Page 89 of Breakaway

Dad was always busy with work; Mom hated my guts for taking my dad’s side after her affair was revealed. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw them, let alone talked to them. They didn’t care to listen.

For years I had no one in my corner. Until I finally met her. My best friend.

A smile forms on my lips for the first time since I started reading. The story of her friendship with Angie warms my insides and makes me feel happy. Two lost souls who met on the first day of college and have been inseparable ever since. Nevaeh and Angie saved each other; they’ve been there for one another through thick and thin. Their friendship is pure, and their love is unconditional. They are family.

After meeting Angie, I know how important it is to have someone who’s always there for you. Someone who will always support you. Who will always stand by your side, even when things get rough. Someone who will help you without questioning whether you deserve it or not.

Knowing firsthand what it means to live without love, I always notice people who are just like me. I see through their masks and the walls they build around themselves. People who hate their own existence and don’t believe they deserve anything good. I recognize their demons, because in the past they were my demons too.

And that’s who my husband is. My broken boy. My Roman.

Everything in me freezes. My hand hovers over the page, not turning it. I stare at the magazine, but all I see is a blank space. She never told me she was writing about me. Never even asked if I wanted my story to be told.

Swallowing down my nerves, I feel my body tensing. My hand curls into a fist as I force myself to continue reading. Word after word, fury overwhelms me. The music in my ears is loud, but I can’t hear any lyrics. It all mixes into one word, sounding thunderous in my head.Predatel’stvo?3.It’s the only feeling I have, and it makes my blood boil. She betrayed me.

Maksim’s death. My struggles with alcohol and my first team threatening to kick me off of it if I didn’t do something about my problems. My father dying from a heart attack after months of severe drinking. All the assumptions about me getting into the NHL only because my twin died and I took his spot since I was always second for consideration.

My temples pulsate, my headache intensifying with every breath I take. This can’t be happening. Why would she do this to me? The beating of my heart becomes shallow, the pain in my chest blinding me.

Seeing myself in Roman, noticing his hurt, I knew he needed saving. Needed my help, even if he was afraid to ask for it. His broken pieces were longing to heal, and I was the only one who could do that for him. And that’s why I decided to stay.

Because people who live without love deserve our help and support.

I close the magazine, gripping it so hard my knuckles turn white. Even tearing it apart wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would be enough to make me forget what I just read. I can’t ignore the betrayal of her spilling my secrets.

She lied to me. All this time, I was no more than an experiment. Damaged goods she tried to fix, to prove her own theory about people who live without love. People like me, who hate their own existence because of the trauma of their past.People who have no one in their corner until someone like her walks into their lives and suddenly changes their world.

I am a project. A failure she’s trying to repair. A disease she’s trying to cure.

I stand up from my seat and head to the back of the plane. The magazine is still in my hand. I pass Clay, and he gives me a questioning look, his eyebrow raised.

“You alright?” he asks as I march past him.

“Yeah.” I smile as I throw the magazine in the trash. “Better than ever.”

Not sparing a glance at Clay or my other teammates, I return to my seat. Slumping down into it, I turn the volume up as loud as it will go and close my eyes. I want to fucking laugh at how delusional I was to think that this girl might mean something to me.Stupid motherfucker.

As for my wife, I have a surprise for her. Her little project is about to fail.

1 ?? ??? ??… — What the…

2 ??? ???????… — My girl…

3 ?????????????. — Betrayal.

Chapter 35

He Doesn’t Love Me

NEVAEH

“You thinkit’s possible to die from hyperventilation?” I ask Angie, pressing my phone to my ear.

She laughs wholeheartedly. “You’re fine. Stop worrying.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who decided it was a brilliant idea to write about your past, baring your soul for everyone to read.” I huff and cross my legs, reaching over for the remote and turning on the TV. “And, as if that wasn’t enough, I decided to confess my feelings for my husband…also for everyone to read.”

“Aww, that’s actually my favorite part of your article. It’s so raw and genuine. It gives me all the feels,” she murmurs. “I’m sure Roman is going to like it.”

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