He stopped at his row. Looked at his seat. Looked at Rhys. “You’re in my seat.” Rhys didn’t look up from the notebook he wasn’t writing in. “And?” The entire class went still. Thirty people holding their breath. The professor’s mouth opened and closed. Caleb’s face darkened – that slow, dangerous shift from golden boy…
Addicted To My Hockey Stepbrother
For four years, Naomi has loved hockey star Caleb Park, giving him everything and believing he might one day love her back. On Valentine’s Day, she presents him with a scrapbook of their memories and a heartfelt confession—only to be mocked in front of his teammates. But the cruelest blow comes when she overhears Caleb call her suffocating and too soft for real life. His final words shatter her completely. Will Naomi finally stop loving the man who never deserved her?
Chapter 12 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
“You’re really ditching me for that punk?” “It’s a school order, Caleb. I’m his assigned tutor.” “Since when?” “Since the email I got twenty minutes ago.” I stepped past him. My shoulder brushed his arm and I kept walking. “I’ll talk to you later.” I didn’t look back. Four years of always looking back, always…
Chapter 13 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
I pulled out my tutor evaluation form and flipped it over. Clicked my pen. All business. “One. Nobody knows it’s fake. Not Sienna, not Zara, not your teammates. If one person finds out, the whole thing collapses.” “Agreed.” “Two. Public displays of affection to sell it. Arm around the shoulder. Maybe hand-holding. Nothing excessive.” “Define…
Chapter 14 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
The second his mouth touched mine, every rational thought I’d had in the last fifteen minutes evaporated like water on a hot engine. He kissed the way he played hockey – instinctive, consuming, three moves ahead of everyone else in the room. His hand tightened on the back of my neck and my fingers fisted…
Chapter 15 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
He walked in at 5:47. I heard the door first. Then the heavy drop of a gym bag. Then footsteps – slower than usual, uneven – and when he appeared in the kitchen doorway, I understood why. His knuckles were split open. Fresh blood, not dried – meaning he’d been hitting something recently, or something…
Chapter 16 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
“You’re not what I expected,” I said. “What did you expect?” “Someone simpler.” “Disappointed?” I shook my head. Slowly. Honestly. Terrifyingly. Something shifted in his expression. The last wall – the smirk, the deflection, the armour of not caring – came down. And underneath it was just a boy sitting in his kitchen with bandaged…
Chapter 17 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
*** I woke up at 3 AM. His arm was around my waist. Heavy. Possessive even in sleep. My back against his chest, his face in my hair, our legs tangled together like they’d been doing this for years instead of hours. The gravity of it hit me all at once. My mother’s boyfriend’s son….
Chapter 18 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
“Boy stuff,” I said. “Which boy?” “All of them. None of them. I’m handling it.” She looked at me for a long moment. Then she nodded – not because she believed me, but because she loved me enough to let me lie until I was ready for the truth. “When you’re done handling it,” she…
Chapter 19 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
“You can’t do that.” “Do what?” “Show up at my lunch. Threaten me in front of my friends. Act like you own-“ “You ghosted me. You left my bed at five AM without a word. You didn’t answer my texts. You avoided me for two days.” He wasn’t smiling anymore. Those grey eyes were hard…
Chapter 20 – Trapped by My Hockey Stepbrother
Rhys looked at the hand. Then at Caleb. Then he took it. Squeezed. I could see Caleb’s knuckles shift – the pressure enough to make a point without making a scene. Rhys’s expression didn’t change. Didn’t flinch. Just held the handshake and held Caleb’s gaze with those grey eyes and smiled the kind of smile…