Chapter 1 CHAPTER ONE

The crowd roared as Ava Monroe flew down the court, the ball an extension of her body. Sweat glistened on her forehead, her braids whipping behind her as she pivoted past a defender. With a swift fake and a fluid jump shot, she released the ball from her fingertips, watching it spin gracefully through the air. Swish, three pointer, again. The stadium erupted. Her team, the Las Vegas Ravens, surged ahead with a ten point lead and Ava’s name echoed through the rafters. She didn’t smile, she never smiled until the final buzzer, that was her rule. Basketball wasn’t just a game, for her, it was her identity, her redemption, here in the court where she was in control. She jogged back to the bench during a time out, nodding absently as Coach Rivera slapped her shoulder.

"You’re on fire, Monroe", the coach said.

"Just keep the pressure on and we can close this out hard", he added.

Ava grabbed a towel and water bottle, letting herself breathe for the first time in twenty minutes. The adrenaline still buzzed under her skin. She allowed her eyes to scan the crowd, cameras flashing, fans screaming, energy pulsing. Somewhere in the chaos, a little girl in an Ava Monroe jersey held up a glittery sign: "#TeamAva Forever!"

A flicker of a smile formed on her lips, it was still crazy to her sometimes that this was her life now. Then her phone vibrated, again and again. She frowned. It was tucked beside her in the team duffel. Normally, she wouldn’t even have it on court level but her publicist, Melissa had insisted on keeping it close for emergency calls, Ava couldn't imagine a PR emergency that would require Melissa to call her while she was on court but she carried it anyway. Ava reluctantly picked it up, wiping her hands on her jersey before unlocking the screen.

47 missed calls. 122 unread messages. Dozens of Twitter notifications.

Her stomach dropped and swiped her phone open. Melissa’s name popped up first, then her agent and her sister. Then the text that made her blood run cold:

"You need to get off the court now and come see me!" - Melissa.

Her heart thudded, another message came through, from him, Chase.

"Didn’t think I’d actually do it, huh?"

She didn’t need to open the attachment, she tapped into Twitter instead, where her name was already trending at number one. Not for a buzzer beater, not for breaking some basketball record.

#AvaMonroeExposed

She clicked the top link, hands trembling. It was a screen recording. A voice note, her voice but distorted, taken out of context. Spliced with clips of Chase’s, anger in his tone, her voice sounding cold, throwing accusations. The implication that she had been cheating on him, that she had used him, mocked him, laughed about it. Except… none of it was real, not like that. They had fought, yes - but Chase had edited it, twisted it. The camera panned to her bench, someone whispered her name.

"Ava... Is something wrong?", Coach Rivera followed her gaze to the phone still in her hand, his brow creased.

"You okay?", he asked.

Ava stood up abruptly.

"I uh … I need a minute", she said.

She didn’t wait for permission, she turned and stormed toward the tunnel, heart pounding so loud she could barely hear the rising murmur in the arena. Melissa met her in the hallway, panic written all over her face.

"It’s everywhere", she said breathlessly.

"Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, the video’s been reshared a hundred thousand times in under ten minutes", she told Ava.

"I didn’t say those things", Ava whispered through gritted teeth, her blood boiling.

"I know, but perception is everything", Melissa reminded her.

Ava shoved her phone into Melissa’s hand.

"I don't care, fix it", she said.

Melissa looked helpless.

"It’s already spiraling, sponsors are calling. Nike wants a statement by tonight. Powerade is ‘reevaluating your position as a brand ambassador.’ This is a PR nightmare", she told her.

"Already?", Ava hissed and Melissa nodded helplessly.

"Well, tell them it’s fake!"

"It's not that simple and Chase is definitely not making things any easier", Melissa told her.

"He’s already gone live on Instagram crying about how ‘you emotionally manipulated him’ and ‘broke him’. He’s playing the victim perfectly."

Ava’s throat tightened. She had trusted him, let him into her home, her heart, her life. And now… this?

"Where’s Coach?", she muttered.

"Looking for you, I'm sure", Melissa said.

"But, Ava, you need to prepare yourself", she warned.

"For what?"

"With the way this is spreading like wildfire you should expect-"

Then came the voice over the loudspeakers, interrupting her.

"Attention: Ava Monroe has been pulled from tonight’s game pending internal review. We apologize to fans for any confusion."

Her legs nearly buckled. Pulled, mid game, shame crept up her neck like wildfire.

---

The locker room was empty when she got there, only the hum of fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. She collapsed onto the bench and stared at the floor, numb. A scandal, a public scandal. So this was what it felt like to lose everything in real time. The walls, lined with victory photos and gold medals, now felt like a prison. Her heart ached, not just from betrayal but from the realization that she had underestimated how far Chase would go to punish her for leaving. There was a knock on the door then it opened. Coach Rivera stepped in, eyes heavy with disappointment, not at her but at the situation.

"I had no choice", he said softly.

"Management’s pulling you until this gets resolved."

"I didn’t do it", Ava said quietly.

"I believe you", He sat beside her.

"But right now, the court of public opinion is louder than any scoreboard."

---

Two hours later, she was driven out of the arena through the back entrance, paparazzi flashing through tinted windows. By the time she got home, her inbox was full of contract suspensions. Her agent said she'd do damage control, but even that sounded like a lie. Ava sat on the edge of her bed, still in uniform. Her phone buzzed, she ignored it. She was scared to open social media to see what people were saying about her, she knew how cruel netizens could be. Her phone buzzed again but she ignored it. Until a voicemail came through, her sister’s voice, shaking.

"Ava… Mom saw the video. She’s upset, please call me."

Her hands clenched into fists. This wasn’t about just her anymore. It was bleeding into everything, her family, her name, her career. A knock came at the door and she tensed.

It opened.

Melissa entered, tablet in hand.

"We need to talk about strategy", she said in a matter of fact tone.

Ava turned away.

"Don’t, not tonight."

"Then tomorrow because Ava…", Melissa lowered her voice, "This is the kind of scandal you don’t just walk away clean from."

Ava looked at her, eyes sharp.

"Then I’ll crawl out of it if I have to", she said.

Melissa nodded solemnly.

"But you’ll need help, you can't do it alone, certainly not like this. You need a distraction, something to shift the headlines."

"Like what?"

"Like…", Melissa began to pace the room, a habit she had when she was thinking

".... a love story", she stopped and her whole face lit up.

"Of course! A new man. Someone who makes the public forget about Chase and this drama entirely."

Ava scoffed.

"You want me to fake a relationship?"

"Not just fake it", Melissa shook her head.

"We need to sell it, make people believe in it. But to do this we need someone clean, trustworthy, someone no one could possibly hate."

Ava thought of her contact list, thought of the friends she had burned, the men she had distanced herself from, the teammates who were all caught in the crossfire then one name flickered into her mind.

Noah.

The one who had been her best friend for years, the one she hadn’t spoken to in almost two years. The one she used to call her safe space.

She hesitated, thinking about it then met Melissa’s gaze.

"I need to visit Noah Lark."