Fake Dating My Ex's Favourite Hockey Player - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

EMILIA
Liam has been gone longer than I expected.
I frown. Didn’t he just go to get the door? It shouldn’t take this long.
I try not to let my mind spiral, but it’s hard when everything seems to be crashing down around me.
First, Stone and all the memories he dragged back into my life. Now, this—my family’s name, plastered across the internet like a headline in some twisted fairy tale.
I force myself to move. I slip into the bathroom, letting the hot water run over me, washing away the weight in my chest. I focus on breathing, on standing still, on the small victory of not collapsing under the pressure of everything that’s gone wrong.
I try not to think about the last time I spoke to my family.
My mother’s voice, sharp and unrelenting. My father’s heavy silence, his disappointment louder than any words he could have said. My younger sister’s glare, filled with a resentment I fully understand.
I shut my eyes. Think of the good things, Em. Don’t drown in everything that’s happened.
By the time I step out of the bathroom, I feel lighter—not fixed, but at least functioning. I wrap a towel around my hair, pull on my swimsuit and throw on a simple sundress over it.
Lacey told me today was pool day last night. It won’t do well to miss it. Plus, Liam and I need to be seen together more. It’ll make selling our relationship way easier.
When I catch my reflection in the mirror, I hesitate. My curls are still damp, still wild. I leave them down. They’ll shrink anyway.
I sit on the bed and wait for Liam.
Five minutes pass. Then ten.
Why is it so quiet?
Just as I start to get up, I hear it—muffled voices outside the door.
At first, I can’t make out the words. But then the volume rises, sharp and heated.
Raised voices.
My stomach twists.
I have a bad feeling about this. Just when I’m about to get up and investigate, Liam’s phone rings. It’s from his agent.
Well, this is as good an excuse as any to see what’s going on.
And because my intuition has never been too far off and life loves fucking with me, when I open the door I’m face to face with Liam and Zane in what seems to be a heated conversation.
The second the door swings open, they both freeze.
Zane’s face is flushed with frustration, his jaw clenched so tight it looks like he might snap a tooth. Liam, on the other hand, stands there cool and composed, arms crossed over his chest, radiating pure disgust.
But the second his blue eyes meet mine, everything shifts. His scowl disappears, replaced by that lazy, dimpled smile that does dangerous things to my pulse.
“What are you doing, love?” His voice is soft, intimate, like we’re the only two people here. Like Zane isn’t standing a few feet away, watching our every move. “Shouldn’t you be inside resting?”
Before I can respond, he’s already closing the distance between us. His hand finds my arm, warm and firm, fingers brushing over my skin with the kind of ease that makes my breath hitch.
Goosebumps break out instantly.
I know he feels it. The way my body reacts to him, the way the air between us tightens, but he pretends like he doesn’t. Like he doesn’t notice the way my lips part slightly, the way my grip on his phone falters.
“Your phone was ringing,” I manage, holding it up like it’s some kind of shield. But my voice comes out softer than I intended, and when I glance down at the screen, my frown deepens.
The call ended.
“Sorry,” I murmur.
“Don’t apologise, love.”
Liam doesn’t even glance at the phone. His eyes stay on me, searching, lingering. His fingers flex slightly against my skin, a barely-there movement, but I feel it everywhere.
And judging by the storm brewing in Zane’s expression, he does too.
“Emilia,” Zane says, his voice tight. His jaw flexes like he’s trying to keep himself in check. Then, after a sharp breath, he tries again. “We need to talk.”
Before I can even react, Liam steps in, voice smooth but laced with irritation. “Emilia doesn’t need to do anything, Whitmoore.” He drags out Zane’s name like it tastes bitter on his tongue. “Especially when it concerns you. I’m not exactly comfortable letting my girl around her ex—who obviously still carries a torch for her.”
My stomach betrays me, flipping at my girl like it has no sense of self-preservation.
“I don—” Zane starts, then visibly stiffens, his hands balling into fists at his sides. But he doesn’t lash out. Instead, he looks past Liam, straight at me, like the words barely registered. But I know they do.
I know it takes everything in him to ignore Liam.
Seeing the tension between them, I wonder if something happened.
“Emilia. Now.”
I fold my arms, tilting my head. “And who exactly do you think you’re talking to like that?”
His frustration flares for a second, and I catch the way his fists clench before he forces them to relax. “I’m trying to help you.”
Liam lets out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “That’s funny. I don’t remember her asking for help.”
I shake my head, a silent signal to let me handle this. I know exactly what shade of insane Zane is.
I exhale, keeping my voice even. “Zane, I already told you how I felt when you showed up at my bakery. I don’t need your help. I don’t need you.”
I can feel Liam’s surprise at that new piece of information, but I ignore it. This isn’t the time. I can’t explain the nagging feeling in my chest, even though I know logically it’s really none of his business.
“And you think you need him? That he sees you as something more than a pastime till regular season starts?”
Liam starts, shooting me a slightly apologetic look. “Man, what’s your problem?”
I can feel another argument brewing. I rub my temples and speak up before they go at it again.
“Zane, I’m only here for old time’s sake. And because I’m genuinely happy you found someone willing to put up with you for the rest of her life, so please do not test the limits of my goodwill.”
Both are lies, but he doesn’t need to know that. I’m only here because. . . I actually don’t know anymore. Because I wanted to prove I was someone without him? That if I had his favourite hockey player by my side, I was somehow worth his love?
I don’t know anymore.
The latter is more or less the truth. I’m glad Zane has Becca, better her than me. But it’s still weird not being by his side.
Oh, well. I’ll get over it soon enough.
“You never change do you?” His voice drips with condescension and I know which Zane I’m dealing with.
The one from the bakery. The staple during our ten year relationship.
“Excuse me?” I cross my arms.
“I don’t know what you think you see in her, Liam. Maybe it’s what I did when we first got together, but don’t you see how embarrassing it is?” At his words, it’s my turn to stiffen at Liam’s side. “Picking up something I threw away. When you throw it away again, who’s going to pick it up this time? She’s in New York now so maybe one of your teammates—”
Liam moves before I can even process what’s happening.
One second, he’s standing beside me, the warmth of his presence keeping me grounded, and the next, he’s got Zane shoved up against the hallway wall, his forearm pressing into his chest.
“Say her name again,” Liam says, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Go on. I dare you.”
Zane’s eyes flash, but for once, he’s not so quick with a comeback. Maybe because he knows Liam isn’t bluffing.
I should step in. I should tell Liam to stop. But I don’t.
Because for the first time in a long time, someone is standing up for me.
Liam leans in, lowering his voice. “You want to talk about throwing people away? That’s rich, coming from you. But let me make something very clear.” His grip tightens, and I swear I hear Zane suck in a breath. “Emilia isn’t something you discarded. She’s someone you lost. And trust me, you will never get her back.”
A slow shiver runs down my spine.
Zane tries to laugh it off, but it sounds forced. “You think you’re any different? I respect you, I’m just trying to look out for you that’s why I’m like this.”
“I don’t want your respect and I didn’t ask you to look out for me.”
Zane flinches. “Yeah? So what happens when you get tired of her?”
Liam doesn’t even hesitate. “I won’t.”
I feel my breath catch.
Zane scoffs, but there’s something behind his eyes now—something bitter. He jerks his shoulder back, forcing Liam to release him, and straightens his suit like nothing happened.
“Becca’s waiting for you at the pool. Maybe you should go to her and not make a fool of yourself here. Alright?” Liam’s words seem to be the sole reminder of his wife to be, but they’re so condescending, like he’s talking to a child or maybe the gum stuck beneath his shoe.
The latter might not be so far off.
Zane says nothing, then turns on his heel and stalks off.
The silence between us is charged.
Then Liam exhales, shaking out his hands before turning to me. His blue eyes lock onto mine, searching.
“You okay?” His voice is softer now, gentler.
I nod, but my body betrays me, the slight tremble in my hands giving me away.
Liam notices. Of course he does.
He reaches for me, his fingers brushing over mine, sending a warm, steadying pulse through me. “Forget him. He’s not worth it.”
“I know. I have.” I say honestly. But how do I admit that my hands are only shaking so much because he defended me, not because of that asshole’s words?
He’ll never get tired of me, huh?
He really is good at pretend.
I wonder just how good he is. Does it stop at the fake smiles? Or is the way he is looking at me, like I’m something worth protecting. Like I’m someone he won’t let go of.
Is that fake too?
I shake my head softly. “I was heading over to the pool. Lacey told me about it.”
He looks me over for a few more minutes before nodding. “Sure thing. Let’s change and head out.”