Page 64 of Your Biggest Downfall (Ravens Hockey #3)

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“I’m going to miss you so much, sweet girl,” Aunt Mae murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

We stood outside the airport, the crisp Chicago fall air swirling around us. The sun was bright, the breeze light—one of those perfect days that felt right for leaving, for starting over.

“Be good,” she whispered.

“I will,” I said, smiling through the ache in my chest. “You better visit for the holidays. I’ve already booked your ticket.”

She smiled, pulling me in for another hug. “You’ve always been like a daughter to me. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“Ugh, stop,” Luna interjected, wiping at her eyes. “You two are going to make me cry.”

I smiled and reached out. “Come on, Luna girl. Get over here and join us.”

The three of us stood there, clinging to each other, holding on to the memories, the love, the moments that had made us who we were. We stayed like that for what felt like a long time, until a security guard came over, reminding Aunt Mae she was parked in a drop-off lane.

And just like that, it was time to let go.

We grabbed our suitcases and headed inside the airport. Once we’d checked in, Luna’s company treated us to one of the fancy lounges.

“You think they have our flat all set up already?” she asked as we each grabbed a mimosa and sat by the window, watching the planes take off.

“I was told they’d give us the bare bones but that we’d have to do most of it.”

Luna shrugged and tugged down her matching sweatsuit. “I can’t believe you finally have your own room,” she said, and I laughed.

I looked out and reached for Luna’s hands. “Thanks for dropping everything and being here for me.”

“I got nothing but you tying me to Chicago.”

I was going to tell her how much I appreciated her again when my phone started dinging.

Iris: Did you check socials?

“Who is it?” Luna asked.

“Iris. She’s telling me to check social media. Can you pull up the hockey news?”

Luna pulled out her phone while I navigated to the social media app, and the moment I saw it, my chest tightened. There, on the screen, was a press conference with Austin standing alone at the podium.

He looked as worn down as the last time I saw him. Dark circles stood out beneath his eyes, and his posture was slumped. He looked completely exhausted.

“Are you seeing it?” Luna asked.

I nodded, grabbing my headphones from my purse, and played the press interview he must’ve done this morning since it was a recording.

Austin’s eyes were hollow and tired as he scanned the room of reporters. Typically, he’d be standing next to his agent or coach, but no one was there with him.

“I’ve been suffering for a long time,” he began.

“I’m sick. I finally hit rock bottom, and I need to admit I need help.

” He paused, curling his fingers around the edge of the podium.

“The NHL has been incredibly gracious, allowing me out of my contract for the season. Right now, what’s most important is my health—getting better.

” He took a breath. “It’s taken me a long time to admit that I’m an addict.

But my addiction is in control of my life, and I need help. ”

I pushed up my sweatshirt sleeve, staring at the scratches the glass had left on my arm.

The sight was a painful reminder of why I couldn’t be with Austin anymore.

Each mark, though small, carried the weight of everything that had gone wrong.

It hurt, but it also made the choice clear—it was time to let go.

The room fell silent for a moment, and then the camera panned to a reporter in the crowd. “We’ve heard a rumor that you’re getting a divorce, just a few months after your marriage. Care to comment?”

Austin looked up at the camera, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

He let out a long sigh. “My wife,” he started, his voice thick with emotion, “is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.

But... my addiction took over our marriage.

I put booze first and her second. It cost me everything—my marriage, my future with her.

And I take full responsibility for that. ”

He paused, his gaze dropping to the floor before continuing.

“My... ex-wife... she’s the most gracious, kind, and wonderful person.

She loved me more than I deserved. She stood by me for as long as she could, but I failed her.

I failed to show up when she needed me most. She believed in me, and I let her down in ways that can never be forgiven. ”

Austin looked back up at the camera, his voice cracking as he spoke. “I hope, wherever she goes, she finds the happiness and peace she deserves. She’s strong, and I know she’ll soar, with or without me.”

The room fell silent. I sat there, my heart heavy, knowing this was the closure neither of us had been able to give each other face-to-face.

The interview clicked off, and I stared out at a plane beginning its ascent down the runway.

It felt too fitting, watching it rise into the sky, gaining momentum with every second.

My life, like that plane, had been grounded for so long, weighed down by everything—Austin, the grief, the uncertainty.

But now, like that plane, I was finally picking up speed, heading somewhere new, somewhere unknown.

I wasn’t sure what turbulence lay ahead, but for the first time in a long while, I was moving forward—leaving behind what couldn’t come with me. It was time to take off.

I clutched my stomach, and Luna leaned in, whispering, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just feeling off,” I replied.

Luna sipped her mimosa. “Probably the stress of everything.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed, nodding. I leaned back, grabbing a book to distract myself, knowing that in less than eight hours, I’d be in my new home.

Luna fished a tampon from her bag and waved it. “Duty calls.”

I waved her off and closed my eyes for a moment.

Love, I realized, wasn’t some perfect fairy tale with clean edges and a picture-perfect ending.

It was messy. It was complicated. It was raw, gritty, and moved at a pace I couldn’t always keep up with.

Life hit hard, and love wasn’t always enough to patch the cracks.

But even in the middle of the chaos, love still existed.

It wasn’t always the kind that lasted forever.

It wasn’t always the kind that saved you.

Austin taught me that love—real love—shouldn’t leave me wondering if I was enough. What I wanted wasn’t just passion or fireworks—it was safety. It was security. Someone who felt like home, not a battlefield.

The truth was, not all love stories ended with two people staying together.

Some love stories ended with people learning to walk away.

And as much as I wanted the forever kind of love, that wasn’t this.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t my happily ever after.

In a way, it felt like one. Not because I ended up with someone else, but because I found myself.

I was stronger now than I had been months ago.

I’d been through hell and back, and I survived.

I might not have had a perfect ending with Austin, but I found something as important: my own strength, my own worth.

And sometimes, the greatest love story was the one I lived with myself.

I didn’t need a fairy tale ending to feel whole. I had become my own happily ever after.