Page 85 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO
Before she can say anything else, I step inside, brushing past her. She stumbles back, protesting, “Hey! You cannot just barge in like that…”
When she closes the door and turns back, I do the only thing I can think of - I pull her into my arms.
She stiffens immediately, struggling against me.
“What are you doing?” She hisses, breaking free and glaring at me like I have lost my mind. “Liam, I’m not doing this with you!”
I raise my hands in surrender. “I am sorry. I know I should not have done that.”
Her expression hardens. “Then why did you?”
“Because I needed to,” I say quietly. “Hazel, I need to say this - no, I have to say this. I hurt you in ways I cannot even begin to imagine, and I am sorry. For everything.”
“Hazel. I am sorry for not standing by you. For believing lies over the woman I loved. For not being the man, you deserved.”
Her brows knit together, her lips parting as if to interrupt, but I do not let her. “I was an idiot, Hazel. I should have trusted you, should have fought for you, but I didn’t. And I will regret that for the rest of my life.”
She looks away, arms folding tighter around herself. “And what brought this epiphany on, Liam? Why now?”
“I talked to my family,” I say, my throat tightening. “They admitted it. My mother, my sisters - they set you up. They lied to me, Hazel. They…” My voice cracks, and I pause to steady it. “They wanted you gone. And I let them win. I let them destroy the best thing in my life.”
Hazel stares at me, her expression unreadable. Then, her voice sharp but trembling, she says, “I don’t think you understand how much you hurt me.”
“You’re right,” I whisper. “I don’t.” I reach out, but she steps back.
“Don’t,” she whispers, shaking her head, “don’t touch me.”
“Hazel, I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right,” I plead. “Just…, don’t shut me out.”
Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, but she quickly blinks them away. “Liam,” she says, her voice trembling, “you do not get to come here and dump all of this on me like it’s going to fix anything. You broke me. Do you even understand that?”
“I do,” I say softly. “And I will spend the rest of my life proving to you how sorry I am. But I will go now.”
I leave before she can say more, the door clicking shut behind me.
****
An hour later, I am at the Avalanche training center, sweat pouring down my face as I take another slapshot. The puck slams into the net, echoing through the empty rink. Logan, Matt, and Ethan groan and ask to take a break.
After a grueling hour, we collapse on the bench. Logan hands me a water bottle, his brow raised. “All right, spill. You are playing like you’ve got a score to settle with life itself. Basically, like you have been through hell.”
I laugh bitterly, running a hand through my hair. “Because I have. Turns out everything I thought I knew about Hazel was a lie.”
Ethan raises a brow. “What do you mean?”
“I was wrong,” I admit, my voice heavy. “I found out today that everything I believed about her - everything my family told me - it was all a lie. She did not cheat. She did not ask my mum for money. My own family orchestrated the entire thing to get rid of her.”
The guys stare at me, stunned.
“You’re serious?” Matt finally says.
“Dead serious,” I reply, “and I was stupid enough to believe it all. I did not even give her a chance to explain.”
Matt shakes his head. “Man. That’s heavy.”
I nod. “Ethan, you can say it now. You told me so.”
Ethan shrugs. “Not gonna lie, I am being tempted to say it, but that does not fix anything. What are you going to do about it now? You do not love her anymore, right?”
