The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 11

11:06 am M

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

ARIA’S POV

I left before sunrise.

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Julian was still asleep when I slipped out of the apartment, his arm heavy across the mattress when I had peeped into his room. For a second, I almost stayed.

Almost. But yesterday was enough. His mother’s warning still echoed in my head. You’re a variable.

A liability dressed in silver and scholarship paperwork.

If walking beside him invited war, then maybe walking alone would quiet it.

The air outside was cold and damp, the kind that clings to your skin. I tucked my hands into my coat pockets and started toward campus on foot. No car. No bodyguard energy. No hockey captain shadow. Just me.

Each step felt like a small rebellion. Or maybe an apology. I wasn’t sure which.

By the time I reached Westbridge, the sky had shifted from gray to pale blue. Students milled across the quad in clusters, half–awake and caffeine–dependent. No one walked alone. Except me.

The ring felt heavier today..I’d almost taken it off before leaving. My fingers had even twisted it halfway down. But I hadn’t..Recognition, he’d said. Not ownership. The distinction still blurred.

I got to class twenty minutes early. I told myself it was strategic, less attention, less spectacle. The lecture hall door was slightly open, voices spilling out.

Familiar voices. I froze just before stepping inside.

Serena’s laugh carried first. High. Polished. Sharp enough to cut. “Please,” she said lightly. “You really think he’s being serious with Aria?”

A few girls giggled. “I mean, look at her,” another voice added. “Scholarship charity case suddenly living in a penthouse?” My stomach tightened. “I heard she was practically begging to move in,” someone else chimed in. “Convenient, right?” Heat crawled up my neck. Embarrassment flooded my veins. This was what they talked about behind my back. Serena exhaled dramatically. “She got jealous,” she said. “That’s what this is.”

“Jealous of what?” a girl asked.

“Of me,” Serena replied smoothly. “She couldn’t stand that Julian was around me all the time. Luca too. It was embarrassing, honestly. She left the house because she couldn’t handle how… lucky I was.”

Lucky. The word tasted metallic in my mouth. “She always had a thing for attention.” Serena continued. “Guess she figured sleeping with the captain was a faster route.”

The laughter that followed wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. It echoed anyway. My hand tightened around my bag strap.

For a moment, I considered walking in and saying something. Anything. But what would that do? Fuel it? Validate it? So I inhaled once. Twice..And stepped into the room.

The laughter thinned almost immediately..Serena looked up first. Her expression flickered, surprise, then irritation, then something carefully neutral.

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11:06 am M

Chapter 11

“Oh,” she said lightly. “Speak of the devil.”

I forced my voice steady. “Morning.” The girls shifted uncomfortably. A few avoided my gaze. Serena leaned back in her seat like she owned the row. “We were just talking about you.”

“I gathered.”

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Her eyes dropped to my ring..“So it’s real,” she said softly. “How romantic.” There was venom under the silk. I took a seat three rows down. I wouldn’t give her a show.

“Hope you’re enjoying the upgrade,” she added casually. My fingers curled against my notebook. Upgrade. Like I’d traded lives the way people traded handbags.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t trust my voice not to crack. The professor walked in minutes later, dissolving the tension into academic silence. But the words didn’t disappear.

They lingered. Sleeping your way into Westbridge.

Jealous. Bitter. Charity case. I stared at the board but didn’t see it. All I saw was Luca’s face.

Smiling. Charming. Untouchable. He’d started this.

He was the reason why my life was a mess. The confrontation. The kiss. The spectacle. The fallout.

If he’d just left me alone in that parking lot, if he hadn’t pushed, if he hadn’t made everything a performance then maybe this wouldn’t be happening.

My chest tightened. It wasn’t fair

The lecture blurred..The root

blame him for everything. But it felt easier than blaming myself.

felt warmer. Too warm.

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. By the time the professor dismissed us, a dull ache had settled behind my eyes. I stood too quickly. The floor tilted. I grabbed the edge of the desk until it steadied. Just stress.

Just exhaustion. Just everything stacking on top of everything else. I moved toward the aisle. The hallway outside buzzed with students, but the sound felt distant. Muffled. Like I was underwater.

My skin prickled. Cold sweat gathered at the base of my neck. I should go to the clinic. That was logical. Responsible. I took a step. Then another. My legs felt heavier than they should.

Each breath burned slightly in my chest. The lights overhead seemed too bright. Too sharp. I pressed a hand to my temple. You’re fine. I made it halfway down the hallway before my vision blurred at the edges.

Voices became echoes. My heartbeat pounded loud and irregular in my ears. I tried to focus on something steady. The lockers. The tile pattern. The exit sign at the end of the corridor.

But the floor felt like it was shifting beneath me.

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