The Hockey Star’s Remorse

Chapter 156

With the day trip to the spa scheduled, I decided it was time to start packing, though my mind was weighed down by the heavy tension that had enveloped our apartment. Aria had been avoiding me ever since our fight, and I couldn’t help but feel like i was walking on eggshells.

I began folding clothes and carefully selecting toiletries to take with me when I heard a sharp knock at my bedroom door. Before I could answer, Aria barged in, a sheet of paper clutched tightly in her hand. The look on her face was a mixture of concern and anger, a storm brewing behind her eyes.

“What’s this?” Aria demanded, thrusting the paper toward me. I took it from her and my heart sank as I realized what it was the protective order Stella had filed against me.

–

“What are you doing with this?” I asked, my voice betraying my unease.

Aria’s voice was tight with frustration as she replied, “I found it on the kitchen counter, Evie. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

I sighed, frustration bubbling up inside me. “It’s nothing. Aria. I didn’t want to bother you with my messy life anymore.”

Aria’s eyebrows furrowed as she studied me, clearly not buying my dismissive attitude. “It doesn’t look like ‘nothing. Evie. Stella filed a protective order against you. You should have told me.”

I turned away from her, feeling a mix of embarrassment and guilt. “I didn’t want to burden you with my problems, Aria, Besides, what could you have done about it?”

Aria’s voice grew exasperated. “What could I have done? Well, for starters, I could have been there for you, supported you. We’re supposed to be friends, Evie!”

I clenched my fists, my anger building. “Look, it’s my problem to deal with.”

Aria’s frustration boiled over, and she took a step closer to me, her voice rising. “I spoke to Lucas about the trip, and he told me that Stella had threatened you. You got him involved, but not me?

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I thought I could handle it on my own.

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Aria’s anger flared, and she practically shouted, “Well, you can’t handle it on your own! Stella is clearly dangerous!”

I was at my breaking point, exhausted from the constant turmoil that had my life. “Aria, I’m not in the mood to fight with you right now.”

consumed

Aria’s eyes bore into mine, but there was a hint of hurt in her voice when she spoke. again. “Is that how it’s going to be, Evie? You’re just not going to speak to me anymore?”

the energy for this argument. My shoulders slumped, and I admitted defeat. “I just need some

of guilt. I knew I should have confided in her about the order, but I had been so wrapped up in my own fears and insecurities that I hadn’t considered how it

passed, and I tried to push aside the nagging worry that gnawed at me. I finished packing, double–checking that I had everything I needed for the spa trip. It was supposed to be a day of relaxation and

the spa trip. I had arranged to meet Penny for a late–night breakfast at the nearby diner. The promise of comfort food and her company offered a

corner booth. nursing a cup of

my appetite had vanished beneath the weight of my worries. “You

at me intently, her bright eyes filled with curiosity.

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deep breath, my anger bubbling just beneath the surface. “Stella framed me for tearing up her wedding dress, Penny. She made

own. “That conniving witch! Why would she do

head, feeling a heavy weight on my chest. “May have something

lot of enemies over the years. She’s not exactly

lengths? Tear up her dress, have her frame me, and

she was at the Hayes mansion that day when the dress was torn, and might have been there earlier to tear

always struck me as odd. She had shown up and asked for my help specifically while also nursing an

a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. “I

a conspiratorial whisper. “What if Scarlett had something to do with it? She might have a

my spine. Accusing her of something so

replied, my voice

eyes. “Classy people are usually the

wasn’t a name I’d heard in a while. “Linda…I guess she would hate the woman marrying Timothy. She hated

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Chapter 156

seeming more drawn to

stabbed at my hash browns with a fork, more out of habit than hunger, while Penny sipped her black coffee, her eyes darting around as if searching for something that

silence, “I’ve got to tell Timothy.”

her eyebrows furrowing

words aloud would make them all too real. “He needs to know about Stella and

against the saucer as she set it down, her eyes, widening in shock. “But you said…we agreed

her off, leaning toward her. “Keeping it to ourselves isn’t helping anyone, and looks so miserable. I

on me, her expression a mixture of sympathy and concern. “Evie, are you sure you want to do this? I mean,