Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 107

KATY’S POV

I walk into Justin’s apartment and shut the door behind me. Almost immediately, Braydon is on his feet. He crosses the room in seconds and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him, resting my head against his shoulder.

“You’re okay?” he asks, rubbing my back.

I nod.

When he finally pulls away, he keeps hold of my hand and leads me to one of the sofas. He’s still looking me over, like he’s checking for injuries, when Justin comes out of the kitchen with Allie. Justin’s carrying a tray of chopped fruit, which he sets on the table.

Allie sits beside me right away, her eyes scanning my face and arms, like she’s afraid something might’ve happened while I was gone.

“Why are you all staring at me like I went to fight a tiger?” I ask, glancing down at myself just to be sure I’m still in one piece.

“I would never trust you alone with that psycho,” Allie says, then glances at Braydon. “No offense.”

“None taken.” He reaches for the tray, spearing a few apple slices with his fork and nudging them toward me. I take one as he asks, “What did he want?”

Immediately, everyone leans in and the room goes quiet.

I let out a slow breath, pull the pen from my ponytail, and lift it between my fingers. “He didn’t notice it, so I got everything recorded.”

“Yes.” Allie pumps her fist. “I knew he wouldn’t notice. We did it.”

“I’ll get my laptop.” Justin is already on his feet, heading down the hall.

“Bryan was there too,” I add.

Braydon’s jaw tightens. “Why?”

“I don’t know. He was sitting at the table behind us, and your dad asked him to search my purse,” I say. “Something about the two of them felt… eerie. It was unsettling and sickening.”

“That’s just their shamelessness,” Braydon responds in a tight voice. “They don’t even try to hide it. It just… leaks out of them.”

I shake my head, and Justin comes back into the room with his laptop tucked under his arm. He drops onto the chair opposite us and flips it open.

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s hear this.”

I uncap the pen, connect it to the USB port, and locate the file. I hesitate for half a second before pressing play and the room goes quiet.

The recording feels longer than it probably is or maybe it’s just worse hearing it again.

Mr. Cooper’s voice comes through the speakers: “I want you to end your relationship with Braydon and stay away from him.”

Braydon stiffens beside me. His hand tightens around mine, and his whole body goes rigid. When I glance at him, a vein stands out along his neck, his jaw clenched so hard it looks like it might crack.

I lean closer, my shoulder brushing his arm.

“Bullshit,” Allie mutters under her breath, then falls silent as the audio keeps playing.

When the recording finally cuts off, the room stays quiet for a second.

Braydon exhales, his jaw tight, and fist curling against his thigh. I slide my hand over his, squeezing lightly and he doesn’t look at me as he squeezes back.

Allie breaks the silence with a sharp click of her tongue. Justin is still staring at the laptop like he’s expecting it to start playing again.

“Wow,” Allie says, shaking her head. “How have you been dealing with that?” She looks straight at Braydon. “Like… he can’t be the only dad you had growing up. There had to be someone else, right?”

Braydon shrugs. “Nope.”

That’s all he says, but I can feel how tense he is beside me. He’s trying not to react, trying not to give his dad any more space in his head. He’s probably used to his family pulling stuff like this but hearing it aimed at me must be different.

I place my hand flat on his chest and tilt my head up. He looks down and presses a quick kiss to my forehead.

Justin finally speaks, grabbing another apple slice. “So we’re not actually considering breaking up, right? Because that was straight-up garbage.”

I snort before I can stop myself and Braydon also lets out a small laugh. Funny how he

almost wanted to fight Braydon when all this started.

“We have the recording,” I say, glancing at the pen on the table. “That’s enough to win.”

“How?” Justin asks, and Allie just rolls her eyes.

I lean forward. “One of the clauses in Braydon’s deal with his dad is that he can’t mess with his academics. If he tries, the whole deal’s off.” I shrug. “Before, we didn’t have proof of him meddling, but now we do.”

“So the deal can just burn in hell,” Justin clarifies with a smirk.

I nod.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify