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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Chapter 156

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

Aria stormed out of my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and a heavy sense 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 might affect

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

to life as I made my way through the dimly lit streets of downtown. After packing my suitcase for the spa trip. I had arranged to meet Penny for a late–night breakfast at the nearby diner. The promise of comfort food and

diner’s door tinkled as I stepped inside, and the scent of sizzling bacon and freshly brewed coffee enveloped me. Penny sat in a corner booth. nursing a cup of coffee, her expression peaceful. As I slid into the booth across from her, I

appetite had vanished beneath the weight of my worries. “You won’t believe what happened today.”

her bright eyes filled

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Chapter 156

the surface. “Stella framed me for tearing up her wedding

my own. “That conniving witch! Why would she do something

heavy weight on my

has made a lot of enemies over the years. She’s

up her

she was at the Hayes

always struck me as odd. She had

sinking feeling settling in my

do with it? She

down my spine. Accusing her of something so serious without concrete evidence

my voice

in her eyes. “Classy people are usually the messiest behind closed doors, but says

she would hate the woman marrying Timothy. She hated me just

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Chapter 156

Penny nodded rapidly, seeming more drawn

over a table, the cheap Formica surface sticky with the residue of countless meals. I stabbed at my hash browns with a fork, more out of habit

silence, “I’ve got to tell Timothy.”

her eyebrows

hesitated for a moment, as if the very act of speaking the words aloud would make them

coffee cup clattered against the saucer as she set it down, her eyes, widening in shock. “But

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

me, her expression a mixture of sympathy and concern. “Evie, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, telling Timothy… it’s a big step. You could