Page 136 of Power Play
“Hey.” I smile, then immediately feel self-conscious. She looks tired.
“You look better than last week,” she says dryly.
“I’ve upgraded from hollow shell to functioning zombie.”
“Progress.” She sips her drink. “You still texting her?”
“Yeah.”
Mia studies me for a second, then leans closer. “You want my opinion?”
“Always.”
“You need to stop telling her and start showing her. She doesn’tcare about your feelings right now, Murph. She cares about whether you’re someone she can trust again.”
I nod slowly. “She said it wasn’t just about the photo. It was about the respect. The trust.”
“Exactly. So earn it. Do something that tells the whole damn world she means more than your ego.”
That hits. Because she’s right. I’ve spent too long reacting, now it’s time to act.
I don’t sleep much that night. My brain’s too busy.
Somewhere between two and dawn, the idea starts to form. A shape. A plan. Not just for Sophie, but for everyone watching. Because if I’m going to set the record straight, it can’t be behind closed doors.
It has to be public.
Loud and elaborate.
So she knows that I’m not hiding from what happened. That I’ll own the damage. But I won’t let that lie stand.
Not anymore.
I start scribbling it all down. Bullet points. Words I’d say if I had the chance.
I don’t want drama. I don’t want pity. I just want the truth out there.
I want her to hear it.
Even if she never forgives me, I want her to know Itriedto be the man she thought I was.
No half-measures this time.
Next game night. Packed rink. Lights. Cameras.
That’s where it starts.
And I’ll be ready.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
SOPHIE
It’s a miracle I haven’t hurled my phone out the window.
Every day, like clockwork, there’s a message. A text. A voice note. Once, even a photo of a terrible drawing he claimed was me, “tragically beautiful and probably hungry”, on the back of a napkin. I didn’t reply. Obviously.
But I didn’t delete it either. Which is annoying. And telling. And not at all the unbothered queen energy I’m supposed to be channelling right now.
