Chapter 72
DIANA
My feet flail against concrete.
Panic roars in my ears, drowning out the screams swarming the stadium.
“Stop squirming,” a man hisses.
They drag me forward with their hands over my eyes and my mouth. I stiffen against the cold air puncturing my skin. The farther we go, the quieter the air grows until there’s no sound at all.
Then it’s warm again.
A door creaks open.
“āiyā!” Hands shove me down. Soft leather catches my fall.
I scramble upright and find myself on a couch in the stadium’s private suite.
It’s as shamelessly decadent as the others.
Wall sconces illuminate the crystal shelves that bear too many liquor bottles; they glow with the flickering flames of the electric fireplace burning nearby.
Kai sprawls out beside me. His hand instantly comes around mine as we confront Matthias, bàba, Gregory, and Jonathan standing before us.
Disgust and smug satisfaction warps their faces.
“If you wanted to talk to me, you could’ve just asked,” I snap.
Kai scoffs as he glares at them. “Let’s be real here, Di. They’d have to be normal for once in their lives to do something like that.”
Bàba’s eyes go black with fury as they sharpen on Kai.
“It was you,” he snarls.“You were the one who made her this way.”
His hand twitches at his side. Jonathan and Gregory brace his shoulders, subtly restraining him back.
Gregory sneers at me. “Better that you find out how easy it is for her to become a whore now rather than later.”
Kai snaps to his feet. His shadow swallows up Gregory as he towers over him.
“Don’t you fucking dare talk about her that way.”
“Or what?” Gregory challenges.
“We’re not on the ice anymore,” Kai threatens. “There’s no rule stopping me from making you bleed over this floor.”
Gregory’s eye ticks. Kai’s hand flexes. Tension chokes the air, daring one of them to break it.
Absolutely not.
I quickly wedge myself between them and ease Kai back. Kai doesn’t stop glaring at Gregory, yet his hand softly squeezes mine.
It gives me the strength to face Gregory and Jonathan.
“So, you were the ones who found out and exposed our relationship to everyone.”
Jonathan rolls his eyes, his lips curling disdainfully.
“I knew you were lying about who helped you and Stella wipe the dirt off Sophia’s name.
That’s when I hired a few men to watch you.
” He cocks his head and tsks. “You know, you really shouldn’t be kissing in public if you wanted to keep this a secret.
You never know who could be watching. Not only has he made you soft, but he’s also made you lose your common sense, too. ”
“If you’ve dragged us up here to tell me how disappointing I’ve become, you can save your breath because I’m not going to make it my problem.
This is who I am, and I admire the woman I am becoming.
” I sound so sure of myself, yet deep down, their words lash at my self-esteem, the shame cutting in so deep I don’t know if I will ever heal from it.
Matthias huffs like a bored student sitting in lecture. “As nice as it is to hear that, I’m afraid this version of yourself will cost both you and Kai.”
Kai stiffens. His arm wraps around my hips before he shifts me behind him. “What the hell do you mean?”
“While you were preparing for the game, I did some rearranging in the NHL,” Matthias says.
He snaps his fingers. One of the guards hands him a contract. Matthias waves it with a pleased smile.
“Tom Makas, the general manager of the Vancouver Phoenix, wanted to give you an entry-level contract after tonight’s game. He’s been eyeing you for a while and thinks you’re good enough to replace Benigno when he retires.”
Matthias tosses the document into the fireplace behind him.
“Well, I had him fired. John Ivers takes his place now.” He chuckles. “You know better than anyone that he and I bond over our opinion of you.”
Kai doesn’t react. But I can feel him tense against me, see his eyes straining to keep his tears at bay as he watches his dreams die in front of him.
Matthias prattles on, “Now, Edward and I are not completely merciless. You can still go on and live your lives under a few conditions.”
He draws out a plane ticket from his blazer. “Since you have nothing here, you can go back to that little island of yours and forget all about this. If you do that, Diana can do whatever she wants here.”
“But we’ll be watching you closely. If you refuse or defy this offer, Diana will spend the rest of her life serving the HMG in a low tier position,” Bàba adds. No mercy or remorse underlies his words. “The choice is up to you.”
Rage shatters all of my hope that things might work out for Kai and me, that the daydreams in my head might one day become reality. But now reality lies before us, broken up by an ultimatum that only serves bàba and Matthias.
If Kai returns to Mo’orea, he’ll never be a threat to Simon on the ice. If he refuses to go, bàba will shackle me to his control.
Whatever decision we make, one of us will lose what matters to us most.
“I’ll go.”
Kai steps forward, certain and undaunted.
I shake my head. I frantically grab his jersey and tug him back to me. “No. I’m not letting you give up your dream for me, Kai! You’ve spent your whole life fighting to play in the NHL and you’re going to do it.”
Kai softens. “Uncle Manu was right when he said every hockey player has to play their last game.” His thumbs brush my cheeks as he holds me close. “I’ve had my whole life to do what I really wanted. It’s your turn now, Di. Go start that media outlet.”
I can’t let him give this up. As much as I’ve lost these last few months, none of it compares to what Kai endured the last four years of his life.
I desperately turn to bàba. “I’ll work for the HMG. I’ll do whatever you want if you let him play.”
“Di, listen to me.” Kai wrests my attention back to him. Desperation flashes in his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if I stay. I can’t watch you go back to the life that you worked so hard to fight your way out of.”
“We were supposed to have a million more dates with sparklers,” I croak. “Kai, don’t do this. Don’t go.”
His hands start to shake. Kai pushes on regardless.
“We’ll have our dates someday, I swear.” He tips his forehead against mine, whispering just quietly enough for me to hear. “Until we burn, remember?”
My tongue trembles under the weight of the words. A tear pricks my parting lips.
“Until we burn.”
“It’s settled then.” Bàba nods at his guards. “Take him away.”
The guards grab Kai and push him out of the room. I scramble after them. Other guards force me back, tightening their hold the harder I kick out and flail.
“P-Please!” I beg. “Let me go with him!”
Kai nears the door. He stubbornly stops to look back at me with that smile I’ve always loved. It’s as soft and warm as those dark green eyes I love so much.
Then, he’s gone.
KAI
Kai, don’t do this. Don’t go.
No matter how far away I am, I can still see and hear Diana calling out for me. I want to tear out of this car and run back to her. The urge pressures every muscle and bone to punch the guards and bolt even if I know it’s fucking impossible to escape on foot without getting caught.
You know it’s not just that. If you go back there, Diana pays the price.
My hands curl into fists, wrestling down the urge to break the deal.
Someday, I will find a way back to her. For now, I’ll gladly walk through hell if it means Diana has a shot at living the life she deserves.
Tears rake down my face. I quickly brush them away and look up.
The car suddenly veers from the lane leading to the airport.
My brows furrow. “This isn’t the right way. You missed the airport.”
The guards ignore me.
“Hey!” I fidget in my seat, making them tighten their grip on me. “Where the hell are you taking me?”
The car speeds up faster. I lurch back into my seat. I swallow hard, trying to breathe through gritted teeth.
That’s when I realize what’s going on.
They were never going to take me to the airport. They would’ve let me take my stuff. Not send me there with nothing except a ticket.
Honks fire out as the car cuts in front of others on the road. My body jerks side to side. Headlights refract and blur. My heart pounds under my chest, anxiety choking out my breath the faster we go.
They’re going to get rid of me.
A screech suddenly rips out all around us.
Headlights flash. Blinding white light drowns the car. I hold my breath and shield my head. The world shakes around me, metal and steel crashing.