Offside hearts 4-shock
2444 Words
Amelia’s POV
“Honey, aren’t you going to introduce me?”
The blonde woman slipped to Noah’s side with a bright smile.
My heart clenched.
Of course.
Five years was a long time.
Why wouldn’t he have someone else?
I lowered my eyes and forced myself to speak professionally.
“Amelia Hart.”
“Sports Network.”
The woman beamed and stretched out her hand.
“I’m Chloe.”
“I handle Noah’s public relations.”
I blinked.
“…Public relations?”
She laughed.
“The rumors online already have us married.”
Noah sighed.
“I’ve told you to stop joking like that.”
Chloe shrugged.
“It keeps life interesting.”
Heat rushed to my face.
I’d actually believed…
No.
I wasn’t going to think about it.
Noah watched me carefully.
“Were you jealous?”
I looked up sharply.
“What?”
“The look on your face.”
His lips curved into the smallest smile.
“You thought she was my girlfriend.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I don’t care who you date.”
His smile disappeared.
“You used to.”
Silence.
The words landed between us like a crack in the ice.
Before I could answer, Chloe’s phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and frowned.
“Noah…”
“The board just called.”
“They’ve moved today’s press conference forward.”
She walked away to answer the call.
Leaving Noah and me alone.
Again.
He took one slow step closer.
“So…”
“How have you been?”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it hurt.
“You disappear for five years…”
“Then ask me how I’ve been?”
His jaw tightened.
“I didn’t disappear.”
“You did.”
“I wrote to you.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I sent letters.”
“Every week.”
“I never got a single reply.”
The color drained from my face.
“I never received any letters.”
Noah stared at me.
For the first time…
The confident captain looked shaken.
“If you didn’t get them…”
He whispered.
“Then who made sure you never did?”
OFFSIDE HEARTS 5-The first lie
Amelia’s POV
“If you didn’t get them…”
Noah’s voice was barely audible.
“…then who made sure you never did?”
I stared at him.
“I thought you forgot me.”
“I thought you chose hockey.”
His jaw clenched.
“I chose us.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Really?”
“You vanished.”
“You changed your number.”
“You never came back.”
“I came back.”
His answer was immediate.
“You weren’t there.”
I shook my head.
“Because you never told me you were coming.”
“I did.”
“No.”
“I wrote.”
“No.”
“I called.”
“No.”
The silence between us grew heavier.
One of us was lying.
Or…
Someone had lied to both of us.
Before either of us could speak again, Chloe rushed back into the arena.
“Noah.”
Her face had turned pale.
“You need to see this.”
She handed him a phone.
His expression darkened.
“What happened?” I asked.
Chloe hesitated before turning the screen toward me.
A photo filled the display.
It was me.
Leaving the arena.
Taken only minutes ago.
The headline underneath made my stomach twist.
HOCKEY KING NOAH CARTER SECRETLY REUNITES WITH EX-GIRLFRIEND. WEDDING BELLS SOON?
My eyes widened.
“What?”
“We’ve only been talking for ten minutes!”
Noah looked at Chloe.
“Who leaked this?”
She swallowed.
“We don’t know.”
“But every news outlet has already picked it up.”
My phone started vibrating.
Then again.
And again.
Messages poured in faster than I could read them.
Emma: ARE YOU WITH NOAH RIGHT NOW?!
Editor: Don’t leave the arena. We’re getting millions of views!
Another notification appeared.
Noah’s fan page had already posted my picture.
The comments flooded in.
“Who is she?”
“She doesn’t deserve our captain.”
“Get rid of her.”
“She’s using him for fame.”
I felt sick.
“This is insane.”
Noah stepped in front of me, shielding me from the cameras that had suddenly begun pouring into the arena.
For the first time in five years…
He reached for my hand.
His fingers wrapped around mine.
Warm.
Firm.
Protective.
The reporters gasped.
Cameras flashed.
Someone shouted,
“Captain! Are you dating Amelia Hart again?”
Noah didn’t let go.
Instead…
He looked straight into every camera.
And smiled.
Offside hearts part 6-The Romour
The flashes wouldn’t stop.
“Captain!”
“Are you two back together?”
“Miss Hart, how long have you been dating?”
Questions flew from every direction.
I tried to pull my hand away.
Noah held it tighter.
“Smile,” he murmured.
I glared at him.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Trust me.”
“I don’t.”
His jaw tightened for the briefest second.
“I know.”
Security rushed between us and the reporters.
“Make way!”
“Back up!”
Noah guided me toward a private hallway.
The moment the doors closed behind us, I yanked my hand free.
“What was that?”
He remained calm.
“If I denied the rumor…”
“They would’ve chased you for weeks.”
“And holding my hand fixes that?”
“It gives me control of the story.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You haven’t changed.”
“No?”
“You still make decisions for both of us.”
For the first time, he had no answer.
Silence stretched between us.
Then my phone rang.
Dad.
I frowned.
He never called during work.
“Hello?”
His voice trembled.
“Amelia…”
“Don’t come home tonight.”
My heart skipped.
“What happened?”
“They’re outside.”
“Who?”
“Reporters.”
“They’ve surrounded the house.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“They’re asking about you and Noah.”
“They won’t leave.”
My father lowered his voice.
“And someone threw a brick through the living room window.”
“What?”
“I don’t want you coming here.”
The call ended.
I stood frozen.
Noah’s expression darkened.
“What is it?”
I looked up, struggling to hold back tears.
“They found my family.”
His face hardened instantly.
He pulled out his phone.
“Eric.”
His voice was cold enough to freeze the room.
“I want security at Mr. Hart’s house in ten minutes.”
“I don’t care what it costs.”
He ended the call and looked at me.
“Your family won’t be touched again.”
Before I could respond, Chloe rushed into the hallway.
“Noah…”
Her face had gone pale.
“It’s worse than we thought.”
She handed him her tablet.
A new headline filled the screen.
NOAH CARTER’S EX MOVES INTO HIS PENTHOUSE.
I stared at the article.
“What?”
“I don’t even know where you live.”
Chloe swallowed.
“They’ve posted the address.”
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was my editor.
I answered immediately.
“Amelia…”
His voice was tense.
“Don’t go back to your apartment.”
“Why?”
There was a long pause.
Then he said the words that made my knees buckle.
“Someone broke into your home.
“I’ll stay with Emma.”
“They’ll follow her.”
“I’ll…”
I stopped.
Every option sounded worse than the last.
Noah took one step closer.
“My place is the only one they don’t have access to.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“Your penthouse?”
“Absolutely not.”
He held my gaze.
“You don’t trust me.”
“No.”
“You have every reason not to.”
The honesty in his voice caught me off guard.
“But I’m asking you to trust me… just for tonight.”
Before I could answer, Chloe’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Then at Noah.
Her face lost all color.
“Noah…”
“What now?”
She swallowed.
“The person who leaked the arena photos…”
“…just uploaded another picture.”
“What picture?”
Chloe slowly turned the phone toward us.
It was an old photograph.
A college campus.
A young Noah…
Kissing me beneath a maple tree.
The date in the corner read:
Five years ago.
Someone had been watching us…
Long before today.
Chapter Eight
Someone Knows the Truth
Amelia’s POV
My hands trembled as I stared at the photo.
It wasn’t taken by us.
Neither of us had ever seen it before.
Noah’s voice broke the silence.
“Zoom in.”
Chloe enlarged the image.
In the background…
A man stood beside a black SUV.
His face was hidden beneath a baseball cap.
Watching us.
Watching me.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Who is he?”
No one answered.
Noah took the phone from Chloe.
“When was this posted?”
“Thirty seconds ago.”
“And the account?”
She frowned.
“Fake profile.”
“Created this morning.”
Noah’s jaw tightened.
“They’re not just spreading rumors.”
“They’re sending us a message.”
Before I could ask what he meant, my phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
I hesitated.
Then answered.
“…Hello?”
Heavy breathing.
Nothing else.
“Who’s this?”
Silence.
I was about to hang up when a distorted voice whispered,
“You should’ve stayed away from him.”
The line went dead.
My heart stopped.
“What happened?” Noah asked.
I couldn’t speak.
I slowly lowered the phone.
“Someone…”
“They told me to stay away from you.”
The warmth vanished from Noah’s face.
He held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
I did.
He looked at the number.
Private.
Untraceable.
His expression hardened.
From across the hallway, Eric, Noah’s head of security, rushed over.
“Captain.”
“We’ve checked the security cameras.”
“And?”
Eric swallowed.
“There was someone outside the arena this morning.”
“He wasn’t here for the team.”
“He was waiting…”
Eric looked at me.
“…for Ms. Hart.”
Noah’s eyes darkened.
He turned to me, his voice calm but unmistakably protective.
“You’re not staying alone tonight.”
“I’ll have security outside your door.”
I opened my mouth to argue.
He cut me off.
“That wasn’t a request.”
Just then, another notification lit up Chloe’s tablet.
She gasped.
“Noah…”
He looked up.
“What now?”
She turned the screen toward us.
The headline made my blood run cold.
BREAKING: Noah Carter’s Ex Disappears With Hockey Captain After Secret Reunion.
And beneath the headline…
Someone had posted my home address.
Chapter Nine
A Deal With the Devil
Amelia’s POV
My home address.
It was plastered across every gossip page.
Every sports blog.
Every social media platform.
The comments multiplied by the second.
“So this is where Noah Carter’s ex lives.”
“Let’s see if she’s really as innocent as she pretends.”
“Someone should ask her why she dumped our captain.”
A knot tightened in my stomach.
“This has to stop.”
Noah didn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“It will.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Chloe looked between us.
“The internet is going crazy. Every news outlet is asking for an interview.”
“I’m not giving one,” I said.
“You don’t have a choice,” she replied softly. “If you stay silent, they’ll create their own story.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
I turned to Noah.
“This is your life.”
“Not mine.”
“My family is being harassed.”
“My apartment has been broken into.”
“And now strangers know where my father lives.”
For the first time since we’d met again…
Noah lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
The words caught me off guard.
“I never wanted this.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You never wanted a lot of things.”
Silence settled between us.
Finally, Noah looked up.
“I know you don’t trust me.”
“I don’t.”
“I know you don’t even want to be in the same room as me.”
I didn’t answer.
“But whether you like it or not…”
He stepped closer.
“…someone is using us.”
“And until we find out who…”
“…you’re not safe.”
I folded my arms.
“So what’s your solution?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Move into my penthouse.”
“No.”
“I’ll increase security.”
“No.”
“I’ll give you the entire guest floor.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“You haven’t even thought about it.”
“I don’t need to.”
“I’d rather sleep in my car.”
A flicker of amusement crossed his face.
“You still hate losing an argument.”
“I hate arrogant hockey captains.”
“You used to love one.”
My heart skipped.
“I was young.”
“And now?”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“Now I know better.”
The smile disappeared from his face.
Before either of us could speak again, Eric hurried down the hallway.
“Captain.”
Noah turned.
“What is it?”
“We found the person who uploaded Miss Hart’s address.”
Hope surged through me.
“You did?”
Eric nodded.
“We traced the first upload.”
“Who is it?”
Eric hesitated.
His expression turned grim.
“It’s…”
His phone rang.
He answered immediately.
A few seconds later, all the color drained from his face.
“What happened?” Noah demanded.
Eric slowly lowered the phone.
“We were too late.”
“The account has been deleted.”
“And…”
He swallowed.
“The person who created it…”
“…just died in a car accident.”
The room fell silent.
I felt a chill crawl down my spine.
Someone wasn’t just spreading rumors anymore.
They were erasing every trail they left behind.
- Writer
