Just My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires by Esther Pen novel Chapter 242

Chapter 242

Chapter 242

BRANDON’S POV

83

55 vouchers

The cold night air did nothing to clear the suffocating tension in my chest as I walked out of the arena’s private exit.

My boots clicked sharply against the asphalt of the executive lot, each step fueled by the lingering echo of Julian’s smug, parting words. “I am going to make sure you do.”

The bastard was up to something, and the fact that he was sober enough to look me in the eye and threaten my relationship with Aria made my blood boil.

I reached for the handle of my car, but before I could open it, heavy footsteps hurried down the pavement behind me. “Brandon! Wait up!”

I suppressed a dark sigh and turned around to see Henderson rushing toward me, adjusting his winter coat against the chill. He stopped a few feet away, catching his breath.

“There’s a celebratory dinner tonight at the club,” Henderson said, a bright, corporate smile plastered across his face. “The team really pulled off a miracle on the ice today. You should attend. Bring Aria along, too. It would be good for the franchise to have the primary sponsors there to toast the victory.”

I forced a tight, empty smile, keeping my hands shoved deep into my pockets. “I think I’d rather skip this one, Henderson.”

Henderson’s smile faded, his eyes narrowing as he took in my rigid posture and the dark circles under my eyes. He noticed the heavy gloom rolling off me. “What’s the matter, Brandon? You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world.”

“Nothing,” I replied flatly, my tone indicating the conversation was over. But Henderson didn’t back down.

He took a half-step closer, lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry across the empty parking lot. His expression turned completely serious. “Does Aria know the truth yet?”

My jaw clenched so tightly the muscle ticked. The air between us instantly turned freezing. “No,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous, low rumble. “And I would like to keep it that way. There is no need to tell her.”

Henderson let out a slow, troubled breath, shaking his head. “She deserves to know, Brandon. If she finds out from anyone else about what happened that day… it’s going to hurt her a hell of a lot more coming from a stranger than from you.”

I stared at him, my expression a mask of absolute silence. I didn’t want to think about that day. I didn’t want to remember the blood, the choices made, or the collateral damage.

“She won’t find out,” I said finally, my voice dead and unyielding. “I have completely buried the events of that day in the past. It’s gone.”

“Buried things have a way of digging themselves back up,” Henderson warned softly. Then, trying to lighten the heavy mood, he offered a small, sympathetic smile. “Come to dinner. It would be a good time for you to unwind. God knows you need it.”

1/5

13:55 Mon, Jul 20

Chapter 242

I shook my head slowly, my eyes turning toward the distant city lights. “It’s best I stay away from the dinner, Henderson. Because if I go, I might just end up strangling Julian.”

83

Henderson paused, realizing the depth of the hostility brewing. He sighed, reaching out to give my shoulder a supportive pat. “You’ll be alright, man. Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I muttered. I turned around, opened the door, and slid into the back seat of the darkened luxury

SUV.

The moment the heavy door clicked shut, the ambient noise of the city evaporated, replaced by the quiet hum of the running engine.

Dominic, my right-hand man, was sitting right beside me in the passenger cabin, a tablet glowing in his lap. Up front, Anthony was behind the wheel, his eyes adjusting to the rearview mirror.

I didn’t waste any time. I leaned back against the leather seat, my eyes fixed on the back of Anthony’s head. “Dominic,” I called out, my voice cutting through the quiet. “Is everything from that day completely sealed?”

Dominic turned his head toward me, his expression grave and professional. He gave a firm, reassuring nod. “Completely sealed, boss. The non-disclosure agreements, the offshore settlements, the police reports- everything from that day was scrubbed and buried under layers of dummy corporations. There isn’t a single paper trail left connecting you to it. It’s ironclad.”

He was giving me the exact operational reassurance I paid him for, but as I stared out the tinted window at the passing streetlights, a sickening knot twisted in my gut.

I couldn’t shake the terrifying feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. Julian’s sober, mocking warning back in the corridor wasn’t the empty bluff of a desperate drunk. He had looked too confident. Too precise.

“Crosscheck it again,” I ordered Dominic, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Go through the entire archive tonight. Make sure absolutely everything is okay. If there is even a millimeter of a leak, I want it plugged before sunrise.”

Dominic’s eyes sharpened. “Understood. I’ll run a full audit immediately.”

Up front, Anthony glanced at me through the rearview mirror, his hands steady on the steering wheel as he navigated the dark highway. “Are you fine, Mr. Brandon?” he asked quietly.

I closed my eyes, the image of Aria’s sad, exhausted face in the nursery flashing behind my eyelids, followed immediately by the memory of the secret I was keeping from her.

I nodded once, my voice tight. “I’m fine. Just drive.” When the SUV finally pulled through the iron gates of Aria’s estate, the looming silence of the house instantly put me on edge.

I didn’t wait for Anthony to open my door; I threw it open myself and strode through the grand foyer, my eyes scanning the empty space. “Aria?” I called out, my voice echoing off the high ceilings.

No response. Footsteps hurried down the hallway, and Sarah appeared, her hands still neatly wrapped in white bandages.

She looked up at me, sensing the immediate tension radiating off my posture. “Mr. Brandon,” she said softly.

2/5

83

Chapter 242

“If you’re looking for Miss Aria, she isn’t home. She left a little while ago with Amelia.”

My chest tightened, a cold spike of adrenaline hitting my veins. After what had happened yesterday in the park, the thought of them out there unprotected made my blood run cold.

“Where did she go, Sarah? Why wasn’t I notified?”

“She said she was heading to the hospital for an appointment, sir,” Sarah replied quickly, lowering her eyes. “She mentioned she sent you a message.”

I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket, my thumb rapidly swiping across the screen. Sure enough, a single, brief text from Aria was sitting there from an hour ago.

Taking Amelia to the hospital for her check-up. The guards are with us.

I didn’t waste another second. I turned on my heel, rushing back down the front steps toward the waiting SUV. “Anthony, change of plans,” I ordered sharply as I slid into the back seat. “Take me to the hospital. Now.”

The drive felt agonizingly long, my mind spinning with every worst-case scenario. Julian’s threats, the buried secret, the masked men from the park-it all tangled together into a suffocating knot in my throat.

By the time Anthony pulled up to the private clinic’s entrance, I was wound so tightly I felt ready to snap.

My tactical security detail was stationed outside the glass doors, their expressions alert and professional. They gave me a curt nod as I blew past them, stepping into the quiet, sterile warmth of the lobby.

“Where is Aria?” I demanded at the reception desk, my deep voice cutting through the quiet atmosphere.

Before the nurse could even answer, a sweet, chirpy voice echoed down the corridor to my right.

“Uncle Brandon!” I turned instantly.

Standing a few yards away was Amelia, looking entirely untouched by the chaos of the world in a little pink dress with white bows. Right behind her was Aria.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful, wearing a simple, flowing sundress, her hair cascading down her shoulders. But her face was pale, the dark circles under her eyes telling the story of our sleepless night.

Amelia ran across the polished floor as fast as her little legs could carry her, throwing her arms around my knees. I immediately dropped to one knee, the rigid armor around my heart melting the moment I pulled her into my arms.

“How are you, Uncle Brandon?” she asked, her eyes wide and bright.

“I’m fine, sweetheart,” I murmured, my voice softening completely. She leaned in and pressed a sweet, sticky kiss against my cheek, and I returned it with a gentle kiss to her forehead.

I stood back up, keeping a protective hand on her small shoulder as I looked up at Aria. “What happened? What are you doing here?”

Amelia giggled, tugging at my trousers. “Uncle Brandon, did you forget? It’s time for my monthly check-up.

3/5

13:55 Mon, Jul 20

Chapter 242

Dr. Evans had to measure how tall I got!”

A wave of relief, mixed with a sudden sense of foolishness, washed over me. I rubbed the back of my neck, forcing a small nod. “Right. Your monthly check-up. I remember now, sweetheart.”

Then, my eyes drifted up and finally met Aria’s.

She was standing a few feet back, her hands clasped tightly in front of her sundress. She didn’t smile.

83

She didn’t step forward to greet me, and she didn’t offer a sigh of relief that I was there. She just stared at me, her gaze heavy, guarded, and laced with a profound sadness.

The silence stretched between us, wider and deeper than it had been this morning in her bedroom. I could feel the immense, suffocating distance between us, a physical wall built out of the secrets I was keeping and the accusations she couldn’t forgive.

We were standing in the same room, but we had never been further apart. “Hi,” Aria said quietly, her voice barely carrying across the sterile distance of the lobby.

“Hi,” I replied, the syllable feeling heavy and unnatural on my tongue. Before the suffocating silence could wrap around us again, the door to the inner clinic swung open, and a nurse stepped out with a clipboard.

“Amelia?”

“That’s me!” Amelia chirped, instantly letting go of my hand and skipping toward the door. Aria moved forward to follow her, and I fell into step right beside them, my body instinctively adopting its usual protective stance.

We entered the bright, white examination room, the smell of antiseptic sharp in the air.

Dr. Evans, a middle-aged man with a kind face, looked up from his tablet and smiled warmly at Aria and Amelia before his eyes drifted to me, taking in my tailored suit and the rigid way I carried myself.

“Good day,” Dr. Evans said, tapping his stylus against the screen. He nodded politely in my direction. “And who do we have joining us today?”

I opened my mouth to introduce myself as her guardian or a family friend, but before a single word could leave my throat, Amelia spoke up.

“My dad,” she said proudly, her little pink dress swirling as she climbed onto the high examination table, her legs swinging back and forth.

The words hit me like a physical blow. I froze, my chest tightening so hard I completely forgot how to breathe. I looked down at her, utterly shocked.

Dad. She had never called me that before. Not once. It had always been ‘Uncle Brandon. To hear that word slip from her innocent lips so naturally, so fiercely, ripped a hole straight through my carefully constructed defenses.

I cleared my throat roughly, trying to force the sudden, overwhelming lump down my throat as Dr. Evans smiled and nodded. “Ah, excellent. Good to have you here, Dad. Let’s get these measurements started.”

4/5

13:55 Mon, Jul 20

Chapter 242

30 vouche

83

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify