- il y a 10 heures
The Hockey Captain’S Final Penalty New New
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00:00The locker room hummed with the post-practice vibration of heavy breathing
00:03and the rhythmic thud of gear hitting benches.
00:06I sat on the training table.
00:07The ice pack taped to my knee a stinging reminder of the hit I'd taken during morning drills.
00:12My phone buzzed against the marble surface.
00:15Jackson Jacksthorne, the face of Northwood University's hockey dynasty,
00:19and the projected first-round NHL draft pick had just updated his Instagram story.
00:24We were in the middle of a 48-hour freeze, out of silence so cold it felt like the rinks
00:29we lived in.
00:30The post was a shot of the empty arena, the ice gleaming under the rafters.
00:34The text was a jagged blade, 100 likes, and we're done.
00:37My heart performed a slow, sickening roll in my chest.
00:40Within an hour, 99 likes filled the screen.
00:43I knew he was waiting, his thumb probably hovering over the glass in some dimly-lit locker room.
00:49Nine times now, Jackson had dangled that same jagged threat,
00:52expecting me to crawl back to the team house with apologies and promises to be better.
00:56He thought this ninth time would be exactly like the eight before.
00:59I stared at the screen until the blue light burned my retinas.
01:03Then I double-tapped.
01:04100.
01:05I didn't text.
01:06I didn't call to scream about the disrespect.
01:08I simply blocked his number, shoved my phone into my pocket,
01:12and went back to packing my life into cardboard boxes.
01:15Ten days later, Jackson's teammate and enforcer, Brooks Hayes, slid into my DMs.
01:20Jax is waiting for you to fold, Sloan.
01:23Tomorrow's his birthday and the team's big preseason gala.
01:25Show up with a gift and this all blows over.
01:28I typed back two words.
01:29I am booked.
01:31It wasn't a lie.
01:32My flight to Stanford took off at 7 a.m.
01:34Jackson Thorne finally got his wish.
01:36But my hundredth like wasn't a surrender.
01:38It was a declaration of war.
01:40Let him wait for a call that would never come.
01:42For the first time in ten years, I was the one holding the cards,
01:45and the ice was finally beneath my feet.
01:48The reason our relationship had iced over.
01:50Jackson had permitted Kinsley Vance, the charity project.
01:53The Thorne family had bankrolled since her mother's illness
01:56to sabotage my early decision application.
01:58When I discovered the betrayal, I didn't just get angry, I detonated.
02:02Jackson, however, couldn't fathom the offense.
02:04He stood there, smelling of cold-drink air and expensive cologne,
02:08and dismissed my fury as hysterics.
02:10It is just a prank.
02:12Jackson had said, his voice as smooth and hard as fresh ice.
02:16It is not like she can't reverse it.
02:18Kinsley was having a bad day after her scholarship review.
02:21I was merely trying to cheer her up.
02:23Now that she is not angry anymore, you can simply switch it back.
02:26He added, looking at me as if I were the one being difficult.
02:30Problem solved.
02:32My voice trembled, not with sadness,
02:34but with a raw, jagged rage at his casual cruelty.
02:37So her foul mood grants her license to sabotage my future.
02:41I demanded, do you realize this constitutes deliberate sabotage?
02:45I could take her to court.
02:47Jackson's eyes darkened, that dangerous, on-ice-captain persona bleeding through.
02:51I told her to do it, so direct your outrage at me.
02:54Go ahead, file your goddamn lawsuit.
02:56He stepped closer, his physical presence designed to intimidate.
03:00It is not some catastrophic disaster.
03:02You caught it, you'll fix it.
03:04Stop manufacturing drama, Sloan.
03:06Keep pushing this, and I'll have to seriously reconsider our relationship.
03:10Jackson knew I couldn't leave.
03:11He always wielded our history as a weapon during arguments,
03:14knowing I had nowhere else to go.
03:16We'd been unshakable before Kinsley insinuated herself into our lives.
03:20Ever since her arrival, she'd become the perpetual wedge,
03:23the victim Jackson felt the need to protect from my privilege.
03:26This marked our ninth explosive confrontation over her.
03:29In the previous eight, he'd deployed the breakup threat like a tactical hit on the boards.
03:34Each time, I'd collapsed, crawling back with my tail between my legs.
03:38Jackson believed this instance would be no different.
03:41But as he berated me without glancing up from his phone,
03:44typing some flirtatious reply to Kinsley,
03:46that infuriating smirk playing on his lips,
03:49I simply went numb.
03:50I felt nothing.
03:52No impulse to grovel.
03:53Just a cold, dead weight settling in my chest.
03:56When I didn't crack, didn't perform my scripted role of the weeping girlfriend.
04:00Jackson scoffed.
04:01He shoved his phone in his pocket and stalked out.
04:04Probably headed back to the rink.
04:06I sat alone in the quiet of the Thorn Mansion,
04:08staring at my laptop until my vision blurred.
04:11Then, my phone lit up with a series of leaked voice messages from the team's private group chat.
04:16I hit play.
04:17Kinsley's saccharine voice curled through the speaker.
04:20Is Sloan upset about my little joke?
04:21Should I call her over so I can apologize in person?
04:24Jackson's voice sounded irritated.
04:26Forget it.
04:27Let her sulk.
04:28I am not her father.
04:29I don't have to coddle her.
04:31Oh, Jax.
04:32Don't be like that.
04:33Kinsley cooed.
04:34Girls need to be sweet-talked.
04:36You'll only drive her further away.
04:38I don't have time for that nonsense.
04:40Jackson snapped.
04:42She thinks she is so exceptionally precious.
04:44If my grandfather hadn't forced the arrangement,
04:47I would have never agreed to babysit Sloan.
04:49She is clingy.
04:51She is a crybaby.
04:52I've been exhausted by it for years.
04:54True?
04:55Sloan's like a walking fountain of tears.
04:57Right.
04:58All theatrics.
04:59No spine.
05:00Jackson added.
05:01Wave the breakup threat,
05:03and she comes running with apologies and waterworks.
05:05I am sick of it.
05:07Maybe if she actually develops some backbone and ignores me for once,
05:10I can finally be free.
05:11Brooks Hayes chimed in with a laugh.
05:13Free from Sloan.
05:15Not a chance.
05:16The girls like industrial-strength adhesive.
05:18I'll wager anything she'll be weeping on your doorstep by tomorrow,
05:21begging forgiveness.
05:22You are on.
05:23Loser buys dinner.
05:24Jackson replied.
05:25That night, for the first time in a decade,
05:27I didn't bombard his phone-demanding explanations when he didn't come home.
05:31After my parents died,
05:33Silas Thorne, Jackson's grandfather,
05:35took me in.
05:36I grew up under his roof,
05:37alongside the boy who would become the prince of the ice.
05:40Jackson had been my protector once.
05:42He'd defended me when schoolmates turned cruel.
05:44We'd been inseparable since I was 8-10 years of shared secrets and shared dreams.
05:48Jackson had memorized my cycles,
05:50brought me heating pads and hot chocolate when cramps seized me,
05:53and purchased tampons without a flinch.
05:55We were that couple joined at the hip.
05:57Everyone referred to me as the Thorne family's promised girl.
06:00Jackson never corrected them.
06:02He'd become my oxygen.
06:04I thought I couldn't breathe without him.
06:06Then Kinsley happened.
06:08She appeared sophomore year,
06:09begging for her mother's million-dollar surgery.
06:12The Thorns possessed wealth to spare,
06:14so Silas, soft-hearted as ever,
06:16wrote the check.
06:17Then he enrolled her in our elite academy
06:19and installed them in a luxury townhouse rent-free.
06:21We felt for her at first.
06:23We tutored her.
06:25We visited the hospital.
06:27It was fine until I overheard a conversation between Kinsley and her mother
06:31while standing outside their hospital room with a thermos of soup.
06:34Any progress with Jackson?
06:36Her mother asked.
06:38Definitely.
06:39Kinsley replied.
06:40He is interested, but Sloane's attached to him like a leech.
06:43Can't shake her loose yet.
06:45Work harder.
06:46Her mother urged.
06:47The Thorns are hockey royalty.
06:50Bag that boy and we're set for life mansions.
06:52Cars never scraping by again.
06:55Don't worry, Mom.
06:56I'll land him.
06:57My breath caught.
06:58I stumbled back, my heel catching on the linoleum.
07:02The sound was loud enough that they both looked up.
07:05The fear on their faces should have been satisfying.
07:08It wasn't.
07:09I felt sick to my stomach,
07:11torn between rage and disbelief.
07:13I had to tell Jackson.
07:15I had to expose them for the grifters they were.
07:18But before I could even find him,
07:20Kinsley made her move.
07:23Kinsley cornered me at the park near the estate,
07:25eyes bloodshot, voice fragile.
07:28She claimed it was her dying mother's desperate idea
07:30and swore she'd only played along.
07:32She dropped to her knees,
07:34begging me not to tell Jackson.
07:36Foolishly, I believed her.
07:38I reached down to help her up.
07:39The mask slipped instantly.
07:41Kinsley yanked me forward with malicious strength,
07:44and we both crashed into the freezing lake.
07:46I fought to the surface and scrambled onto the muddy bank,
07:49screaming for help.
07:50Kinsley couldn't swim.
07:51Security fished her out.
07:53She spent days in the ICU.
07:54When she woke, she pointed her finger at me,
07:57claiming I'd pushed her out of jealous obsession.
07:59I told Jackson the truth.
08:01He just looked at me with disappointment.
08:03Sloan, just tell me what really happened.
08:05No lies.
08:06I am not lying.
08:08She dragged me in.
08:10Sloan.
08:10He sighed.
08:12Kinsley can't swim.
08:13You can.
08:14That was his entire logic.
08:15I spilled everything I'd overheard at the hospital.
08:18Jackson sighed again.
08:20I get that you are into me,
08:21but you can't ruin another girl's reputation
08:23because you are jealous.
08:24I don't like this side of you.
08:26He delivered the knockout punch.
08:27Kinsley had already come to him crying
08:29about my supposed bullying.
08:31Her mother had asked Silas if they could move out,
08:33implying I was the problem.
08:35Their voluntary move became proof of their innocence.
08:38My accusation became proof of my jealousy.
08:41Suddenly, everything was my fault.
08:43Kinsley's food poisoning.
08:44I must have spiked her milk.
08:46Then she stole the last photo of my parents,
08:49my only copy and ripped it to shreds in front of me.
08:52I didn't think.
08:53I slapped her hard.
08:54Jackson walked in at that exact moment.
08:57From that day on,
08:58he started pulling the breakup card every other week.
09:00And every time I crawled back,
09:02desperate to prove Kinsley was a liar.
09:04My groveling only made me look more unstable.
09:06Kinsley targeted my replacement interview admission ticket.
09:10Next.
09:10I got a replacement in time,
09:12but the message was clear.
09:13She could burn my life down.
09:15And Jackson would hand her the matches.
09:17This time,
09:18hearing the boredom and indifference in his voice message,
09:20betting his teammates I'd be back by morning,
09:23I finally saw the truth.
09:24Jackson was done with me.
09:26He'd been using Kinsley as an excuse to push me away.
09:29Fine.
09:29I wouldn't crawl back.
09:31And I sure as hell wasn't fixing the application.
09:33He'd let Kinsley sabotage.
09:35I didn't change my application back to Northwood.
09:37I called the Stanford recruiter and accepted their offer.
09:41That is the smartest decision you'll make, Sloan.
09:43She said.
09:44Full ride.
09:45Only after locking down my future
09:46did I sleep deeply for the first time in months.
09:49I woke without dread,
09:50without checking my phone until...
09:52I saw Kinsley's Instagram story.
09:54Taking care of my drunk prince all night.
09:57Exhausted but worth it.
09:59Jackson was shirtless,
10:00sprawled across her bed.
10:01The ache was duller now.
10:03More exhaustion than heartbreak.
10:05I went shopping for dorm supplies
10:07and returned to find them on the couch.
10:09Kinsley bounded over with her fake sweet smile.
10:11Sloan, let me help with those.
10:13I sidestepped.
10:14Kinsley crumpled to the floor.
10:16Jackson hauled her up, glaring at me.
10:18Why'd you push her?
10:19I didn't touch her.
10:21Bullshit.
10:22Mad I crashed at her place.
10:23I didn't.
10:25Check the security footage.
10:26At the word footage,
10:28Kinsley piped up with her practiced tremor.
10:30It is not her fault.
10:31I slipped.
10:32Jackson's jaw tightened,
10:34but he didn't apologize.
10:35Instead, he examined her scraped palm with concern.
10:38He no longer offered me.
10:40I caught the smug flash in Kinsley's eyes
10:42before I headed upstairs.
10:43She'd expected hysterics,
10:45tears proof I was crazy.
10:47That girl was dead.
10:48At dinner, Kinsley served soup,
10:50carrying a steaming bowl toward me.
10:52I instinctively shifted away.
10:54She anticipated it,
10:55stepping into my path.
10:56Her scream was Oscar-worthy,
10:58as the scalding liquid splashed down her front.
11:00Sloan.
11:01I was just trying to be nice.
11:03Jackson shoved past me,
11:04pulling Kinsley toward the sink.
11:06His shoulder hit me hard,
11:07throwing me into the wall.
11:08Skin tore from my knees and back.
11:10The burns and scrapes throbbed,
11:12but they were nothing next to the ice
11:13spreading through my chest.
11:15He zeroed in on me.
11:17Apologize.
11:17I met his eyes,
11:18searching for the boy who'd once defended me.
11:21All I saw was disgust.
11:22Kinsley's being generous.
11:23You apologize,
11:24and this goes away.
11:25What if I don't?
11:27Sloan!
11:27His voice dropped to a warning.
11:29Don't test me!
11:30You want to stay together?
11:31Say sorry.
11:32He'd promised me forever once.
11:34Now he wielded our relationship like a weapon.
11:36I held his gaze.
11:38No.
11:38His face,
11:39hardened.
11:40Fine.
11:40Have it your way.
11:41He stormed out with Kinsley clinging to him.
11:44The clinic doctor cleaned my wounds
11:45and prescribed cream.
11:47On the ride home,
11:48a friend called.
11:49Jackson just took Kinsley and the crew to the resort.
11:52Fireworks and everything.
11:54And check his latest post.
11:55100 likes and we're done.
11:57He is at 99.
11:58I pulled up his profile,
11:5999 likes.
12:01My thumb itched,
12:02not to beg,
12:02but to finish it.
12:03I double tapped.
12:05Let him wait for call number 100.
12:07I had a plane to catch
12:08and a new life waiting.
12:10Eight times before,
12:11Jackson had pulled this exact stunt.
12:14Eight times I cried into my pillow
12:15and begged him to take me back.
12:17Not this time.
12:18I looked at his new post,
12:19the resort plaza,
12:20fireworks blazing.
12:22His voice echoed in my head
12:23from three weeks ago.
12:25Sloan,
12:25I am putting on a show
12:26just for you.
12:28He'd given her our moment.
12:29I stared until my vision blurred,
12:31then double tapped 100.
12:32I screenshotted it
12:34and felt a strange electric lightness.
12:36Back at the mansion,
12:37I packed boxes of 10 years worth
12:39of guilt gifts to return.
12:41At the resort,
12:42Jackson sat in the VIP lounge,
12:44waiting for my groveling call.
12:45His phone stayed silent.
12:47He checked the post 100 likes
12:48and the final one was mine.
12:50Rage detonated in his chest.
12:52Who did I think I was challenging him?
12:54Oh no.
12:55Kinsley murmured,
12:56peering at his screen.
12:57Sloan's mad.
12:58She actually liked the breakup post?
13:00The crew went quiet.
13:02Brooks quickly unliked the post.
13:03Others followed.
13:04But the damage was done.
13:06Jackson couldn't swallow his fury.
13:08I'd slapped him in front of his entire world.
13:10Was I bluffing?
13:11He decided I needed a lesson.
13:13To drive it home,
13:14he took Kinsley to the coast.
13:16Her feet exploded with curated perfection.
13:18Strolling old town,
13:20hiking to a cliffside chapel,
13:21sharing funnel cake at the carnival,
13:23a tandem bungee jump.
13:25Kinsley's caption,
13:26This rush is for you alone.
13:27I didn't cry.
13:28I dropped a like and commented,
13:30Congrats.
13:31Her posts vanished within seconds.
13:33My phone rang.
13:35Brooks.
13:35Sloan Jax is back tomorrow.
13:37You picking him up?
13:38Why would I?
13:40We're done.
13:41Wait, you are serious.
13:42It is his birthday.
13:43Just apologize.
13:44Everyone wins.
13:45I don't have time for Jackson's birthday.
13:48I hung up.
13:49He was confident I'd come crawling.
13:50But the boxes were sealed,
13:52and my Stanford confirmation glittered in my inbox.
13:55Let him celebrate with Kinsley.
13:56The game had changed.
13:58The next afternoon,
13:59I wheeled my suitcase out of the Thorn Mansion
14:01and headed for the airport.
14:03Near the security gate,
14:04I ran into Brooks Hayes.
14:06You are here to pick up Jackson, right?
14:08His charter just touched down.
14:10Without waiting,
14:10he dialed.
14:11Jax, bro.
14:12Sloan's at arrivals.
14:13I told you she couldn't stay away.
14:15I brushed past him without a word.
14:17Jackson stepped off the Gulf Stream,
14:19Brooks' words ringing in his ears.
14:21His foul mood evaporated,
14:23replaced by smug certainty.
14:24He turned to Kinsley.
14:25Take the other exit.
14:26Don't walk out with me.
14:28Sloan might misunderstand.
14:29Venom flickered in Kinsley's eyes,
14:31but she nodded sweetly.
14:33As she walked away,
14:34Jackson dialed Brooks.
14:35Get the roses.
14:37The expensive ones.
14:38The silence between us had been gnawing at him.
14:40I hadn't cracked.
14:42That impossibility terrified him.
14:43When I commented,
14:45Congratulations, you two.
14:47On the bungee photo,
14:48he'd seen red and forced Kinsley to delete every post.
14:51He'd cut the trip short and flown back,
14:53desperate to force my hand.
14:54But Brooks' call changed everything.
14:56I was here.
14:57These past few days without me had been torture.
15:00He swore he'd never pull this stunt again.
15:02Jackson strode through the VIP gate,
15:04grabbed the roses,
15:05and scanned the hall.
15:07No Sloan.
15:08He dialed my number busy.
15:09Maybe I was finalizing his birthday surprise.
15:11Minutes stretched into half an hour.
15:14When he tried again,
15:15my phone went straight to voicemail.
15:17Jackson whirled on Brooks.
15:18Where is she?
15:19You said she was here.
15:21Brooks scratched his head.
15:22I saw her, man.
15:23She was right by the check-in counter.
15:25I turned my back,
15:26and she was gone.
15:27Jackson fired off a text.
15:29I know you are here.
15:30Stop playing games.
15:31No answer.
15:32Then a trembling voice came from behind Kinsley's.
15:35Jax, I...
15:36I saw Sloan.
15:37Tears streamed down her face.
15:39You saw Sloan?
15:40Where is she?
15:41She is over there.
15:42Kinsley sniffed,
15:43gesturing toward international check-in.
15:45I tried to apologize for your birthday,
15:47but she lost it.
15:48She slapped me,
15:49clawed me,
15:50and called you a disgusting piece of shit.
15:52She fumbled for her phone and played a recording.
15:54My cold clipped voice filled the space.
15:57Don't talk to me about trash.
15:58Trash belongs in the dumpster.
16:00You two garbage humans should lock yourselves away
16:02and stop polluting the rest of us.
16:04Where is she?
16:06I don't know.
16:07She hit me and stormed off.
16:09The recording continued.
16:10I have standards.
16:11I don't do sloppy seconds.
16:13If Jackson's been rolling around in your filth,
16:15get married and stay away from me.
16:17Jackson's fury erupted.
16:18He hurled the roses to the ground and stormed out.
16:21What actually happened?
16:22I just checked my bag when Kinsley slithered into my path.
16:25Sloan,
16:26have you no shame?
16:27Jackson posted the breakup.
16:28Everyone's taking bets on how low you'd sink,
16:31and here you are crawling back.
16:32I am not here for him.
16:34Keep lying.
16:34Jackson and I have been inseparable.
16:36Same e-hotel room,
16:38same bed.
16:39He told me Silas forced him to pretend to love the charity case orphan.
16:42Something snapped,
16:43but I kept my voice low.
16:45You think I care what lies you tell yourself?
16:47Kinsley's face,
16:48twisted.
16:49Every time I set you up,
16:50he didn't pick me because he felt sorry for me.
16:53He picked me because he loves me more.
16:55You are just a pathetic obligation.
16:57She leaned closer.
16:58Your parents died and gave you a golden ticket.
17:01Weak jeans.
17:02If they hadn't croaked,
17:03you'd never have gotten near a man like Jackson.
17:06My palm connected with her cheeks so hard,
17:08her head snapped back.
17:10Get married.
17:11And stay out of my life.
17:14I walked away,
17:15my phone buzzing with a message from my legal team.
17:18Documents served.
17:19Phase one,
17:20complete.
17:21The flight touched down at SFO.
17:23Emery Reed,
17:24a senior from my program,
17:26met me at arrivals and helped with my bags.
17:28We grabbed Foe off campus,
17:29and she gave me the unfiltered rundown of campus life.
17:32By the time she dropped me at my dorm,
17:34it was past 10.
17:35My phone vibrated.
17:37Brooks Hayes again.
17:38Again.
17:39I declined three times.
17:41On the fourth,
17:42I picked up.
17:42What?
17:43Brooks.
17:43Sloan,
17:44thank God.
17:45You need to get down here.
17:47Jackson's birthday dinner.
17:48The whole team,
17:49the owners,
17:49everyone,
17:50he is waiting for you.
17:51We broke up,
17:52Brooks.
17:52Or did you miss his social media stunt hitting 100 likes?
17:56Silence.
17:56Then Brooks stammered.
17:58But,
17:59he said it was barely 30.
18:00He said you'd never actually do it.
18:02I have screenshots.
18:03Exes should stay dead.
18:05Don't call me again.
18:06Before I ended the call,
18:07I heard ragged breathing,
18:08then glass shattering violently against a wall.
18:11Someone-o had been listening.
18:12I silenced my phone and showered.
18:14When I came out,
18:15Brooks had left a video.
18:16Jackson and Kinsley dressed for a gala,
18:18surrounded by the Northwood crew.
18:20The crowd chanted,
18:21Kiss,
18:22kiss,
18:22kiss.
18:23Brooks,
18:24text,
18:24read,
18:25Come now,
18:25or they're doing it.
18:26This is your last chance to save him.
18:28I watched Kinsley lean in,
18:29her hand on Jackson's chest.
18:31I deleted the video,
18:32powered down my phone,
18:33and climbed into bed.
18:34For the first time in 10 years,
18:36I fell asleep without waiting for Jackson Thorne.
18:39Tomorrow,
18:39I had meetings with legal counsel.
18:41The first strike in a war Jackson didn't know he'd started.
18:44Jackson's birthday bash at the Obsidian
18:46was a spectacle of athletic elite.
18:48But the king of the rink sat slumped on a leather sofa,
18:51looking volatile.
18:52He barely glanced at the mountain of presents,
18:55his eyes drifting to the entrance,
18:56waiting for a ghost.
18:57Kinsley poured into a designer dress,
18:59felt the burn of his indifference.
19:01She knew who he was waiting for.
19:02She'd been sure her edited recording Sloan calling him trash
19:05would have killed his hope.
19:07Hours passed.
19:08Jackson checked his watch obsessively.
19:10Finally,
19:11he spoke.
19:11Start the party.
19:13Sloan's never missed your birthday.
19:15Brooks reminded him.
19:16He dialed and put it on speakerphone.
19:18My cold,
19:19distant voice filled the room.
19:20We're over,
19:21Brooks.
19:21Tell him happy birthday,
19:23but exes should stay dead.
19:24No contact forever.
19:25The words landed like bullets.
19:27Every eye swung toward Jackson.
19:29Jackson exploded.
19:31He kicked over a table stacked with vintage cabernet,
19:33arranged to spell happy birthday.
19:35Millions of dollars of wine bled into the white carpet.
19:38The manager scrambled to relocate the party.
19:41Jackson drank in terrifying silence.
19:43Brooks suggested truth or dare.
19:45Jackson lost the first round.
19:47Brooks dare.
19:48Kiss someone in this room.
19:49On camera,
19:50we'll send it to Sloan,
19:51so she knows what she is missing.
19:53Brooks pushed Kinsley toward Jackson.
19:54Phone recording.
19:55He showed her the message.
19:57Sending to Sloan now.
19:58The room waited for the explosion.
20:00For Sloan to crash through the doors.
20:0230 minutes passed.
20:03Nothing.
20:04Brooks called again.
20:05Straight to voicemail.
20:06Jackson didn't kiss Kinsley.
20:08He didn't even look at her.
20:09He just reached for more whiskey.
20:11By midnight,
20:11he was blackout drunk,
20:13carried to a private suite.
20:14Kinsley didn't leave.
20:15She told the team she was staying
20:17to make sure he was okay.
20:19Alone in the suite,
20:20she pulled a small spray bottle
20:21from her clutch,
20:22a designer drug to lower inhibitions.
20:25She spritzed the mist
20:26across Jackson's face three times.
20:28Within minutes,
20:29his eyes snapped open.
20:30Glassy.
20:31He grabbed Kinsley with rough violence.
20:33She let out a practiced whimper
20:35and allowed herself
20:36to be pushed onto the bed.
20:37Her phone buzzed
20:38with a text from an unknown number.
20:40She didn't check it.
20:41She should have.
20:42It read,
20:43Security footage from suite 2408
20:45has been flagged and archived.
20:46Jackson woke with his skull splitting
20:48and a gut-deep wrongness.
20:50The suite was flooded
20:51with harsh morning light.
20:53The weight next to him,
20:54a body that wasn't Sloane's,
20:56made his blood run cold.
20:57What the fuck are you doing here?
20:59Kinsley's eyes fluttered open,
21:01shifting to wounded vulnerability.
21:02Jax, last night.
21:05You were so drunk.
21:06You forced yourself on me.
21:08The accusation was meant
21:09to be checkmate,
21:10but Jackson Thorn lived
21:11by brutal discipline.
21:12His hand cracked across her face
21:14before she finished the lie.
21:15Kinsley's cheek ballooned.
21:17This wasn't the guilty,
21:19groveling reaction she'd banked on.
21:20Jackson grabbed her hair
21:22and yanked her head back.
21:23Did you drug me?
21:24Answer me,
21:25you disgusting piece of shit.
21:26No, no.
21:27Jax, I swear.
21:29Tara cut through her act.
21:30Her hatred for Sloane
21:31burned white hot.
21:32This was Sloane's fault
21:34for not groveling,
21:35for leaving him vulnerable.
21:36Bullshit.
21:37Jackson's voice
21:38dropped to a deadly whisper.
21:39You think I'd touch you willingly?
21:41I made a pact with Sloane.
21:43Our first time
21:44was supposed to be sacred.
21:45The thought of his first time
21:46wasted on this leech
21:47made him physically sick.
21:48He felt contaminated.
21:50For her to force this
21:51was criminal.
21:52Unforgivable,
21:53he started hitting
21:54her open-handed slaps
21:55turning to closed fist strikes.
21:57When she scrambled off the bed,
21:58he followed,
21:59mechanical and brutal.
22:00As she curled into a ball,
22:02sobbing and bleeding,
22:03Jackson's phone buzzed
22:04with a notification
22:05from an unknown number.
22:06He didn't see it,
22:07but the message
22:08had already been routed
22:09to Sloane's legal team.
22:11Phase three had just begun.
22:12Jackson felt sick to his core.
22:14Sleeping with Kinsley
22:15felt like watching his legacy
22:16get dragged through the gutter.
22:18How dare this scheming bitch
22:19think she was worthy of him?
22:21Now the fog was lifting.
22:22He understood
22:23what Sloane had been
22:23trying to tell him.
22:25Kinsley and her mother
22:25were trash parasites
22:26feeding off the thorn name.
22:28He'd bought their sob stories,
22:29blamed Sloane's warnings
22:30on jealousy.
22:32The knife in his own back
22:33woke him up.
22:33The realization
22:34made him want to punch himself.
22:36He'd gone cold on Sloane
22:37because of this manipulative slut.
22:39Since he couldn't hit himself,
22:40he unloaded his rage
22:41onto Kinsley instead.
22:42Mercy was the last thing she got.
22:44Jackson kept going
22:45until blood smeared
22:46the white carpet,
22:47chest heaving.
22:48He snatched his phone
22:49and dialed Brooks.
22:50That bitch Kinsley
22:51set me up.
22:52She fucking drugged me.
22:54I am losing my mind.
22:55Brooks jolted awake,
22:56immediately aligning
22:57with his captain.
22:58Sloane can't find out.
23:00Jackson interrupted,
23:01voice cracking with fear.
23:03If she knows
23:03I slept with Kinsley,
23:04she'll never forgive me.
23:06We need to bury this.
23:07Now.
23:08If a single word
23:10gets back to Sloane,
23:11you and your mother
23:12are dead.
23:13Kinsley nodded,
23:15frantically.
23:16I won't say anything.
23:17She rasped,
23:18her body trembling
23:19with pain
23:20and toxic hatred
23:20for Sloane.
23:21Jackson spat on the floor
23:23and stormed out.
23:24The oak door slammed shut.
23:25He believed he could
23:26handle this,
23:27scrub the records,
23:28pay off the club,
23:29find Sloane,
23:30and explain away the mistake.
23:31But secrets this big
23:33never stayed buried.
23:34The moment Jackson
23:35stepped out of the hotel,
23:36he speed dialed
23:37his security head.
23:38I want everything
23:39Kinsley Vance
23:40has done behind my back.
23:41every secret,
23:42every transaction.
23:44I think that bitch
23:45drugged me.
23:46Cold Dread tightened his gut.
23:48He was certain now.
23:49Kinsley's scheme
23:49had nothing to do
23:50with devotion.
23:51She had an angle
23:52and he'd skated
23:53right into her trap.
23:54He'd never marry her.
23:55He'd pay her off
23:56and ship her out.
23:57But the real terror
23:58was Sloane,
23:59finding out he had
24:00to fix this.
24:01He burst through
24:02the mansion's front door.
24:03Is Sloane
24:04still asleep?
24:05He asked the housekeeper.
24:07Miss Sullivan
24:08isn't home, sir.
24:09He froze.
24:09What do you mean?
24:11Where is she?
24:12She left for school yesterday.
24:14Took all her luggage.
24:16Said she wasn't coming back.
24:17Panics spiked into terror.
24:19That is impossible.
24:21Registration
24:22hasn't even opened.
24:23The stairs two at a time
24:24and threw open Sloane's door.
24:26The room was spotless,
24:28stripped of every
24:28personal touch.
24:29In the center
24:30sat several sealed boxes
24:32with a note
24:32in Sloane's handwriting.
24:34Jackson Thorne,
24:34every gift you ever gave me
24:36is in these boxes.
24:37I am returning them all.
24:38Consider this
24:40my resignation
24:40from the role you assigned me.
24:42Ten years of memories
24:43systematically erased.
24:44He couldn't wrap
24:45his head around it.
24:46Sloane Sullivan,
24:47the girl who had waited
24:48for him since they were children,
24:50had finally stopped waiting.
24:52He dialed her number.
24:53Blocked.
24:53He grabbed the housekeeper's phone.
24:55This time it rang.
24:56Hello.
24:58Is everything okay?
25:00Her warmth
25:00was for someone else.
25:02It is me.
25:02The line went silent.
25:03When she spoke,
25:05her voice was ice.
25:06Jackson Thorne,
25:07we've broken up.
25:08Where I am
25:09is none of your business.
25:10Don't call again.
25:11She hung up.
25:12Who said we broke up?
25:13I never agreed to that.
25:14The delusion
25:15almost made me laugh.
25:17Are you serious?
25:18You posted that
25:19100 likes
25:19and we're done
25:20trash yourself.
25:21I screenshotted it.
25:22Everyone saw it.
25:23And you've been playing
25:24house with Kinsley
25:25for weeks.
25:26What more proof
25:26do you need?
25:27Sloane,
25:28there is nothing
25:28between Kinsley and me.
25:30Save your breath.
25:31We're done.
25:32Your life is none
25:32of my business
25:33and mine is none
25:34of yours.
25:34I didn't sleep with her.
25:36So,
25:36you didn't have sex with her.
25:38My voice was flat.
25:40Jackson went silent.
25:41Before last night,
25:42he could have said it
25:43with conviction.
25:44That hesitation
25:45was his full confession.
25:46I scoffed.
25:47It is pathetic.
25:48His voice cracked
25:49with panic.
25:50Where are you?
25:51Tell me where you are.
25:52We were supposed
25:53to go to school together.
25:54We were supposed
25:54to go together,
25:55but you let Kinsley
25:56sabotage my application.
25:58You decided
25:58my future for me.
26:00Sloane,
26:00please.
26:01I am begging you.
26:02Not good enough.
26:03You chose Kinsley
26:04the first time
26:05she lied about me
26:06and you've chosen her
26:06every day since.
26:07This is the bed you made.
26:09Lie in it.
26:10It is over.
26:11I hung up.
26:12He tried calling back
26:14five times.
26:15I declined each one,
26:16letting him feel
26:17powerless for once.
26:18While he was still reeling,
26:19the doorbell rang
26:20at the Thorn Mansion.
26:21Jackson yanked the door open
26:22to find Molly Vance
26:23Kinsley's mother
26:24standing on his doorstep.
26:26My daughter was raped.
26:27She stated,
26:28coldly,
26:28And since your little stunt
26:29left her bleeding
26:30on a hotel floor,
26:31we're going to have
26:32a conversation
26:33about responsibility,
26:34the kind that involves lawyers.
26:36Molly Vance was a
26:37completely different woman
26:38from the frail,
26:39sickly creature
26:39who had swayed
26:40in the breeze
26:41of thorn pity.
26:42She hauled Kinsley
26:43forward bruised,
26:44swollen.
26:44Mr. Thorne,
26:45you owe my daughter
26:46an explanation.
26:47Molly demanded,
26:48voice like cold steel,
26:50Jackson's jaw tightened.
26:51What kind of explanation?
26:53You slept with her,
26:54took advantage of her.
26:55Doesn't that deserve
26:56an explanation?
26:57Jackson's laugh
26:58was pure acid.
26:59Took advantage?
27:00She's the one
27:01who drunked me,
27:02trapped me with her
27:02cheap tricks,
27:03like I'd ever touch
27:04that disgusting trash
27:05willingly.
27:06Molly saw the raw
27:07disgust on his face.
27:08She'd hoped her daughter
27:09could sleep her way
27:10into the Thorn dynasty,
27:11but watching Jackson
27:12look at Kinsley
27:13like something
27:14scraped off his skate,
27:15those wedding dreams
27:16died.
27:17Time for plan B.
27:18The fact is,
27:19you forced yourself
27:20on my daughter,
27:21Molly said,
27:22voice hardening.
27:23I've got the medical report.
27:25The obsidian
27:25has surveillance footage,
27:26and Kinsley's phone
27:28recorded everything.
27:29Her fighting you,
27:30begging the prince
27:30of Northwood to stop.
27:31You assaulted her,
27:32then you beat her.
27:33Jackson curled his lip.
27:35Get to the point.
27:36One hundred million dollars.
27:37Wire it to our account,
27:39and all of this disappears.
27:40And if I tell you
27:41to go to hell?
27:42Then we go public.
27:43PR sharks and lawyers
27:44crawling up your ass.
27:46Your shiny reputation,
27:47your draft status,
27:49your grandfather's legacy.
27:50Molly stood with
27:51the calm certainty
27:52of someone holding
27:53a winning ticket.
27:54You are dreaming,
27:55not a fucking penny.
27:56Prison time doesn't look good
27:57on an NHL resume,
27:59does it?
28:00Molly knew Jackson
28:01wouldn't dare call her bluff.
28:02A rape charge
28:03would destroy the Thorne name.
28:04But this wasn't
28:05Jackson's problem alone.
28:06He had to bring in Silas.
28:08Silas was overseas
28:09when the call came,
28:10and the old man was livid.
28:12He flew home that night,
28:14certain his grandson
28:15had been snared.
28:16The Thorne security team
28:17moved fast.
28:18Silas called me himself.
28:19I told him everything.
28:21The lies,
28:21the manipulations,
28:22how they'd play Jackson
28:23like a fiddle,
28:24and how they'd targeted me
28:25first to isolate him.
28:27The old man listened
28:28and understood.
28:29While Molly and Kinsley
28:30dreamed of their payday,
28:31the Thorne team
28:32uncovered Molly's real past.
28:34Not a frail victim,
28:35but a professional escort
28:36who'd scammed rich men
28:37for years,
28:38dragging Kinsley City
28:39to city,
28:40living off scraps.
28:41Kinsley was about
28:42to drop out
28:43when the Thorne charity program
28:44threw her a lifeline.
28:45That is when Molly
28:46saw the real opportunity.
28:48They engineered
28:48the sob story,
28:49knowing the Thorns
28:50wouldn't verify a medical bill
28:52that was pocket change.
28:53When Molly saw Jackson
28:54in person,
28:55she upped the stakes
28:56if her daughter
28:57could land the air,
28:58they'd be set for life.
28:59They set their trap
29:00and waited for me
29:01to walk into it.
29:02Jackson chose
29:03to believe them over me.
29:04The manipulation
29:05was clockwork,
29:06make me look jealous,
29:07make Kinsley
29:08look like a victim,
29:09make Jackson
29:09feel like a hero.
29:10But Thorne connections
29:11are not decorative.
29:13They found the dealer
29:14Molly bought the drugs from
29:15and had him in custody
29:16within days.
29:17They traced every payment
29:18and text,
29:19extortion,
29:20possession,
29:21assault with intent.
29:22The evidence was airtight
29:23and justice moved
29:25without mercy.
29:26I didn't see Jackson Thorne
29:27again until six months
29:28into my first year
29:29at Stanford.
29:30The scandal hadn't
29:31made global headlines,
29:32but everyone in our world
29:33knew.
29:33It had aged him,
29:35he was quieter,
29:36less sure.
29:36When he finally tracked
29:37me down to apologize,
29:39I let him speak,
29:40nodded once,
29:40and made it clear
29:41we were done.
29:42Ten years of memories
29:43couldn't survive
29:44the poison Kinsley Vance
29:45introduced.
29:46I learned the hardest
29:46way possible,
29:47the only person you can
29:48trust unconditionally
29:49is yourself.
29:50Your own hustle
29:51is your only salvation.
29:53Now I had my scholarship
29:54and zero distractions.
29:56I wasn't taking Jackson back,
29:58and I wasn't looking
29:58for anyone else.
30:00My only focus
30:00was the grind.
30:02Study,
30:02study,
30:03men will betray you,
30:04friends will betray you,
30:06but knowledge,
30:07knowledge is forever.
30:08Every fact,
30:09formula,
30:10and theory I mastered
30:11became permanent armor
30:12that no one could
30:13ever strip away.
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