For the first time in years, my chest didn’t feel like a cage. It felt like a fucking door, swinging wide open.
And for once, I wasn’t afraid of what might walk through it.
Chapter 31
Epilogue
The arena was empty.
I sat alone in the locker room long after everyone else had left, the echoes of the game still clinging to the walls. My knuckles were scraped raw, the skin split in two places. My jersey hung heavy on my shoulders, still damp with sweat and melted ice.
The win didn’t matter.
None of it mattered anymore.
Because earlier today?—
I saw her.
Laughing.
Standing beside Nathan Harrington like nothing had ever happened. Like she hadn’t burned my life to the ground and walked away without a scratch. Like Harrington hadn’t shaken hands, signed contracts, and come out of it cleaner than he’d ever been.
I stared at my reflection in the metal locker across from me.
Scarred.
Older.
Harder.
There was a time I didn’t recognize the man looking back. Now he was the only version of me that made sense.
They got everything.
And I got ruined.
My jaw tightened until it ached.
For years, I told myself to move on. Focus on the game. Let it go.
But seeing them together?—
That ended it.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my thighs, staring down at my hands. Blood had dried along my knuckles, cracked into thin lines that stung when I flexed my fingers.
Good.
Pain meant something.
Pain reminded me I wasn’t done.
I pushed to my feet slowly, grabbing my towel and dragging it over my face before tossing it aside. The locker room lights buzzed overhead, too bright, too quiet.
Too final.
But this wasn’t the end.
