Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Levi’s POV

This was the exact reason why I didn’t want Hope to come.

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Aside from my male cousins ogling her and Matthias looking at me with that eternal teasing look in his eyes, I knew this dinner would never pass without someone bringing up hockey. Or rather, bringing up my failure to become the son they wanted.

“Where did you hear that information from?” I asked, forcing myself to remain calm. “From Liam?”

A brief pause was all the confirmation I needed.

Liam was also their grandson, but the pressure on him had never been the same. It was, accepted that he played hockey because he’d been doing it his entire life. Hockey was part of his identity. Mine was supposed to be the family business.

What none of them knew was that I had been the one who taught Liam how to play hockey when we were younger.

The irony would have been funny if this family hadn’t spent my entire life making me miserable.

The Morettis had always been the bane of my fucking existence.

My parents were never together. I was born out of wedlock, yet the Morettis kept me because I carried their blood. That was all that mattered to them.

My father had been the only one who supported my decision to play hockey. He was the only one who ever looked at me and saw a person instead of an investment.

So naturally, I left. And there hadn’t been a single day since then that they hadn’t tried to make me regret it.

They told me hockey wouldn’t last and that I’d fail. They expected me to come crawling back to them within the same year.

But they were wrong-every single one of them.

And maybe that was the reason I couldn’t stop playing even when my body begged me to. Because I didn’t want them thinking-not even for a second-that they had been right.

I didn’t want them believing that I was better off here. That I should have chosen them.

“I also heard you’ve been injured,” my grandfather said, releasing a chuckle that wasn’t humorous in the slightest.

His eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you think that’s enough, Levi?”

I sighed and leaned against my chair.

“I’m repeating what I said the last time I came here.”

The room became silent.

“I will not be coming back to the family. I do not regret the decisions I’ve made. And no amount of convincing will get me to stop playing.”

I grabbed my glass and finished the remaining whiskey in one swallow. The burn sliding down my throat felt preferable to another minute in this room.

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10:45 Thu, Jul 16

Chapter 64

Then I stood and loosened my tie.

My gaze found Hope. She was staring at me with wide eyes.

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For a moment, I braced myself for pity. I hated pity. I’d rather be hated than pitied. But there wasn’t a trace of it on her face.

Instead, she looked at me like she understood what I was feeling.

I looked away first.

With a quiet sigh, I reached for her hand. Her fingers slipped into mine.

I turned to Zayla and tried to smile, “Happy birthday, Zayla. I’ll make it up to you soon.”

Her expression softened.

“You better.”

With that, I started leading Hope toward the exit.

“I’m going to watch your game against the Minnesota Thunders.”

My mother’s voice sliced through the room.

I stopped, every muscle in my body locking in place. Beside me, Hope froze too.

Slowly, I turned around.

The entire table was staring at the two of us.

My mother sat there with her wine glass in hand, fooking pleased with herself. Hope’s fingers tightened around mine.

My mother? Watching one of my games? That had never happened. She’d missed every tournament. She never cared enough to come before.

“You don’t have to come,” I said flatly. I turned to leave again.

“I’m only coming to watch you disappoint me.”

The room turned deathly silent. Even Matthias looked uncomfortable and had stopped eating.

My mother continued speaking.

“You’ve never even liked that sport. Not until your father started taking you to those matches.”

Her voice dripped with contempt.

“I should have never allowed those weekends. Look at what it turned you into.”

The cruelty in her tone made several relatives glance away.

“Let me see what you love so much about it,” she continued. “Though I’m sure you’ll only disappoint me.”

Her eyes swept over me.

“You haven’t made me proud in a very long time.”

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