Chapter 4 SOMETHING IN HIM BREAKS QUIETLY
Kai did not go back to his dorm after the shoot.
He walked.
That was the problem with anger, it needed somewhere to go when there was nothing left to hit.
The campus was quieter at night, but not empty.
Westbridge never really slept.
Somewhere, a group laughed too loudly outside a café.
Somewhere else, music spilled out of a dorm window.
Normal life.
The kind Kai used to think he belonged to.
Now it just felt like background noise he couldn’t tune into anymore.
His hands were still slightly curled like he was holding something invisible, like letting go would make it real.
The gym was unlocked. It was never locked.
Athletes came and went here like ghosts.
Kai stepped inside.
The air smelled like rubber flooring and sweat and repetition.
Familiar, safe and empty.
He did not turn on the lights at first.
Just walked straight to the court and sat on the lowest bench.
Then he exhaled.
Once, twice.
And for a moment, he did not feel like a captain, or a headline, or a problem to be fixed. He was just tired.
His phone buzzed, he ignored it.
It buzzed again.
It was Noah, of course.
Kai answered without thinking.
“What?”
Noah’s voice was softer than usual.
“You good?”
Kai stared at the floor.
Kai paused at first and then responded,
“I don’t know.”
That answer surprised even him. Noah did not joke this time.
“That bad?”
Kai did not respond immediately because the truth was not dramatic and that was the worst part.
Nothing was exploding, nothing was breaking loudly, it was just constant pressure, like something inside him had never fully healed and did not plan to.
“I touched her hand,” Kai said suddenly.
Noah paused. “Bro…what?”
Kai rubbed his face.
“In the shoot. It was scripted. I know that.”
Silence. Then Noah said carefully:
“And?”
Kai exhaled.
“It did not feel scripted.”
That was the moment he regretted saying it because once it was out, it stayed out.
Noah’s voice dropped slightly.
“Okay… that is dangerous territory, Captain.”
Kai leaned back against the bench.
“I am not doing anything.”
“That is not what I meant.”
Kai closed his eyes because he knew.
Across campus, Lena was not sleeping either but for different reasons.
Her phone was face down on her desk.
Still warm from notifications she refused to read.
Maya was asleep.
The room was quiet in that fragile way dorm rooms get at night like silence is temporary and can be broken by anything.
Lena sat on her bed, knees pulled up slightly.
She told herself she was tired and that was technically the truth.
But her mind kept replaying something stupid.
Kai’s hand, not the cameras, not the crowd. Just the moment before he let go like he had not wanted to.
She shook her head slightly.
“No,” she whispered to herself.
“Absolutely not.”
The next morning came too fast and too loud because Westbridge had already turned them into content again.
Lena did not even reach the cafeteria before she saw it.
Screens, campus TVs andphones everywhere.
The garden clip was slowed down, edited and captioned:
“WHEN THEY FORGET THEY ARE PRETENDING…”
Lena stopped walking.
Someone near her gasped.
Another whispered:
“Look at his face…he is totally into her.”
Lena’s jaw tightened.
“That is not…”
But no one was listening because narratives move faster than truth always.
Kai saw it too, in the locker room before practice.
Noah was already there, scrolling.
He looked up once.
Then slowly said:
“Uh… bro.”
Kai did not look up from tying his shoes.
“What.”
Noah turned the phone.
The clip was already on millions of views.
Kai watched it once, only once, then looked away.
“Edit,” he said immediately.
Noah raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”
Kai stood up.
“Delete it from my sight.”
Noah did not move.
“You can’t delete the internet, man.”
Kai grabbed his stick.
“I can ignore it.”
Noah hesitated.
Then, quieter:
“No you can’t.”
Practice was worse than usual because everyone was watching him differently now.
Not like a captain, not like a teammate but like a storyline.
Kai noticed and he did not react.
But inside, something sharpened because this was how it always started.
Attention, assumptions, then pressure, then mistakes.
Lena’s day was worse in a quieter way.
She tried to attend lecture but she failed.
She tried to focus on notes. She failed.
She tried not to check her phone. She failed.
Finally, she stood up mid-class and left.
The professor did not stop her. No one did. Because everyone already knew her name.
That was the problem with visibility.
You do not get to disappear when you want to anymore.
She ended up at the diner at night shift.
Familiar, safe and real.
At least it was supposed to be.
“Brooks,” her manager called. “Table three.”
Lena grabbed the tray.
She walked over and stopped because Table Three was not just any table.
It was Damon Cross.
It was a hockey jersey, smirks and eyes like he was always watching something unfold before it happened.
He looked up at her slowly.
“Oh,” he said.
“Fake girlfriend.”
Lena did not react.
“Order?”
Damon smiled wider.
“I will have what Kai Ryder’s having.”
“And maybe some honesty from you too.”
Back at the gym, Kai finally noticed Noah wasn’t joking anymore.
Noah leaned back in his chair.
“Someone is stirring things already,” he said.
Kai frowned slightly.
“What are you talking about?”
Noah turned his phone again.
A new post but this time it was anonymous from a blurry angle and it was clear enough.
Damon Cross at a diner, with a caption:
“Interesting who your fake girlfriend serves at night.”
Kai’s expression change
d instantly.
Not loud, not dramatic, just cold.
Very, very still.
Noah watched him carefully.
“Yeah,” Noah said softly.
“This is going to get messy fast.”
Kai picked up his stick.
And for the first time since everything started, he was not thinking about hockey.
He was thinking about her.
