The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Chapter 123

ARIA’S POV

Luca’s victorious smirk widened, his eyes practically gleaming as he waited for me to break.

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He was a vulture, waiting to feed on the ruins of my trust. He thought he had just handed me the ultimate betrayal, and he was dying to see me burst into tears or scream at Brandon.

But as I looked at Luca’s smug face, a cold, hard numbness took over my shock. I refused to give him the satisfaction of destroying me. I wasn’t going to let him win.

I pulled myself away from Brandon’s grip, stood up straight on the icy steps, and looked directly at Luca. “Is that all?” I asked, my voice completely flat and deadpan.

Luca’s smirk suddenly faltered. He blinked, looking confused. “Aria, did you not just hear me? He lied to you. His brother is the one helping Julian ruin your family—”

“I heard you perfectly clear, Luca,” I lied smoothly, keeping my face as expressionless as a stone wall. “And I already knew. Do you honestly think I would enter a legal battle without knowing exactly who my ally is? I know everything about Brandon’s family. I know about Blake. I know all of it.”

Luca’s face dropped completely. The disappointment on his face was almost comical.

He had spent money, used Elena, and dragged himself out into the freezing cold just to deliver a killer blow, only to realize his weapon was totally useless.

“Now,” I said, pointing toward his car. “I told you to get out of my sight before I call the police. I am not going to repeat myself again. Leave.”

Luca stared at me for a few more seconds, his jaw twitching with frustration. He muttered a curse word under his breath, spun around, and marched back to his car.

He slammed the door shut, started the engine, and sped down the street, his tires kicking up loose snow.

The moment his car turned the corner and vanished, the fake strength holding me up completely dissolved. The cold air rushed back into my lungs, and the reality of what he had said hit me all over again.

Blake’s elder brother. The rejected bastard.

I turned around slowly to face Brandon.

He was standing entirely still on the pavement, his hands still half–raised toward me. The fierce, pow alpha look he usually carried was completely gone.

He looked smaller, his eyes filled with a raw, agonizing guilt that made my stomach turn. “Aria…” voice dropping into a rough whisper. “Let me explain.”

“Did you take me for a fool, Brandon?” I asked. My voice wasn’t loud, but it was dripping with a dan anger. “Did you sit across from me all those weeks, watching me cry about my father’s company, kno your own brother was part of the people stealing it?”

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18:13 Mon, Jun 1

Chapter 123

Brandon swallowed hard, taking a small step closer, his hands open to show he was no threat.

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“I wanted to tell you. I swear I had plans of explaining everything to you. I just… I didn’t feel it was necessary yet. I didn’t want to burden you with my family’s ugly garbage when you were already dealing with so much pain.”

“Necessary?” I yelled, the anger finally exploding out of my chest. I didn’t care if the guards were listening. I didn’t care if the whole street heard me.

“My entire life was ruined by Julian and Blake! And you thought it wasn’t necessary to tell me that the man helping them is your own blood? You used me! You used my father’s corporate war just so you could get a chance to hurt the family that rejected you!”

“That’s not true!” Brandon pleaded, his eyes flashing with desperate pain. “Aria, I don’t care about my step- father or Blake. I did everything for you. Everything I handed to the lawyer was to make sure you win!”

“Get out,” I snapped, stepping back toward the building door. “Get out of my face, Brandon. Get away from my building. I don’t want to look at you right now.”

He didn’t leave right away. He stepped up onto the first stair, his face twisted with worry as he reached out, trying to console me, trying to touch my arm to calm me down.

“Aria, please. Just calm down for a second and let’s talk inside where it’s warm. You’re shaking.”

“Don’t touch me!” I screamed, pulling away from him like his hand was made of fire. I refused to pay any attention to his worried looks or his soft words.

I was too furious, too overwhelmed by the endless mountain of secrets. “I said leave me alone!”

Seeing that my yelling was only getting worse and that I was completely closed off, Brandon stopped. He let out a long, heavy sigh, the steam rising in the cold air.

He knew that if he kept pushing, he would only drive the knife deeper. I needed space, and he knew it. Without saying another word, he reached into the inner pocket of his dark suit jacket and pulled out a thick, heavy white envelope.

He didn’t try to hand it to me. Instead, he gently placed it down on the top step right next to my boots. “I’ll leave,” Brandon said softly, his voice laced with absolute exhaustion. “But please, take this inside. Keep Leo outside your door. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

He turned around, walked back to his sleek black car, and drove away quietly into the snowy morning.

I stood on the steps for a long minute, watching the empty street. Then, I looked down at the heavy env I picked it up, my fingers cold, and walked back inside my apartment, locking the door securely behi

I sat down on the edge of the couch and tore the envelope open with shaking hands.

The moment I pulled the documents out, my heart stopped. My anger momentarily froze in my replaced by a massive wave of mixed feelings. It was a lawsuit. He had actually done it.

Brandon hadn’t just handed over the evidence to my lawyer; he had pulled the strings to fast–track

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18:13 Mon, Jun 1

Chapter 123

process. The case had officially been filed in the high court.

ཉྙཱཐཱ

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I scrolled down to the bottom page, my eyes widening as I read the stamped date. The first court hearing was close. In exactly two weeks, I was going to stand before a judge.

I stared at the legal stamp, tears blurring my vision. After all the pain, the coma, the betrayal, and the fear, I was finally going to be in court to prove that my father’s legacy was stolen.

If things went as planned, I would take back every single share, every dollar, and clear my father’s name once and for all. I leaned back against the couch, holding the papers against my chest.

I didn’t even know if I should still be angry with Brandon at this point. He had kept a massive, horrible secret from me, yes. But he had also given me the exact weapon I needed to win my war.

He was delivering on his promise.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed on the coffee table.

I picked it up, expecting to see Brandon’s name. Instead, it was a call from Elena. The girl I had just kicked out of my house.

I let out a bitter scoff and immediately ignored the call, letting it ring out until the screen went dark. A few seconds later, the phone buzzed again with an incoming text message.

I opened it, expecting a pathetic, crying paragraph of apologies. But as I read the words, my eyes narrowed in disgust. It wasn’t entirely an apology text at all.

Aria, I know you hate me right now and you have every right to, the text read. But you need to open your eyes. You are being completely blind. Look at your baby. Amelia is a total replica of Julian. She looks exactly like him. Brandon is a powerful man, Aria. He might play the hero now, but he will never truly accept another man’s child. It is only a matter of time before he gets tired of the baggage and begins to act up. If you want a real future and safety for your daughter, you need to go back and fight Leonie to claim Julian before it is too late. Julian has the money, and Amelia is his blood.

I sucked my teeth loudly at the screen, a wave of pure revulsion rolling through my stomach. Elena didn’t get it. She never did. She thought everything in life could be bought with money, just like she had sold our friendship to pay off her debts.

She honestly thought I would ever go back to a monster like Julian and fight another woman for his attention. all for the sake of his dirty cash.

And her doubts about Brandon? Brandon had his flaws, and he had hidden the truth about his brother, but had never once looked at Amelia with anything less than absolute protection.

Without wasting another single second, I tapped on Elena’s contact profile, hit the options menu, an her number for good.

I threw the phone face down on the couch, walked into the bedroom, and lifted my sleeping bal arms, holding her close to my heart.

The war was finally here, and I was going to finish it.

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18:14 Mon, Jun 1

Chapt