Chapter Piper
Piper
As I complete my final jump, my blades touch the ice and the arena erupts into applause.
My chest rises and falls with each breath as I come to a stop in the centre of the rink.
For a second, all I can hear is the roar of the crowd.
My eyes lift to the scoreboard.
My score appears, and my breath catches.
I can’t believe it.
A smile breaks over my face.
My eyes find my coach, the one Hunter found for me after the doctors finally cleared me to step back onto the ice.
She stands by the boards with her arms folded. The old woman gives me a single nod, her face as stern as ever. But I know what that nod means.
She’s proud.
I look towards the stands.
My eyes find him immediately.
Tall and devastatingly handsome in a dark suit, he stands as he applauds.
The noise around us fades.
When our eyes meet, his expression softens into a smile. I return it.
Then I look at the row beside him.
Ophelia, Octavia, Adelaide, Eleanor. They are all here. Every single one of them. And beside each of them stands their man.
Octavia and Milo are married. They had their wedding last July.
Ophelia and Arlo followed in August.
My eyes drop to the ring on my finger.
I’m engaged to Hunter.
He proposed on my birthday. One of his many surprises.
He flew me to a private island, with white sand, crystal clear water, and year round sunshine.
Then he gifted it to me.
The island, I mean.
He arranged a romantic dinner on the beach. Roses everywhere, live music, candles. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I cried through the entire thing.
It was perfect.
We still haven’t set a date for the wedding, though not because Hunter hasn’t tried.
He’s been determined to marry me since the day he dragged me out of that bar and away from the academy.
But I want to do it properly.
And despite all his grumbling and threats that he’ll simply force me to pick a date, he never does.
He waits.
Because beneath all that possessiveness and arrogance, Hunter wants one thing more than anything else.
For me to be happy.
I make my way off the ice, and I’ve barely stepped beyond the boards when my stride falters.
There he is. My fiancé. Holding a huge bouquet of white roses.
I smile.
“Congratulations, love. Winning Olympic gold is quite the achievement.”
I take the bouquet from him.
“It hasn’t been announced yet,” I point out.
He bends down and kisses me.
“You won.”
“Hunter—”
“You won,” he repeats. “And if you didn’t, I’d make them reconsider their choices in life.”
“Stop threatening everyone,” I laugh. “I want to win fairly.”
“I know.” His hand cups my cheek. “And you did.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead just as Ophelia rushes over and pulls me into a fierce hug.
“Congrats!”
Octavia is next.
“Move,” she orders, shoving her sister aside before pulling me into a hug. “You were incredible, Miss Ashthorne.”
I laugh.
“Thank you all for being here.”
Octavia looks horrified. “Don't start getting emotional and crying.”
Adelaide nudges her out of the way and wraps her arms around me.
“Yes, because if you do, Octavia will start, and there’ll be no stopping her.”
“Hey!” Octavia protests.
“You definitely won. And if you didn’t...” Adelaide glances towards the judges.
I laugh.
“Stop. You and Hunter are impossible.”
Isaak raises an eyebrow. “Why is my woman’s name in the same sentence as fucking Hunter?”
“Get your head out of the gutter. I’m taken,” Hunter says, looking equally disgusted by the suggestion.
“If I get my way, I’ll be married within the next twenty-four hours,” he adds.
“Which would officially make you the third man in the group to get married,” Milo says with a grin.
“It’s not a competition,” Ophelia says.
But for Milo, I think it might as well be.
Apparently, he got married in July because he wanted to be the first one from the group to do it.
To this day, I’m not convinced Arlo is over the fact that Milo beat him to it.
Hunter wraps his arms around me from behind.
“Have we set a date yet?”
The question comes up every day. His daily attempt to find out whether I’ve finally chosen a wedding date.
I smile. “How does the thirty-first of May sound?”
“Bloody finally.” He breathes. “Though, fuck, it’s only February.”
He brushes his lips over my ear.
“Right,” he announces. “Looks like you lot have another wedding to attend.”
“What is with your obsession with marriage?” Adelaide asks. “The whole concept is absurd to begin with. And why the rush? Is anyone here pregnant or something?”
Ophelia laughs.
“Not that I know of. Though the urgency is entirely their fault.”
She points towards the men.
“If I’d had it my way, we’d have been married last March,” Hunter grumbles.
I shake my head.
“You’ll follow soon. Don’t worry.” Octavia points at Adelaide.
“Fuck no.”
“Good thing you won’t have a say in it,” Isaak replies.
“You can’t force me. There’s this wonderful thing called free will. And if you somehow manage it, I’ll make your life a living nightmare.”
“You already try to do that every day. How’s that working out for you?”
They continue to bicker, and I hold the bouquet a little tighter as Hunter’s arms remain wrapped around me.
It feels good.
Eleanor smiles at me and nods.
Ido looks at her as though nothing else exists, not once taking part in our conversation. Whenever we’re together, she’s the only thing he sees.
The judges announce the winner.
And it’s me.
First place.
Olympic gold.
I smile up at the sky as I press a kiss to my medal.
I hope mum is proud.
We’ve been through a lot, but somehow we found each other along the way.
I finished the academy remotely over the last few months. Sat my final exams last May. Got engaged. Attended my friends’ weddings.
Soon comes my own.
And somehow, in the middle of it all, I won the Olympics.
My days are spent doing what I love most.
Skating and spending time at home with Hunter.
He even had an ice rink built on our estate so I could train whenever I wanted.
I don’t want to pursue anything else.
I want to skate.
Once we’re married, Hunter will take over Ashthorne Dynamics as well.
We’re free.
And we’re happy.
Most importantly, we’re in love.
The End.