Page 101 of Fractured Faceoff

“I need to talk to you.” My voice came out steadier than I expected.

She hesitated for a moment, glancing down the hallway as if weighing whether or not this was a good idea. “Now?”

“Yeah.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “If you’ve got a minute.”

Her expression softened slightly as she stepped aside, motioning for me to enter. The familiar scent of vanilla mixed with fresh coffee hit me like a wave when I crossed the threshold. The office was tidy—papers stacked neatly on her desk and photos of players in action hung on the walls—but all I saw was Isla standing there before me.

I leaned against the doorframe, searching for the right words while taking in her features—the way her brow furrowed slightly in curiosity and those eyes that seemed to pull me in deeper every second we stood there.

“Is this about…?” she began tentatively.

“No,” I interrupted quickly. “Not about work.”

The air thickened between us as silence enveloped the room. My heartbeat thundered against my ribcage like a caged animal desperate for freedom.

She took a step closer, eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to decipher what lay beneath my surface. “Then what is it?”

I took a deep breath; the words spilling out before I could rein them in.

“Isla, I didn’t plan on this. Falling for you. It caught me off guard. But now? It’s real.” My hands trembled slightly as I ran them through my hair, trying to steady myself. “I’ve made mistakes—pushed you away without realizing what I had right in front of me. You weren’t just a reboundor some way to get back at Ava. You’ve become…everything.”

Her gaze flicked away, and I felt my stomach drop.

“I thought…” She paused, biting her lip as if searching for the right words. “I realize I love you, but I can’t—I won’t—be someone’s second choice, Jared.”

“You won’t be.” The heat of frustration surged through me. “You aren’t! Isla, I'm deliriously in love with you! The way you make me feel is unlike anything I've ever experienced before.”

She shook her head slowly, a look of disbelief etched across her face.

“I might have gotten lost on the way,” I continued, desperate for her to hear me, “but my destination has always been you.”

“Stop,” she whispered, voice trembling.

“It’s the truth,” I insisted.

“How can I know that?” Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she looked back at me. “You never noticed me until Ava. You know that right? You’re the one who wanted to pretend to get back at her. Everything has always been about Ava.”

Pissed didn’t begin to cover how I felt; she had every right to feel this way—even if it was wrong.

“What do you want me to do to prove it to you?” My voice raised a notch despite my efforts to keep it steady. “You want me to marry you?”

Her brows shot up in surprise.

“Are you proposing?” she asked incredulously, mouth slightly agape.

The weight of those words hung between us like an anchor—my heart raced as the implications settled inmy mind.

I stood there, the weight of my words heavy in the air between us.

“Ava’s superficial,” I blurted out, frustration simmering just beneath the surface. “She’s… easy on the eyes. But that’s it. There’s nothing deeper about her.”

Isla's brow furrowed slightly as she took a step back, arms crossing defensively.

“Jared?” she asked, her voice cautious.

I opened my mouth to continue, then closed it again, struggling to articulate what I felt. How could I put into words everything Isla was to me? It wasn’t just her looks—she was fierce and brilliant, a whirlwind of determination that both intimidated and inspired me.

“Everything about you makes you…” I faltered, the words slipping away like water through my fingers.

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