Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Hope’s POV

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“I should be the one asking you that,” Zayla said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Why are you here? Did Mom tell you to come?”

Levi sighed before walking toward her. He placed a hand gently on top of her head and patted it with the quiet affection only an older brother could give.

It would have been a heartwarming sight if not for the circumstances. Because neither of them should have been going through any of this.

“Mom’s been pestering me to come back ever since she found out I was living in one of your units,” she muttered, her voice growing weaker with every word. “That, and I heard from one of our cousins that she went to talk to you.”

She swallowed hard before forcing herself to continue.

“I want to tell her once and for all that I’m not coming back… and that she should just forget me as her daughter.”

Levi turned to me, and I immediately caught the hesitation in his eyes.

That meant if Zayla refused to come back, his mom would go through with having Harley removed from the

team.

However, I wanted to assure him that none of this was his fault.

We were both simply trying to protect the people who mattered most to us.

And although Harley was my brother…

Zayla had become important to me too.

Just then, the front door opened, revealing the source of all of this.

She walked in looking like she had all the time in the world, untouched by the storm she had created.

“Finally, you’re back,” she said to Zayla, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did you finally come to your senses? Living alone isn’t nearly as good as living here with everything you need, right?”

Zayla opened her mouth to respond, but Luisa cut her off before she could utter a single word.

“Go inside…”

“All of you.”

Levi and I exchanged a glance before he reached for my hand, silently intertwining our fingers as he led me toward their living room.

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Chapter 159

By the time we got there, Luisa was already seated on a single chair, looking composed.

We didn’t even get the chance to sit before she spoke again.

“Well, since you kept your end of the deal, I won’t be taking away that poor boy’s scholarship.”

I heard Levi curse quietly under his breath.

Meanwhile, Zayla frowned in confusion.

“Scholarship? What is she talking about?”

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“Oh,” Luisa replied, lifting a brow. “You didn’t know? Your brother didn’t tell you that I’d have Hope’s brother removed from the sports team he’s playing on.”

“What?” Zayla exclaimed, turning to Levi with wide, horrified eyes.

“Anyway,” Luisa continued, “grab your things from Levi’s apartment. I’ll book a flight for you to go back to Oxfordshire in the morning.”

Zayla looked at the two of us helplessly, and I felt the need to speak before she could blame herself.

“We didn’t come here to bring Zayla back,” I said quickly. “We wanted to talk to you… so that maybe you’d change your mind.”

Luisa remained silent for a moment.

Afterward, she laughed.

The sound echoed through the room, sending a chill crawling down my spine.

“You?” she said. “You’re speaking for my children? What gave you the right?”

I cleared my throat, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

“I know I don’t have a place in your life or your family, but I care very deeply about your children.”

“Why would I do as you say?” she asked, her expression untouched. “Shouldn’t you be helping Levi convince Zayla to come back to the family so you can protect your brother?”

“Why would you do as I say?” I murmured, repeating her words.

“Because they’re your children.”

For the briefest moment, her breath hitched.

“This choice should never have been given to them in the first place if you truly cared about them,” I continued, gathering every ounce of courage I had. “No parent should place their child in such an impossible

situation.”

Silence settled over the room.

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Chapter 159

It was suffocating yet somehow, also freeing.

I had finally said the words that desperately needed to be spoken.

I wanted them to reach her.

I wanted them to break through whatever wall she had built around her heart.

Because I knew just how much Levi and Zayla were suffering.

And beyond that, I wanted Harley to keep playing.

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I wanted my parents to keep sitting in those freezing arenas, cheering until their voices gave out as they watched their son chase the dream he’d worked his entire life for.

No family should have to sacrifice one child just to save another.

“I’m not going back, Mom,” Zayla broke the silence again, her voice cracking with desperation. “I’m going to stand on my own two feet and study art. If you can accept that, I’ll come home from time to time, and we can shop…”

“Shut up.”

Luisa’s sudden shout echoed through the room, making me instinctively stumble back.

I had never been shouted at by my parents before. Never with that kind of anger and hatred.

And standing on the receiving end of it—even though it wasn’t directed at me-made my chest tighten painfully.

“I’ve had enough of this,” she snapped. “I let Levi walk away years ago, but I’m not going to let you do that.”

“Either you pack your bags now and leave for Oxfordshire… or that brother of hers loses his scholarship and his spot on the team.”

“Mom!”

Zayla’s voice broke into a wail that shattered something inside me.

Without thinking, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as she trembled against me.

I turned to Levi, who had remained silent until now, and bit my lip until they hurt.

I didn’t know what to do anymore.

I knew convincing his mother was going to be difficult. But, I hadn’t expected her to be this heartless. To speak so casually while toying with people’s futures.

Worse…

To gamble with the lives of her own children.

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Just then, Levi let out a slow, weary sigh before finally speaking.

“Don’t do any of that.”

His voice wasn’t loud.

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“I know you’re doing all of this because you don’t want to lose your standing in the family,” he continued. “If you need someone to take over Grandfather’s role… then I’ll do it.”

My breath caught in my throat at the exact same moment Zayla gasped.

We both stared at Levi, unable to believe what we’d just heard.

“Levi,” I whispered.

He simply ran a hand through his hair, looking strangely calm despite the weight of the decision he had just made.

“Just let me finish this season,” he said. “After that, I’ll come back and take over the company.”

He looked directly at his mother.

“That’s what you need, right?”

The room fell completely silent.

Zayla slowly pulled away from me before rushing toward him.

“Why?” she cried, grabbing onto his arms as though she could physically stop him from saying another word. “Why are you doing this? You love hockey!”

The tears pouring from her eyes only grew heavier.

This was the hardest she had cried since we’d arrived.

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