Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains (Victoria and Elijah) novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Author’s POV

For years, they had imagined this day.

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The early mornings, sleepless nights, endless assignments, and quiet sacrifices had all led to this single moment.

Today, the halls that once carried their stress and uncertainty would witness their celebration.

Thousands of black folding chairs stretched across the manicured lawn, filled to capacity with proud parents, restless siblings, and a crowd of students clad in deep obsidian graduation gowns.

Near the middle rows, Caleb adjusted the stiff collar of his gown, shifting his leg slightly to find a comfortable angle.

The accident was officially a thing of the past. Though a tight tightness lingered in his thigh, a stubborn reminder of the night his sports car went through the guardrail-he was standing on his own two feet.

Behind him, sitting in the section reserved for distinguished guests, his father sat straight-backed and unmoving.

Justin Ashfield’s presence was a shock in itself. For years, Justin had made his disappointment entirely clear.

He had openly despised Caleb’s decision to be a kinesiology major, viewing it as a useless hobby rather than a real career path for a Ashfield.

He had wanted corporate boardrooms, finance, or corporate law, not cameras on a muddy football field.

Yet, there the man sat, wearing a tailored grey suit, watching his son.

Caleb had taken his final exams weeks after everyone else, locked in a private room with a proctor thanks to his family’s massive influence, but he had passed.

Up on the massive raised stage, Victoria sat among the top tier of the graduating class.

The silver sash of the salutatorian hung across her shoulder, catching the bright light.

Her eyes drifted over the crowd until they found the criminology department’s front row, locking instantly onto the broad shoulders of Elijah.

He looked entirely out of place in the formal academic regalia, his usual unbothered stance hidden beneath the black fabric, but the small, private nod he sent her way made her heart thud softly.

The microphone crackled to life, drawing everyone’s attention back to the center podium.

Saanvi Agarwal, the newly minted valedictorian, adjusted her glasses and looked out over the crowd of faces.

“Good morning, faculty, parents, and the class that spent four years surviving on five hours of sleep and cold coffee,” Saanvi began, her voice carrying clearly through the massive speakers.

A ripple of laughter crossed the lawn.

“When I look back at our time here, I realize that success is never a solitary journey. It requires a driving force. For me, that force was sitting right next to me in every advanced seminar.”

Saanvi paused, turning her head slightly to look directly at Victoria.

“Specifically, it was Victoria Rhodes. For eight straight semesters, I convinced myself that if I slept for an extra thirty minutes. Victoria would somehow write three more research papers and destroy my GPA. Every time she got a perfect

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score, I spent the next forty-eight hours losing my mind in the library. So, Victoria, if you’re listening-thank you for the severe sleep deprivation, but mostly, thank you for being the standard that forced all of us to be better.”

The audience erupted into a massive round of applause and genuine laughter.

Victoria felt her cheeks flush a warm pink as she smiled back at Saanvi, offering a small, respectful wave from her seat.

In the audience, Victoria’s father couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face as he reached for his wife’s hand.

“That’s our girl.”

Her mother smiled through the tears already gathering in her eyes, never taking them off Victoria.

“She’s worked so hard for this,” she whispered. “I’m so proud of her.”

Seeing her eyes glisten, he slipped an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her against his side.

Once the speeches concluded, the grueling process of reading out the names began. The rows moved with efficiency, each name accompanied by a roar from different pockets of the family section.

When Caleb Ashfield’s name finally echoed through the microphone, his father didn’t shout or cheer wildly like the parents around him.

Instead, Justin Ashfield slowly stood and clapped, his expression unreadable, his eyes locked on Caleb as he walked across the stage without a single stumble.

Caleb felt the heat of his father’s gaze, but as he grabbed his degree, his eyes drifted further down the line, finding Nova sitting near the edge of the courtyard.

She gave him a massive, radiant smile, her blue eyes shining with a pride that felt too good to be real.

The energy shifted completely when the criminology department was called forward.

“Elijah Carter. Graduating at the absolute top of his class.”

The announcement hadn’t even finished before Victoria stood up from her seat on the stage. Forgetting all decorum, she cupped her hands around her mouth and cheered at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying over the music.

“That’s right! Go Baby!”

Her sudden burst of enthusiasm triggered an immediate chain reaction.

The entire student section, familiar with the viral clips and the undeniable saga of the campus’s most famous couple, let out a massive, synchronized “Awww” that swept across the lawn.

Hundreds of smartphones flipped upward in unison, the student bloggers and campus reporters scrambling to capture the

moment.

Elijah stopped right in the center of the stage, the diploma held firmly in his large hand.

He didn’t look at the university president, and he didn’t look at the cameras flashing from the media pit. He looked straight up at Victoria.

A rare, brilliant grin took over his usually stern face, completely erasing the untouchable bad-boy persona that had defined his college years.

He raised his degree toward her in a silent toast, his chest rising and falling with a heavy emotion he didn’t even try to hide.

“God, they are so annoyingly cute,” Alison groaned from three rows back, though she was clapping so hard her palms were

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bright red.

Willow sat right next to her, a small smirk playing on her lips as she watched the spectacle.

“You’re just mad because nobody cheered like that when you walked,” Willow remarked dryly.

“Save me the bullshit,” Alison shot back, her eyes gleaming with a manic spark. “My celebration hasn’t even started yet.”

The main ceremony finally concluded in a blur of black caps flying into the air, loud cheers, and the heavy chatter of thousands of people moving toward the parking lots.

Caleb walked slowly through the grass, his hand gripping his degree tightly. He could feel the slight ache in his thigh, but he ignored it, keeping his chin up as he navigated the crowd.

“Caleb.

He stopped, turning around to find his parents walking toward him. His mother, Genevieve, already had tears streaming down her face, her makeup slightly smudged as she held a large bouquet of deep red roses.

His brother, Nathan, walked beside her, looking genuinely happy as he offered Caleb a tight nod.

Genevieve rushed forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Caleb’s neck, her shoulders shaking as she wept against his

gown.

“Oh, my boy. My sweet boy. You did it. After everything you went through… you’re standing here.”

“Mom, careful,” Nathan teased softly, though his own eyes were damp. “You’re going to wrinkle his gown before we even take photos.”

Caleb hugged his mother back, his chest tightening as he looked over her shoulder at his father.

Justin stood there, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes fixed entirely on the degree in Caleb’s hand.

For years, every single conversation about Caleb’s major had ended in a shouting match or cold, judgmental silence.

Justin had cut off funding for Caleb’s training certifications and specialized equipment, calling them a waste of money and insisting they would never lead to a real career. Caleb had been forced to pay for everything himself.

Genevieve finally pulled back, wiping her cheeks with a lace handkerchief, her voice cracking.

“Nathan, take a picture of us. Please.”

As Nathan pulled out his phone, Justin took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and his youngest son.

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