Chapter 35
ALIA
I’ve never had an issue with silence before but, with Callum staring me down, this suddenly empty hallway feels eerie. I’m afraid if I think too loudly, my thoughts will echo all over the arena and back.
Theo insisted on escorting Namik out, leaving me alone with a Cal who looks like he’s crumbling under the weight of unasked questions. His phone pings, momentarily distracting us. His face is blank as he reads the message.
“It’s Irsia. Rohan is at Mateo’s house right now, asking if we want to meet them there.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere.”
He nods firmly, typing out a response. “I told them I’ll be taking you home.”
“You can go if you want.”
“I’m not leaving you alone, Alia,” he replies instantly, a sliver of exasperation in his tone. When he finally slides his phone into his pocket again and glances at me, I see the worry he’s unable to hide.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, my voice embarrassingly shaky.
“I’m not.” The muscle in his jaw ticks as he rubs two fingers along his temple. “I hate that you were forced into a confrontation with someone who doesn’t understand consent.”
I agree. I hate it too.
“I want to know everything.”
“Everything?” I tilt my head sideways, attempting to understand what he’s asking of me.
“Everything,” he says with a hint of frustration. “Why is your ex-husband still harassing you? Why was Moore so worked up? Why did Coach and Vega look so worried?”
I lean tiredly against the wall, my chest tight with tension.
“I told you Namik cheated on me.”
Cal hums but doesn’t say anything else.
“What I didn’t tell you was how I found out.
” I gulp, swallowing the humiliation I still feel.
“He gave me an STI. Until then, I’d never suspected he might be unfaithful.
My lawyer found an active profile for him on a popular hook-up app during the divorce proceedings.
He opened it less than six months after marrying me. ”
A muffled curse escapes him as Cal’s face grows ashen.
A stoic silence strains the space between us as the implications of my confession weigh in on him.
I see him struggling, wanting to console me but not having the appropriate words to do so.
I’m embarrassed by the truth but not sorry whatsoever.
If anything, that incident allowed me the clarity I needed to break off my toxic marriage.
“Don’t look so sad, Cal. I’m not heartbroken it happened.”
His face is pinched and, when I reach out to lay a soothing hand over his arm, I realize how rigid his muscles are. I rub my thumb across his forearm, tracing a bulging vein that pulses under my touch.
“Truly. It gave me the push to call Irsia and Rohan and confess that I wanted out. I told them everything on the way back to Namik’s house and, as soon as I got there, I started to pack my bags.
He came home from work earlier than expected and was confused by my anger.
Until I confronted him about the STI. He was shockingly calm when he admitted he cheated. ”
I scoff, recalling the patronizing tone in which he apologized. As if that’d be enough to settle things.
“I didn’t want an explanation. Nothing he said would’ve made a difference anyway.
When he realized I wasn’t changing my mind about leaving, he became angry.
He never did like it when I made decisions without asking him, and this one was big.
I don’t even know why he wanted me to stay.
He didn’t love or respect me. I suspect it was the appearance of being a divorcé he didn’t like.
He grabbed me, threatening me like I was some foolish child who needed to be taught to obey him. ”
My laugh is bitter, filled with self-loathing and a sense of shame I can only hope will sting less with time.
“It’d been so long since I stood up to him about anything, I guess it was a surprise when I didn’t give in.
He started to get physically aggressive with me.
Shoved me against the wall. That’s when Rohan walked in, and he—” I cut myself off, the memory too gory.
“Maybe that’s why Namik still likes to harass me.
For revenge. Or maybe because the divorce wasn’t his choice and he’s trying to exert control over me again. Either way, I’m done with him.”
“What exactly did Moore do?” Cal asks, watching me expectantly.
My skin chills when I remember that day. The tears, the screams, the fear that my cousin would get hurt. “Rohan beat Namik unconscious. It took Uncle Ian, Irsia, and me to stop him.”
The memory of Namik’s bloodied face, eyes swollen shut and lips split in multiple places, brings me no satisfaction.
“Was that. . . shit. This happened last season?” Cal questions, brows drawn low in concentration. “Is that why Moore had a three-game suspension?”
I nod, anxiety twisting in my gut despite knowing that his punishment was reduced to sitting out a few games and being fined, instead of being dropped from the team.
I don’t know exactly what the Ironhearts PR team did to suppress news of the assault or how his coach convinced the GM to give Rohan another chance.
My willingness to reveal Namik’s cheating ways was why he didn’t press charges.
He was on track to becoming a partner at the financial firm he worked at and his soon-to-be ex-wife showing up with hospital reports of an STI wouldn’t help his blemish-free image.
So, Rohan escaped without major repercussions, and I gained my freedom from a man who’d chained me for too long.
“You need to involve the authorities, Alia. You had us this time, but I hate to think of him cornering you when you’re alone.”
“I will,” I promise. This was the last straw. I’m done letting Namik get away with creating unrest in my life.
“Gotta say,” Cal murmurs after a long pause. “My respect for Moore just shot up several notches.”
“Because he beat up a man until he was bleeding from the gums?” I ask incredulously.
“He beat up a dickwad who emotionally manipulated you, coerced you into a physical relationship, and then dared to put his filthy hands on you. An unsure yes is still a no.”
My pulse thunders in my ears hearing Cal state it so bluntly, validating every thought I’ve had that Namik abused me. I would’ve become a statistic for domestic violence had I not left.
“But that’s not why,” he adds.
“Why else?”
Cal pins me with a look I can’t quite decipher.
“Moore had enough self-control to only knock him unconscious. I’d have put him in the hospital with a lifelong limp and a missing appendage.”