The Hockey Star’s Remorse

Chapter 31

That night had turned into an unexpected celebration at the local bar. It was the nicest one in town, at least in terms of cleanliness. We figured we’d invite Lucas out as well, and he swiftly accepted the offer.

We had ordered a few rounds of every drink on the specials menu and downed them with reckless abandon. By the third, I’d already grown dizzy and had to drop out of the challenge. Lucas and Aria persisted, chugging down their margaritas before slamming down their glasses.

“You’ve gone soft, Evie!” Lucas drawled, and he threw his head back with laughter. “Aria, you can actually keep up.”

“As if I’m going to be outdone by you. This was my town first, newbie!” Aria spouted defiantly. A waitress passed and Aria called to her, motioning for her to approach before ordering their next set of drinks.

“Leave me out. I’m quitting,” I mumbled. It was difficult to keep my head up as it rolled back and forth. Too much weight in one direction meant losing my balance completely. The two of them booed me and I waved them off.

It felt nice to let loose for the night. The nerves had been tearing me apart recently, and I could feel the extra stress causing some pain in my gut. If I kept it up, I’d end up passing out from exhaustion.

The waitress finally came by with their next set of drinks. After counting down, Aria and Lucas raced to finish them.

As I watched in amusement, my phone began to buzz against my hip. Wearily, It took it out and checked the screen. It wasn’t from Bruce, but who it was instead didn’t make me feel any better.

I excused myself from the table and made my way to the ladies‘ room on the other end of the bar. My nose twitched at the fresh scent of bile and stale food as I shuffled into one of the stalls. I answered the call, bracing myself for what he’d have to say.

“Mr. Fitzgerald.” I tried to keep my voice as steady as possible, still feeling lucid from the drinks. “How may I help you?”

“This is my last warning,” he blurted out, not bothering with the pleasantries. “If

1/4

Need Top Metal Stamping? Get a 10% Discount (Start Now)

Chapter 31

you don’t drop the case now, there is no turning back.”

“You have very weird timing,” I grumbled, leaning against the wall for support. “But I’ll humor you. We’ll be proceeding with the case as planned.”

his wits end on

I was.

he let out a long sigh.

my lips. “All right

words were far less restrained, carrying the weight of an intense hatred. “Laugh now, Ms. Sinclair. You’ll

me speechless in the rancid smelling

I had

my e

good it would do in the aftermath. If he really was the most powerful

feet. Our time at the bar had been at nice shift from all the drama with Timothy’s case, but that had ended quickly with Mr.

made my way to the kitchen and found Aria seated at the breakfast bar with a bowl of yogurt. Her free hand was fixed to

much of an appetite, so I made myself a glass of water before taking the seat beside

the best out of the bunch so far,” said Aria. She scooped some

2/1

Get a 10% Discount

Wed, 20

Chapter 31

I scoffed. “Standards?”

be more lenient when it comes to our living space. I mean, look at

of color that turned my stomach whenever I even guessed the origin. While it wasn’t as suffocating as it had been prior to us adding some life to it, it was still in

what are your expectations then?” I asked hesitantly, watching as a sly grin emerged on Aria’s face. She navigated around the website and finally found what she was looking for. She turned the

I could read through the description. It was a fully furnished, two–story

once I spotted the price lingering

per

Aria quickly added, sliding the laptop back. “We both have well–paying jobs. It doesn’t

I retorted. “It’s about

I mean, this

me, and I felt some of my resolve slip away. If there was more protection at this place, that meant paparazzi couldn’t camp outside. door. It also meant Bruce couldn’t

side my