He cups my cheeks, but I push his hands off me. “You must still be cheating on me now, hooking up with other women while you travel to different cities for your games.”
He shakes his head. “This is exactly what they want. To destroy us. We can’t let them win.”
“I should’ve spent more time with Abuelo these last few months,” I say, voice cold as steel. “But instead, I was spending it withyou. I regret letting you back into my life.”
A world of hurt flashes across his face as my words cut through him like a blade.
He steps aside, his shoulders slumping as I open the door. I shut it behind me, sealing him off from my world once more.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
maddox
Dribbling the ball,I race across the court as the shot clock ticks down the last seconds of the game. I do a quick scan and spot Andrés standing by the goal, unguarded.
With only three seconds left, I pass the ball to Andrés and he slams it in the net, beating the buzzer.
Roars from the crowd fill the arena as everyone celebrates our win. We defeated the Phoenixes and are moving on to the championship round.
This is a big moment for me. I should be overwhelmed with an insurmountable amount of joy. But how can I be, when the most important person in my life isn’t here to celebrate with me?
My eyes move to the crowd of fans celebrating. The spot next to Okasan and Asami where she usually sits is filled by someone else tonight.
It’s been weeks since I’ve heard from Unknown, so I assume they were just trying to see if I would fall for their twisted games. But I should’ve known they had another trick up their sleeve. They went after something that would damage me far more than my career.
I can deal with never playing in the NBA again, but losing her? I will never be able to recover from that.
“I regret letting you back into my life.”
Her words replay in my mind on an endless loop, twisting the knife in my heart.
I want to reach out to her, but I know I’ll be met with silence.
Elijah walks up to me, slinging his arm around my shoulders. “I feel like I’m on top of the world right now. A week from now, we’re gonna get our rings and hold that championship trophy.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait,” I reply, my tone lacking enthusiasm.
Elijah cocks his brow. “What’s going on with you, bro? We’re about to make history. You should be more excited.”
“Nothing’s going on,” I say, forcing a smile. “I’m just exhausted and ready to go home and pass out. These games have been brutal.”
“Come on, Maddox. I’m your best friend,” he says softly, his face etched with concern. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” I give him a wave and head to the lockers. “I’ll see you at practice.”
“Do you want some more?’ Okasan asks after I take my last bite of wagyu.
It’s been a while since I came over here for dinner, and the only reason I came today was because she told me Otosan would be working late.
I know seeing him would only further upset me and put me in a worse emotional state than I already am. With the first game of the finals being tomorrow, I can’t afford that.
“No, I’m okay, thank you. I’m already getting pretty full.”
Okasan lifts a brow. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”Getting up from my seat, I gather all the plates and head to the kitchen.
Okasan follows after me, walking twice as fast to keep up with my long strides. “Don’t lie to me, Masashi. You normally eat three times as much, so I know something is wrong. Is it because of Otosan?”
