By admin Fake Dating My Ex’s Favourite Hockey Player Novel CH 24
ZANE
The unread messages started piling up the night I left for Chicago.
I clench my fist around my phone, trying to steady my breathing as my feet pound against the treadmill. The steady hum of the machine does nothing to quiet the frustration building up inside me.
–
I’m in the indoor gym in our house. Emilia researched the brands – only filling the house with the best of the best of all the equipment and decorated the gym meticulously according to my tastes. Hell, she’d decorated our entire house.
Hmph. Well, I guess it’s just my house now.
The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. The house feels emptier, quieter–like something’s missing. But I shove that feeling down, focusing on the burn in my legs instead. It’s better this way. It has to be.
The week Emilia moved out, Bec moved in.
It was easier that way. Having someone who understood what it was like to always be in the spotlight. Someone who got the pressure, the expectations, the constant need to be at your best. We could balance our diets, push each other in the gym, keep up with the demands of our
careers. It made sense. It worked.
Emilia had never been in the spotlight for a day in her life. She’s not half the woman Becca is. She isn’t even half of that.
Now she has the fucking nerve to ignore my texts?
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She knows my schedule better than I do. She knows the pressure I’m under, pressure she could never even begin to comprehend, yet she’s acting like a right bitch, messing with my head right before the regular
season starts.
Before Becca and I’s wedding. Is that it? Her jealousy?
And now she’s running around with Liam Calloway?
I let out a sharp breath, my legs pounding against the treadmill as I push myself faster. Liam fucking Calloway. The golden boy. The prodigy. He walks into a room, and suddenly, it’s his. Everyone loves him. Respects him. It doesn’t matter what he does–he’ll always come out on top.
I used to watch him, you know? Study his plays, analyse his movements, try to find one damn flaw in his game. But there’s nothing. He’s perfect. He’s everything I should be.
And Emilia? She doesn’t even belong in the same fucking room as him.
She’s never worked for anything in her life. Never had expectations, never had people counting on her. The closest thing she’s ever had to relevance was standing next to me. She’s never had a real job, either.
The second we moved to Chicago, she became a fucking leech, contributing nothing unless she was on her back or on her hands and knees.
And now, she’s got him?
She’s got fucking Liam Calloway?
I grit my teeth, my vision blurring as I run even faster.
What does he even see in her? A washed–up nobody who doesn’t know
her place? Does he feel bad for her? Is this some fucking charity case for
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him?
Or-
My stomach twists.
Did she change?
Did she suddenly become the kind of person worthy of standing next to him?
No. No, that’s impossible.
I know exactly who she is. And she’s nothing.
Nothing unless she’s next to me.
She might be on Calloway’s arm for now, but he’ll see soon enough. He’ll realise how worthless she is.
They’ve spent the past week parading around together after two whole weeks of nothing. First, it was the amusement park, then she was spotted at his regular gym, and then he actually went to her bakery to help her out. And to top it all off, they were seen leaving an apartment together.
How fucking dare she?
Using Liam Calloway like some kind of errand boy? At her bakery? The one I got her, with my money? That place is worth more than she ever will be. She should be on her knees, grateful that I gave her that as an engagement gift. And now she gets to keep it–only because of my generosity.
I know she’s only keeping him around to try and make me jealous. She’s pathetic if she thinks that’ll work. She can only try–after all, I have Becca.
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As if summoned by my thoughts, the gym door opens, and Becca strides in, wearing nothing but a sports bra and shorts.
She’s sexy as sin.
Straight, light brown hair with bangs that frame her face perfectly- nothing like Emilia’s mess of unruly curls. Curves in all the right places, every inch of her built for attention–so different from Emilia’s pathetic, curveless frame. Her skin is pale and flawless, smooth as glass, untouched except for the faint scar on her lower stomach.
She’s everything Emilia isn’t.
And she’s mine.
Becca smiles the second our eyes meet, and I slow the treadmill to a stop. She tosses a towel at me, and I catch it, wiping the sweat from my face. My muscles burn from the run, but the fire in my chest isn’t from exercise.
“Is something on your mind?” she asks, stepping into my space, wrapping her arms around my neck. Before I can answer, she presses her lips to
mine.
I kiss her hard, sliding my hands down to her waist, pulling her closer. She gasps, a soft moan slipping out, and I drink it in. But before things can go any further, I pull away. She blinks at me, cheeks flushed, lips
swollen.
“You were running so hard I thought you might actually take off,” she
teases.
I smirk, catching my breath. “Where were you? I’ve been waiting for you to join me. Don’t you have a photoshoot coming up?”
“I do,” she says, fingers playing with the damp strands of my hair. “I was with Lolo, took her to the backyard to play. You know how cranky she
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gets.”
I nod absentmindedly, trailing kisses down her neck, tasting her skin. Becca sighs but suddenly pinches my back, making me grunt.
“Babe, you didn’t answer my question.” She pauses, hesitant, then finally says what’s on her mind. “Is this about E-”
“No.” I snap, cutting her off. My grip tightens on her waist as I pull back
to look her in the eyes. She studies me, searching for something, and whatever she finds isn’t enough. She pushes me away.
Annoying
Women always make things more complicated than they need to be. Always wanting more.
I liked Becca because she wasn’t like the rest. She was rational, sensible. She didn’t pry. But now, with the wedding creeping closer, she’s acting like all the others..
“Zane,” she’s upset. I can tell from the way she says my name, but I don’t care. I walk over to sit down and she follows me. I flop down and sigh, looking at the ceiling. She’s much prettier when she shuts the hell up. “We’re getting married in a month.”
I yawn. “So you’ve said.”
She clenches her fist, her face flushes once more but not in pleasure, in anger. “I refuse to marry a man who- who’s hung over on another woman!”
“I’ve told you. She’s insignificant.”
“If she’s so insignificant then that means she should mean nothing at all. But she does mean something, enough that she can control whatever
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mood I find you in and whether or not you feel like being a-” She stops herself, but it’s too late.
I raise an eyebrow, letting the silence stretch between us. “Go on,” I say, my voice low. “Say it.”
Becca presses her lips together, shaking her head. She knows better. Good.
Instead, she turns away, crossing her arms. “You know what I mean.”
I chuckle, leaning back against the bench. “Oh, I know exactly what you mean.” I tilt my head, watching her. “You think she still has power over me? That I still care.”
She doesn’t respond, and that tells me everything.
I scoff, running a hand through my damp hair. “You’re overthinking. She‘ s nothing. Just some… mistake I made a long time ago. A weight I had to carry until I finally dropped it.” I smirk, standing up again. “You should be thanking me for that. I chose you, didn’t I?”
Becca glares at me, but there’s hesitation in her eyes. She wants to believe me. She wants to be the only thing in my head.
And she is.
Mostly.
But Emilia… she shouldn’t matter. And yet, she keeps lingering. Not because I want her to–no, that’s ridiculous. It’s because she refuses to be erased. She’s making this harder than it needs to be. Making me look like a fool when I should be the one laughing at her.
And Liam Calloway–fuck. That’s what pisses me off the most. He should‘ ve cast her aside by now, realised she’s nothing but dead weight. But no.
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He’s entertaining her. Helping her. Like she’s worth something.
Becca sighs, rubbing her temples. “You need to let this go, Zane.”
I scoff again, pulling her back into my arms. She tenses for a moment but doesn’t resist when I grip her waist. Good.
I tilt her chin up, staring into her eyes. “I already have.
There’s disbelief in her eyes. “So if I tell you this, you won’t care?”
That piques my interest. “Tell me what?”
She purses her lips, I watch her contemplate telling me the truth until she finally folds. “There’s a tabloid that’s going to publish.. information about Emilia’s past. Apparently it isn’t exactly spotless.”
My heart pounds and I hope she doesn’t hear it. “What kind of information?”
“I thought you don’t care?”
“I don’t. But I still want to know, my darling.” She lifts her phone and shows me the screen, I see the headline and my heart pounds faster. “When is this getting published? How did you get this?”
“It’ll be during the cruise. There are two articles that’ll be published at different times. Probably to maximise the effect. The one about her family background is first and the second.. apparently she murdered her own brother, isn’t that insane?”
For a moment, I don’t think I breathe. “How did you get this?” I repeat.
She eyes me suspiciously and I bite back the urge to curse. She must think I care about Emilia but.. no, I don’t care at all.
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990 Vaterp
“It was sent to my agency. Since it’s connected to us the tabloid thought my agency would want to contain the scandal. But since you don’t care about her, I’ve already told them to go ahead with the release. Besides, it seems like she has very influential enemies. The buyout price isn’t normal at all.”
Becca is right, I don’t care. This doesn’t concern me, in fact, the sooner her misfortune the sooner Liam’s eyes open.
As average as she is, she’s still a woman after all. She must have seduced him. That’s why he’s still with her.
She’s nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing.
I kiss Becca deeply, bruising, making sure she feels it. Understands it. She gasps against my mouth, and when I finally pull away, she looks a little dazed.
That’s better.
I wipe my thumb over her lower lip, smirking. “Now, why don’t we focus on something actually important? Like our wedding. Or let’s take this upstairs, yes?”
Becca exhales, but she nods, letting me lift her up. Her legs snake around my waist, as I carry her into our bedroom.
And just like that, she forgets.
If only it were that easy for me.
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