Page 1 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO (Second Chance Hockey Players #1)

Hazel – Five Years Ago

I cannot breathe.

The rain slaps my skin, but it is nothing compared to the ache in my chest, the way it feels like my heart is splintering with every drop that hits. My fingers are frozen as I clutch my phone - maybe it is the cold, or maybe it is just me trying to hold on to something, just anything.

I called him again.

“Pick up, Liam. Please, just pick up.”

My voice cracks as I whisper into the phone. I wipe my face, but it is pointless. My cheeks are already raw, burning red from the storm - or maybe from the slap, the humiliation still fresh from moments ago.

My heart thunders in my chest as I glance at the restaurant behind me, the memory of their words ringing louder than the rain.

“You are such a pathetic girl… You are no good for him…”

“Liam will see you for what you really are…, a worthless, unlovable person…, a gold-digger, and he’ll leave you.”

“They don’t know what they’re saying, Hazel,” I mutter to myself, wiping my face with the back of my sleeve. “Liam wouldn’t let them!” My throat closes at the memory of his mother’s icy words.

The sharp chill of the downpour bites through my coat, but I barely notice. My thumb hovers over the screen, hitting redial again. Voicemail. For the twentieth time.

“Liam!” I shout into the phone, my voice cracking under the weight of too much emotion. “Please…, just pick up. I need…” My words die in my throat, replaced by a sharp sob that I cannot hold back.

“He deserves better…,” his mum had said.

Better? Better? After five years, countless holidays spent proving myself, and every bit of love I poured into this family - this is what they think of me? His sisters did not bother to hide their sneers, either.

I run my free hand through my tangled, damp, auburn hair, tugging at the strands, already at my wit’s end.

He has to pick up the phone!

My hands grip the phone so tight I think it might crack.

I am about to dial again when I scroll through the contacts and stop. Matt. If anyone knows where Liam is, then it is Matt. I hit his name and begin to pace again, ignoring the puddles soaking through my sneakers.

“Hey, Haze, what’s up?”

The sound of his voice - casual, almost too casual - makes my stomach turn.

“Hey, um, have you seen Liam? Is he with you? I have been calling, and he’s not answering.” I hold my breath, hoping for something good, something that will settle this panic bubbling in my gut.

“Yeah, he’s here at The Rustic Roost,” he says, his tone clipped, sharp like he is in a rush.

“Okay, thanks…,” I say, my voice heavy, and I hang up before he can say anything more.

The Rustic Roost. The bar’s about twenty minutes from here. With the rain pouring down like this, there is no way I am getting a ride - especially not at this hour. I could wait for an Uber, but there is no guarantee that one will even come.

I wrap my arms around myself, the cold finally seeping into my skin. Every logical part of me screams to stop, to wait until morning. But logic does not matter when your heart is on the line.

The memory of his mother’s voice claws at me. You will never be good enough for him, Hazel.

They are wrong. They think that he will believe them.

What if he does?

He won’t. We have been together for five years. He loves me. Me!

I hug my arms around myself, shivering. I need to tell Liam what they said. He deserves to know.

But more than anything, I need him to tell me that none of it is true. That we are stronger than this and that their words don’t matter. I need him to hug me, to kiss me, to tell me we are okay.

With a deep breath, I step off the curb and start walking. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, but the night still feels heavy, like the world itself is pressing down on me. Each step feels harder than the last, my wet sneakers squelching against the pavement.

By the time I reach The Rustic Roost, I am drenched and shivering so hard it’s hard to think straight. The neon sign flickers above the door, casting a sickly green glow onto the wet pavement. I hesitate, staring at the light spilling out from the windows.

What if he doesn’t believe me? The thought grips me like a vice, but I shake it off. He will . He has to! Inside, I can hear laughter and the faint clink of glasses.

I push open the door, my breath catching as warmth, noise, and music playing softly in the background envelops me. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but then I see him. Liam.

He is at a table near the back with his friends - Matt, Logan, and Ethan. His head is on the table, a drink in his hand, while the others talk around him. Empty glasses are scattered everywhere, which is already quite odd. I take a shaky step forward, my heart pounding in my chest.

Liam,” I whisper under my breath.

I am just about to call out to him when he lifts his head. His voice cuts through the noise, sharp and bitter.

“I hate her.”

I freeze.

Logan frowns, leaning closer. “Come on, man, don’t say that. Talk to her before jumping to conclusions.”

Liam shakes his head, his words slurring slightly. “No. I hate her. I love her, but I hate her more. Right now, I hate her so much I can’t even think straight.”

Who is he talking about? My heart sinks, a horrible suspicion creeping in.

Then he says my name.

“Hazel.” He spits the word as if it burns. “Hazel, I hate you.”

The air leaves my lungs; my hand flies to my mouth as a sharp gasp escapes. I step back, hiding in the shadow of a nearby booth, my heart pounding so loud that I am sure they’ll hear it.

Logan sighs, his voice cautious. “Have you even talked to her? Maybe you are wrong about this.”

“Wrong?” Liam laughs bitterly. “What’s the point of talking to a cheater and a gold digger?”

The room tilts. My hand grips the edge of a chair for support, my legs threatening to give out.

Cheater? Gold digger? What is he talking about?

Matt frowns. “You really think she’d do that to you?”

“I know she did,” Liam snaps. “I have proof. Pictures of her with that jerk Orlando. And that is not even the only guy - there’s Colin. And some other guy I don’t even know! She was hugging him like…, like he was everything to her. How dare she? How dare she play me like this?”

His words slice through me, sharp and unforgiving. I want to scream that it is not true, that I do not know what he’s talking about. But my voice is gone.

“No way,” Ethan says quietly, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “That girl loves you more than she loves herself. We know that. Hell, the whole town knows it.”

Logan reaches for his drink, but Liam yanks it away. “And you know what broke the camel’s back? She is taking money from my mother to leave me. Money, Matt. My mother paid her off, and she took it.”

No. No.

My knees buckle again, and I grab the edge of the booth to steady myself. The cheque. The piece of paper that now weighs a ton in my pocket. His mother had shoved it into my hand, her eyes cold and calculating. “Take it and leave him,” she had vehemently stated.

I cannot believe they took pictures of that. Well, now, I am quickly realizing that anything is possible with them.

A sob escapes me before I can stop it. Ethan looks up, his eyes locking onto mine. His face pales, and his mouth opens like he is about to say something, but I shake my head quickly, silently begging him not to.

“Liam, you’re being irrational,” Logan says firmly, taking the glass from him. “Hazel is not like that, Liam. You have been together for five years. Don’t you think she deserves a chance to explain?”

Liam scoffs. “Explain what?” Taking a drink from a nearby bottle, he continues.

“She played me,” his voice breaking. “Five years, Logan. Five years of my life wasted on someone who only cared about what I could give her.” He downs the rest of his drink.

“Loving her was the biggest mistake that I have ever made. And honestly? I am not even sure I ever loved her. Maybe it was just… pity. After all, she is just a beautiful, poor girl.”

I stagger back, the words hitting me like a slap. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I have heard enough. More than enough. My chest feels like it has been ripped open, my heart shattered into pieces I’ll never find again.

I slip out the door into the damp and chilly air. My feet move on their own, one step after another until I am far enough away that the sounds of the bar fade into nothing.

“Hazel!”

I turn, startled, and see Ethan jogging toward me. His expression is pained, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he stops just a few feet away.

“Hey,” he says softly.

I wipe my face, trying to compose myself. “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” He asks, his voice soft, almost like he is afraid I’ll break if he says the wrong thing.

I shake my head. “Don’t. Don’t ask me that.”

“I…” He hesitates, running a hand through his hair. “Haze, what you heard back there…, it’s not…, I don’t think he meant…”

I cut him off, my voice sharp but trembling. “It is exactly what it is. He meant every word, Ethan. There is nothing more to explain.”

“Maybe if you just talk to him…”

“Talk to him?” I laugh bitterly. “What is the point? He has already judged me, sentenced me, and then threw me out without even asking for my side of the story. What good would talking do?”

Ethan looks like he wants to argue, but I shake my head. “I just… I need to go home. Please.”

He hesitates, then nods. “Alright. But Hazel…, you did not deserve this.”

“No, I do deserve this.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but I don’t give him the chance. “I just…, I just want to go home, Ethan. Please.”

He sighs, nodding. “Okay. But if you need someone to talk to…”

“I won’t.” I turn away, my voice breaking as I add, “Goodbye, Ethan.”

I don’t look back as I walk away; the waterworks have already opened.

By the time I reach my apartment, I can barely see through my swollen eyes. I am soaked to the bone again, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing does. I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the wall, Liam’s words echoing in my head.

Cheater. Gold digger. Mistake.

After what feels like hours, maybe two…, I lose track of time. My phone buzzes on the coffee table, but I don’t even look at it.

I stand and grab my suitcase.

By the time the suitcase is full, the first rays of dawn are breaking through the window. I look around one last time, my heart aching with every glance.

“Goodbye, Autumn Cove,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “Goodbye, Liam.”

With that, I close the door behind me and walk away, leaving behind the pieces of my broken heart.