Crossing lines (Noah and Aiden) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196

Aiden

That night—the bathroom, the chaos, the lingering taste of him on my tongue—marked the moment everything began to unravel. It wasn’t a sudden shattering, but a slow, relentless fracture, like glass spreading cracks from a single point. Every second since that secret encounter behind a locked door had been a countdown to my own undoing.

Noah had been more than willing. Hell, he had been desperate for it. The way he looked at me, the way he lost himself under my touch—it wasn’t just desire. It was something deeper. Longing. Need. It was us, raw and unfiltered.

But when the dust finally settled, there was nothing left. No texts. No visits. No sign of him anywhere. It was as if he had vanished from my world overnight, erased without a trace.

At first, I convinced myself he was just keeping his distance—laying low until the media frenzy died down, until the world stopped watching. But then I saw the pictures.

Christmas in Colorado. The Harts’ private estate, blanketed in snow and luxury. There he was: smiling, hand in hers, looking every bit the golden boy they’d molded him to be. My chest tightened painfully at the sight.

He looked happy. Or maybe he was just a master of pretending. Either way, it didn’t matter. In those photos, he wasn’t mine anymore. Not my reckless, wild Noah—the boy who crawled into my arms and whispered “I love you” like it was a secret sin. He was someone else now.

Someone polished. Groomed. Owned.

And God help me, I couldn’t even bring myself to hate him.

Every night since then, I told myself I should feel proud. He’d won. He was safe. He’d made it to the top. But pride never came. Instead, there was this slow, suffocating ache that made me question every breath I took without him.

I missed his voice in the mornings, that lazy half-smile when he teased me at the gym, the way he’d grab my collar when he wanted to be put in his place. I missed his defiance. His laughter. The warmth he left behind on my sheets.

And the worst part? I missed the pain too—the guilt, the fear, the madness. Because at least that pain made me feel alive.

Now, I was just existing.

Every photo of him felt like a knife twisting between my ribs. Every interview, every ESPN mention, every time someone said our team was destined for the championship—it tore open new wounds inside me.

Master Hale

My chest tightened painfully at the mention of “your submissive.”

Noah. My beautiful, impossible boy. My ruin.

For a long moment, I just stared at the words, the screen’s glow casting shadows across my hands. It should have hurt less by now. But it didn’t.

I told myself I only needed a distraction—something to fill the hours before I lost my mind completely. If I’d already destroyed everything as Coach Aiden Mercer, maybe I could at least survive one last time as Mr A. Hide behind the mask that once made me feel in control.

6:12 pm

Crossing Lines