only changed when Ryder coughed.
08:15Ryder,
08:16I need to talk to Eva privately.
08:19Go rest.
08:20He left without arguing.
08:22Diana waved me over to sit beside her.
08:26Eva,
08:27my sweet girl,
08:28my son waking up is a blessing,
08:31but I can't let that blessing become your burden.
08:35The doctor says the nerve damage is permanent.
08:38No one knows how much time he has.
08:41Some in the family suggested I name a different heir from another branch of the family,
08:45but that would mean trapping you in a life with no future.
08:48You came here to stand by him,
08:50and I am already grateful for that.
08:52I can't ask you to give him the rest of your life, too.
08:54I've already thought it through.
08:56If the worst comes,
08:57I'll have him dissolve the marriage contract.
09:00You'll be free.
09:01I'll see to it that you have housing and enough to live on.
09:07I hadn't expected her to think this far ahead for me.
09:10It made me think of my mother.
09:11If she had lived,
09:15Diana laughed through tears.
09:16Look at me making you cry, too.
09:21Eva, call me mom.
09:22You might as well.
09:26And one more thing.
09:28Claire mentioned, you know, healing technique,
09:33writer's daily health,
09:34the food, the supplements.
09:36Could you take that on?
09:39I just want him around a little longer.
09:41That's my small selfishness.
09:47I went to the kitchen and started planning.
09:51I carried the meal tray down the hall to Ryder's room.
09:55He was at his desk giving instructions to a junior teammate,
09:59something about defense coverage.
10:01Just leave the meal.
10:03I'll take it later.
10:07You should eat while it's warm.
10:09The supplements don't work right on an empty stomach.
10:12He glanced at the tray.
10:13Then at me.
10:14He sat down without another word.
10:18Going forward, have Sunny bring the meals.
10:21She knows the routine.
10:22I can do it.
10:24It's not necessary.
10:27It's the same either way.
10:33It isn't have Sunny do it.
10:38Let's go out and talk.
10:46That confirmed it.
10:48Ryder Calloway did not want me around.
10:50Was my curve really too exaggerated?
10:55I followed his instruction.
10:58After that, Sunny delivered every meal to his studies.
11:01A week later, at morning check-in with Diana,
11:04Dr. Mills came by for his routine check.
11:07She said his vitals are the most stable she's seen.
11:11Eva, that's your doing.
11:13Then back in my room, I added it to the small box I kept in the dresser.
11:17You never wear any of it.
11:23I will eventually.
11:27If I ever leave, it all converts to something useful.
11:30You'd sell the things Mom gave you?
11:32Not while I'm here.
11:34But if the marriage contract is dissolved one day?
11:37Yes.
11:38That's just practical.
11:42Ryder!
11:44Ryder, did you need something?
11:48Uh, I left some team footage in this room, looking for it.
11:54I'll help you find it.
11:55What format?
11:57USB.
11:58Black case.
12:07Any idea where you left it?
12:10No.
12:24He was really handsome.
12:25Fair skin, sharp brows, dark eyes.
12:40My chest pressed against him and I could feel his hard dick.
12:52Your footage.
12:54Keep it.
12:56Oh no.
12:57Now he must have a worse impression of me.
13:02After that, I started actively avoiding Ryder.
13:06He was healing.
13:07He needed calm.
13:08I was apparently not conducive to calm.
13:10But a new problem landed in my inbox.
13:13Jake had been messaging me three times in the past week.
13:16I deleted them without responding and locked them in a folder.
13:20Eva.
13:22Eva.
13:24Someone's waiting at the side entrance.
13:25He says he won't leave until you come out.
13:28I already knew who it was.
13:33I walked out fast, already irritated.
13:36I pushed open the side door.
13:38Eva.
13:39You finally came.
13:44You can call me Mrs. Calloway.
13:46Or just don't call me anything.
13:48He leaned against the wall.
13:49I'm going to be promoted to senior team after next season.
13:53I just think that's this scene.
13:54I'm going to be promoted to senior team captain next season.
14:00When that happens, I won't need Claire's family connections anymore.
14:05Eva.
14:06Come be with me.
14:08Ryder's finished.
14:09Everyone knows it.
14:11Almost dying.
14:13What kind of future is that?
14:19He reached out toward me.
14:21I stepped back.
14:23You want me as a side piece?
14:25He nodded like it was reasonable.
14:27I laughed.
14:28Actually laughed.
14:32Why would I give up being a Callowin wife to be your secret?
14:37I am standing.
14:38I have a name.
14:39I have a house that could fit your apartment 12 times over.
14:44The whole campus knows Ryder's washed up.
14:50Seems like a waste.
14:54My stomach turned.
14:56I stepped closer.
14:57My voice went quiet.
14:59You want to push this?
15:00I have every message you've sent me saved.
15:04I can have them on Claire's phone in 10 minutes.
15:11How does your captainship look after that?
15:16His face went white.
15:18I turned and walked back through the door.
15:21Behind me, I heard him start to say something.
15:24I closed the door.
15:28I spun around and nearly walked into Ryder.
15:32He was standing less than two feet away in a dark team jacket.
15:36I hadn't heard him come up.
15:39Ryder, I...
15:41His eyes were level.
15:42Not cold.
15:43Something else.
15:44You just called yourself a Callany.
15:46My face got warm.
15:49That was...
15:50I was making a point.
15:51I didn't mean to overstep.
15:55You told him I was the most celebrated athlete in the league.
16:00That's just true.
16:02Ryder tilted his head slightly.
16:04Something moved in his expression.
16:05A minute ago, you said you were my wife.
16:08Now you're back to Ryder?
16:15I...
16:16I'll go check on your afternoon supplement timing.
16:19I tried to step past him.
16:20His hand caught my arm.
16:22Gentle but there.
16:25I stumbled sideways into his chest.
16:34I looked up at him from three inches away.
16:37His eyes were dark and very close.
16:40The things you said just now...
16:44Were they true?
16:46I couldn't tell him the whole truth was just a bluff for Jake's benefit.
16:49So I looked up at him and said nothing.
16:53Ryder's eyes stayed on my face.
16:54The distance between us was wrong.
16:56Too close.
16:57His breath warm.
16:58His hand still around my arm.
17:00Eva.
17:02The supplement timing.
17:03I should go check.
17:05He let go.
17:07I walked away fast.
17:09Behind me, nothing.
17:10No footsteps.
17:11Just silence.
17:12That was the first time I'd seen color in Ryder Calloway's face.
17:18My heart was going completely haywire.
17:23That night I dreamed about him.
17:27Nothing specific.
17:29Just his voice in the dark.
17:30Low and close.
17:31Eva.
17:31Saying my name in a way that made my chest ache.
17:34I woke up with my pulse pounding and the sheets twisted.
17:37Sunny knocked and came in.
17:38I asked her to bring cold water.
17:40It really is getting warmer.
17:44I pressed a handful of cold water against my face.
17:47Then, I thought about Ryder going to take that cold shower in the middle of the night.
17:52I shook the thought out of my head immediately.
17:54He had nerve damage.
17:55He was healing.
17:56This was absurd.
17:58Mrs. Calloway is having dinner in the courtyard tonight.
18:01She'd like you both there.
18:02Diana's housekeeper came to find me.
18:05I'd been finding reasons to avoid shared meals all week.
18:09Diana had noticed.
18:10I couldn't keep saying no.
18:12I walked out to the small yard behind the house.
18:15As the evening light came through the trees, the spread on the table was everything I liked.
18:20I stood there looking at it.
18:22Ryder remembered.
18:23He asked the kitchen this morning.
18:28My mother had died the night I was born.
18:32No one had ever made a point of the date.
18:35Something moved in my chest, small and uninvited.
18:39How did you know today was my birthday?
18:41I forgot myself.
18:42The marriage registration paperwork.
18:45It listed your date of birth.
18:49She says they did have to think and say it.
18:50I do that.
18:53This is a bottle I've been saving.
18:55Good apple cider.
18:57And it's Oornat.
18:59I'm opening it for you tonight.
19:01Don't let either of you drink too much.
19:06Actually, the night air is too cold for my joints.
19:09I'll leave you two to enjoy it.
19:15She was gone before I could say anything.
19:17The yard went quiet.
19:18To avoid the silence, I poured a glass and drank it faster than I should have.
19:23It was sweet.
19:24It was also stronger than it tasted.
19:26I poured another, then another.
19:29The warmth spread up through my chest and behind my eyes.
19:33I reached toward the last small cake on the plate in the middle and found it empty.
19:38Where did the last one go?
19:40I ate it.
19:44I don't know where the nerve came from.
19:46I leaned toward him.
19:47Who said you could have the last one?
19:50Give it back.
19:50Ryder stared at me.
19:51Then he opened his mouth.
19:52You'll have to come find it yourself.
19:54I looked at his mouth.
19:55Then back at his eyes.
19:56Then back at his mouth.
19:57I leaned forward and kissed him.
19:59He went completely still.
20:01His breath stopped.
20:02Then his hand came up to the back of my head.
20:04And the kiss went deeper.
20:06Slower.
20:06Like he'd been waiting for it.
20:08Footsteps on the gravel path.
20:10We broke apart.
20:11Ryder!
20:11Diana said it's getting cold.
20:13She wanted me to-
20:14She stopped.
20:15Looked at us.
20:15I'll just leave these here.
20:17I stood up too fast.
20:19The yard tilted.
20:20My knees went the wrong way.
20:21Everything went dark.
20:23I woke up to the morning light and a headache like a fist behind my eyes.
20:27I sat up fast.
20:28Diana.
20:29The church visit.
20:29I'd promised I'd go with her this morning.
20:32Don't rush.
20:32Sunny appeared in the doorway.
20:34The car isn't ready yet.
20:35Did I-
20:36How did I get back here?
20:37Ryder carried you in.
20:39I looked at her.
20:40She nodded seriously.
20:41I didn't say anything strange, did I?
20:43You kept grabbing his sleeve and calling him baby.
20:46She pressed a hand over her mouth.
20:48Over and over.
20:49He turned so red.
20:51I thought he was gonna faint too.
20:52Sunny, if you tell anyone-
20:54She was already running.
20:56I found Diana at the front door.
20:57We drove out to the botanical gardens.
20:59She liked the greenhouse there on weekend mornings and said it was peaceful.
21:03I sat in the passenger seat staring out the window, still half mortified.
21:07Diana glanced over.
21:08You're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about.
21:11I've talked to about anything.
21:13Eva.
21:14She kept her eyes on the road, but she was smiling.
21:16I arranged this dinner on purpose.
21:19I'm not sorry about it.
21:21Ryder and I are not-
21:22I know, I know.
21:24She waved a hand.
21:25I just want you two to be able to talk.
21:27Even if it can't be more than that.
21:28I'd rather you were friends than strangers living in the same house.
21:31I was about to answer her.
21:33The car lurched, a sharp horn.
21:35Diana yanked the wheel.
21:36The car swerved hard onto the shoulder and the engine sputtered out.
21:40The brakes!
21:41She pressed the pedal again.
21:42Nothing.
21:43We were on the incline road above the park, still moving, getting faster.
21:47I looked ahead.
21:48A concrete barrier at the curve, maybe 300 meters.
21:52Diana, unbuckle.
21:53We have to get out now.
21:54Eva, that's too dangerous!
21:56The barrier is faster.
21:57Unbuckle.
21:58Hold on to me.
21:59We go on three.
22:00She was shaking, but she moved.
22:02I got my door open, locked my arm through hers, and the moment the car drifted toward the far
22:07shoulder.
22:07I pulled us both out and hit the slope hard.
22:10We rolled.
22:11I got my arms around her and took the ground on my side.
22:14My back.
22:14My elbow.
22:15The car struck the barrier 20 meters ahead with a sound like a gunshot.
22:19Silence.
22:20Diana, are you hurt anywhere?
22:21I was already checking her.
22:23Eva, you're bleeding!
22:24The gravel had opened up my forearm and one side of my face.
22:27I didn't feel it yet.
22:29Adrenaline.
22:29I'm fine.
22:30Are you hurt anywhere?
22:31Nothing serious.
22:33Eva, you covered me the entire way down.
22:36I helped her sit up against the slope.
22:38She was already crying.
22:39I'm fine.
22:40Sunny's car.
22:41She's always right behind us.
22:43She'll be calling for help.
22:44I heard my own voice as if from a distance.
22:46Steady.
22:47Calm.
22:47While every nerve in my body screamed.
22:49A sound.
22:50Footsteps.
22:51Fast.
22:51Coming down the slope.
22:53I thought I was imagining it.
22:54Eva!
22:55Don't move!
22:56I've got you!
22:57Ryder's voice.
22:58He came down the bank fast.
22:59Pale.
23:00Jaw set.
23:01Eyes scanning me.
23:02He took my arm in both hands.
23:03How much blood is this?
23:05Where's the source?
23:06Surface.
23:07I'm fine.
23:08Stop saying that.
23:09He pulled off his jacket and pressed it to my forearm.
23:11You're not fine.
23:12He looked at his mother.
23:14She waved him back to me.
23:15I'm alright, Ryder.
23:16Take care of Eva.
23:17He tied the jacket around my arm and lifted me before I could protest.
23:21I was in his arms, off the ground.
23:23I could feel his chest rising too fast.
23:25He could have been killed.
23:26Like he was saying to himself.
23:28He carried me to the road.
23:29The whole way I kept telling him I could walk.
23:31He kept not listening.
23:32By the time the medics arrived, his face was still wrong.
23:35Too tight.
23:36Too pale.
23:36Diana told the medic everything.
23:38Eva pulled me out.
23:40She took all of it.
23:41Every impact.
23:42I walked away without a scratch because of her.
23:45Ryder stood at the edge of the group, hands in his pockets, looking at me.
23:49I looked back.
23:49You need to lie still.
23:50When they finished wrapping my arm.
23:52I know.
23:53We're going straight to the doctor.
23:55I know.
23:55He helped me get into the car.
23:57We drove in silence.
23:58His hand stayed on the back of my seat the whole way, not touching me, just there.
24:02At one point, I felt something hit my face.
24:05I looked up at the clear sky.
24:07Then, I realized it wasn't rain.
24:09I reached over and covered his hand with mine, just for a second.
24:12He turned it palm up without hesitation and held on.
24:15I didn't let go.
24:16Dr. Mills patched my arm and told me to stay in bed for a week.
24:19No fractures.
24:20Lots of bruising.
24:21A dislocated finger that she reset without ceremony.
24:24I lay there after she left and looked at the ceiling.
24:27Sunny came in with soup.
24:28She kept talking.
24:29The car had been tempered with.
24:30Something in the brake line.
24:31The private security team was already investigating.
24:34Who would go after Diana's car?
24:36And why now?
24:37I was still turning it over when the door opened.
24:40Ryder.
24:40He stood in the doorway holding a small wooden box.
24:43He set it on the nightstand and sat down in the chair beside the bed.
24:47He didn't speak right away.
24:49The brake line was cut.
24:50It wasn't an accident.
24:51Do you know who?
24:52Working on it.
24:53He looked at my wrapped arm.
24:54His jaw moved.
24:55You kept my mother from going over that bank.
24:57She would have done the same for me.
24:59That's not the point.
25:00He was quiet again.
25:01Eva, I need to tell you something.
25:03He looked at the window.
25:05I've known for two months that I was going to have to dissolve the marriage contract.
25:08I asked Dr. Mills to start preparing the documentation.
25:11My chest went still.
25:12I knew you were waiting for it.
25:14The way you kept your distance.
25:15The box of things you were converting to cash and your-
25:18You were always going to leave.
25:19I told myself I was just getting ahead of it.
25:21For you.
25:22He turned back to me.
25:23His eyes were flat and direct.
25:25The dissolution papers are ready.
25:26You can go whenever you want.
25:27I had Sunny prepare an account and a sum that will cover you for as long as you need.
25:31You don't wait for me to die.
25:33You don't have to keep pretending.
25:34I opened my mouth.
25:35Nothing came out.
25:36I know you've been counting the days.
25:38You don't have to do that anymore.
25:40Just go.
25:40He stood up and walked out.
25:41I sat there in the quiet after he left.
25:44In your mind, that's who I am.
25:46My throat was burning.
25:47I couldn't find words for it.
25:49I just sat there with both hands in my lap, staring at the door he'd closed behind him.
25:53By afternoon, a formal notice appeared outside the university athletic office.
25:57His name on it.
25:58Claire came and found me before I could read it myself.
26:00She was pale.
26:01Eva, Ryder, he's been accused.
26:04An anonymous report submitted to the league.
26:06They're saying he deliberately threw the Westfield championship game two years ago.
26:09Fix the outcome.
26:11Share defensive plays with the other team.
26:13I read the notice twice.
26:14Ryder Calloway threw games.
26:16He had more championship trophies than any athlete in the league's history.
26:20He had nothing to gain.
26:21And he had rushed to dissolve the contract before this broke.
26:25Sunny found me in the hole, twisting her hands.
26:27He basically grew up on that ring.
26:30He would never...
26:31Eva, is there anything...
26:33I sat down.
26:34I made myself think.
26:35My mother had treated a sports official years ago.
26:38A serious lung condition before I was born.
26:41He'd come to thank my father afterward.
26:43I'd overheard the conversation.
26:44He was still with the collegiate athletics board.
26:47I remembered his name.
26:48I spent the next hour finding his office number.
26:51He was harder to reach than I expected.
26:53Three calls, two messages.
26:54The fourth time, he picked up.
26:56I know this is unusual.
26:58I'm Eva Calloway.
26:59Dr. White treated my mother years ago, before I was born.
27:02I know you remember him.
27:04I remember.
27:05My husband is being investigated.
27:07I believe the evidence was planted.
27:09I'm not asking you to interfere.
27:11I'm asking for the name of whoever submitted the report.
27:14And ten minutes with whoever is reviewing it.
27:17Come to my office tomorrow, eight in the morning.
27:20I was there at 7.45.
27:21It took two hours.
27:23He walked me through the documentation.
27:24I asked questions, took notes, and found three inconsistencies in the timeline that didn't line up with the away game
27:31schedule.
27:31When I came out, Ryder was standing against the wall outside the building.
27:35He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
27:37What are you doing here?
27:38I heard where you'd gone.
27:39He pushed off the wall.
27:41Eva, you don't have to do this.
27:42I know.
27:43I put my notes in my bag.
27:44I wanted to.
27:45He took one step toward me, then stopped.
27:47His voice was rough.
27:48Why?
27:49I looked at him straight.
27:50Because you're not guilty.
27:52Someone is trying to take you apart for it.
27:54He held my gaze for a long time.
27:56That's it?
27:57You saved my mother's life.
27:58And now this.
27:59She's my family too.
28:00I paused.
28:01Whether you dissolve the contract or not, that part doesn't change.
28:05Something shifted in his face.
28:06He crossed the remaining space between us and his arms came around me.
28:10Careful, like he wasn't sure I'd allow it.
28:12I didn't move away.
28:13He held on.
28:14I could feel his breath unsteady against my hair.
28:16I know what you must think of me.
28:18Pushing you out.
28:19Telling you to leave.
28:20Eva, I-
28:20I know.
28:21I pressed my palm against his chest.
28:23His heart was going too fast.
28:25I know why you did it.
28:26We stood there on the pavement outside the athletics board building in the cold morning air.
28:31A long moment of nothing needed.
28:32On the way back, I told him about the timeline gaps.
28:36He listened without interrupting.
28:37When I finished, he was quiet for a moment.
28:39Then-
28:40The report was filed by someone on the Westfield side.
28:43A coach who lost his position after the game.
28:46He blamed me.
28:47Then we find the proof.
28:48We?
28:49I looked at him.
28:50We.
28:50The corner of his mouth moved.
28:52Small.
28:53Barely there.
28:54It was the first real smile I'd ever seen on him.
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