Prologue

Anna's POV

The rink was cold, but the heat from the bodies pressed against the glass made it unbearable. The roar of the crowd echoed in the air as I sat in the stands, my eyes glued to my boyfriend Carter, the hockey team’s captain, who was skating with fierce determination on the ice. His eyes, sharp and focused, scanned the rink as he led his team in the final showdown. Tonight was a huge game—the championship finals between our college, Hillcrest High Hawks, and the Lakeview High Lions, the rivals who had always seemed so distant, so unreachable. I had always supported Carter, stood by his side, cheered him on, no matter how many late nights and early mornings it took. After all, hockey was our shared love. It was how we had met—two passionate souls drawn to the ice, sharing the adrenaline and the excitement of the game.

But tonight… tonight, everything would change.

"God, why am I so nervous?" I clasped my hands together as my breath came out in anxious huffs.

"You should be. This game is a big one. Although, I think I'm getting the stink eye from people I know because I'm sitting here next to the enemy," Courtney, my best friend since kindergarten, but who attended Lakeview High, whispered beside me as she nudged my ribs with her elbow.

My heart pounded with the surrounding noise, the vibrations of the crowd rattling through my chest as Carter skated effortlessly across the ice. I had always admired his grace, the way he moved with such confidence, like the rink was his second home. I loved how he could lead the team and control the pace of the game with nothing more than a glance or a powerful shift in speed. It had always made me feel proud, watching him in his element. Yet now, as the puck dropped and the game began, there was a dissonance building inside me that I couldn’t quite place.

For the first time, something felt off. It was the way Carter’s eyes seemed to avoid mine whenever he skated past, the slight tension in his movements that hadn’t been there before. I tried to push it aside, to focus on the game, to cheer for my boyfriend, but a nagging feeling crept up my spine and made my stomach twist.

My mind wandered back to the earlier part of the day. I had tried to call Carter, to wish him good luck before the game, but he hadn’t picked up. He’d been distant all week, distracted in ways that made me uneasy, but I had chalked it up to the pressure of the final match. I’d seen him under stress before, and it always made him a little withdrawn. Still, something in the way he had avoided my gaze when we had spoken earlier made me feel like I was a distant memory, a shadow in his life. I had shrugged it off at the time, telling myself that it was all part of the pre-game nerves.

But as I watched him now, the thought wouldn’t leave my mind.

“Come on, Carter!” I shouted from the crowd, trying to shake the unease that was clouding my thoughts.

But then something happened—something I hadn’t expected. The buzzer rang, signaling a timeout, and Carter skated toward the bench, his teammates surrounding him as they huddled to discuss their strategy. My eyes followed him, but my gaze was caught by someone else—Marcus McKay.

The eldest of the McKay brothers was standing at the edge of the rink, leaning against the boards with his arms crossed. He was watching the game intently, but his eyes somehow drifted toward me. When our gazes met, I felt an odd sensation in my chest—a combination of curiosity and discomfort. Marcus was striking, with a quiet intensity that contrasted sharply with his brothers’ more outgoing personalities. His dark hair and strong jawline made him stand out, but it was his eyes—those sharp, calculating eyes—that lingered in my mind long after we broke contact.

I quickly looked away, trying to refocus on the game, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Marcus.

"You okay?" Courtney asked beside me, but my ears only heard the buzzer for the game to resume and my eyes scanned the rink once more for Carter.

The game resumed with a newfound intensity. Carter was playing harder now, more aggressively, pushing himself with every stride. He was good, as always—exceptional even—but something still didn’t feel right. I watched him skate down the ice, eyes focused, until suddenly, the unexpected happened.

Out of nowhere, Carter collided with one of the McKay brothers. The force of the impact sent Carter sprawling onto the ice, his stick flying out of his hands. The crowd gasped collectively as Carter’s body slid across the rink, but it was the look on his face when he got up that caught my attention. There was no anger, no frustration, no spark of competitive spirit. Instead, there was something cold, distant—something almost empty in his eyes.

"What the hell did he just do?!" Courtney shouted as she, along with everyone else in the stands, shot to their feet in shock and anger.

My stomach churned as I leaned forward, my pulse quickening. I tried to catch his gaze from across the rink, but Carter didn’t look at me. Instead, he skated off to the bench, shaking his head, but his body language spoke volumes.

Something was very wrong.

"Something's not right. That's not like him." I tried to crane my neck to see Carter on the bench, but the crowd supporting Lakeview began an earsplitting uproar and an echo of booing and disgruntled remarks filled the air.

I stood up, hoping to get a glimpse of Carter, to talk to him, to find out what was going on. But as I moved toward the locker room entrance, I saw something that made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

There, in the hallway behind the locker rooms, I saw Carter talking to someone. At first, I couldn’t see who it was, but as I got closer, the figure came into view. It was a girl—a girl I immediately recognized, with long blonde hair and an air of familiarity that sent a surge of panic through me. It was Jessica, Carter's ex-girlfriend. Carter was laughing, talking to her in a way that made my chest tighten, and when Jessica reached up, touched his arm and pulled him in for a kiss, I froze.

It was the most natural gesture, like when they were still dating. The kiss and Jessica’s touch was lingering, not friendly, but familiar. And Carter… Carter didn’t pull away.

My heart pounded in my ears as I took a step back, trying to remain unseen, to process what I was witnessing. But my thoughts felt like they were moving in slow motion, my mind refusing to accept what was happening in front of me.

I wanted to confront him, to run up and demand answers right then and there, but I couldn’t. Not here, not like this. Not in front of everyone.

Instead, I turned and walked away, my heart aching with every step. I couldn’t watch him any longer. I couldn’t even be in the same building. It felt like the walls of the rink were closing in on me, the noise of the crowd growing distant, muted by the pounding in my chest.

The betrayal was too much to bear.

As the sound of the buzzer again signaled that the game continued, I found myself feeling like I couldn't breathe, my eyes blurred with tears. I had to get away. I couldn’t stay there, couldn’t watch him play like everything was normal.

"What the hell is happening? What the hell did I just see?" I stopped in my tracks and turned my blurred eyes toward the building once more, my fists slowing clenching at my sides.