Page 67 of Face Off
Because despite everything, despite the storm brewing around us, she’s still mine.
That night, I lie awake staring at the ceiling, Coach’s words replaying on a loop.Her old man is the reason you’ve even got a team to play for.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’ve just torched everything I’ve worked for.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHLOE
The sound of my front door rattling against its hinges jolts me like a slap.
I don’t even have time to stand before Ollie storms in, cheeks flushed, jaw clenched. He doesn’t knock, doesn’t hesitate, he just fills the space with the sheer force of his presence. My heart stutters.
“Ollie?” My voice is small, cautious.
He doesn’t wait for me to speak again. His voice cuts through the flat like a blade.
“Why didn’t you tell me who your father is?”
The words land like a body check. He doesn’t sit. Doesn’t take his coat off. He just stands there, broad shoulders taut, eyes sharp with something between betrayal and fury.
I rise from the sofa, palms sweating. “I…”
“No.” He slices the air with his hand, shutting me down before I can stumble through excuses. “Don’t. Don’t you dare give me some half-arsed line. Just tell me the truth. Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
The heat in his voice has me backing up a step, until the back of my knees brush the sofa cushions.
“I didn’t want?—”
“Didn’t want what?” His laugh is sharp, humourless. “Didn’t want me to know who you really are? Or didn’t want me to walk away?”
His words are acid, eating straight through me. My chest tightens, but I can’t find a defence fast enough.
He barrels on, relentless. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to find out from Coach? To stand there like a fucking fool while he tells me you’ve been hiding the biggest secret of all? I’ve been defending you to the guys. I’ve been telling them you’re not the person who burned Murphy, that you’ve changed. And all the while you’re,” He breaks off, jaw snapping shut. His chest heaves. “You’re keeping this from me.”
Shame crawls hot up my neck. I swallow hard. “I’m not…like that anymore,” I stammer, but it sounds pathetic even to me.
“Christ, Chloe.” His voice cracks, lower now, rougher, but no less furious. “I’ve been killing myself thinking I finally found someone who doesn’t play games. Someone who gets it. And now?” He throws his arms wide. “Now I don’t even know if what we’ve got is real. Or if I’m just another fucking box ticked on your way to winding up Daddy.”
“That’s not fair!” I shout, the words bursting out before I can stop them.
“Isn’t it?” His glare burns straight through me. “From where I’m standing, I’m the idiot who let himself fall for a girl who’s been lying by omission since day one.”
My throat goes tight. My hands shake. The silence between us is thick enough to choke on. He paces the room, restless, his trainers thudding against the floor. Then, with a sharp inhale, he strides toward the door.
The sight of it, his hand reaching for the handle, his back turned, ready to walk out, splinters something in me.
“Ollie, please,” I choke, stumbling forward. My voice breaks on the word.
He freezes but doesn’t turn. “Maybe this was a mistake,” he mutters.
The bottom drops out of my stomach. “Don’t say that.”
“I don’t want to!” he snaps, spinning on me, eyes blazing. “But I don’t know how to do this, Chloe. How am I supposed to trust you when you couldn’t trust me with the truth?”
His words rip through me. And then the dam inside me bursts.
“I didn’t tell you because I’ve spent my entire life being judged for something I can’t change!” My voice is ragged, desperate.
