I can’t believe our parents knew each other, not just Griffin’s and mine, but Asher’s, Dean’s, and my dad too. I’m not surprised, given the circles they ran in.
But it’s insane to envision that, if my parents were still here, my path would have inevitably crossed the path of this group of friends sometime in the future.
Maybe this very spot is where I was always destined to end up, to find this photo of my dad in my boyfriends’ friend’s house.
Perhaps we were always meant to be together.
Reaching out, I run my finger over the glass above my father’s face. I can feel Griffin’s stare burning into the side of my face.
“Are you okay? Do you know him?” Griffin asks, confused, and it dawns on me that they don’t know who I really am.
I kind of assumed that Dean and Asher would’ve told them, but I appreciate them keeping my secret nonetheless.
“I do.” Nodding slowly, I stand up taller, wiping the tears from under my eyes. “He’s my dad.”
“Wait,” Griffin scoffs, shaking his head and chuckling in disbelief. “What do you mean? That’s Patrick Chamberlain.”
“I know.” I sniffle, wiping my eyes. “I’m Cirella Chamberlain.”
Our father and Adrianna should be getting home soon—or at least by the time we get back from practice.
I think our best bet at confronting him is to corner him in his office. We’re going to be up front and honest, not backing down until he wakes the hell up. It should go smoothly.
“How are the two new lovebirds doing this morning?” Elias chuckles as we skate out onto the ice for practice.
Asher mockingly laughs at him. “You wish that were you, huh? Lonely ass.”
Elias flips him off with a smirk. “You think I’m single because I can’t get anyone?Wrong.”
Malik stealthily skates up behind him, lifting his stick into the air like a baseball bat.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” Elias spins right as Malik readies to swing to chop at his legs.
Caught red-handed, Malik straightens his spine, and he drops his stick to the ice, his hands in the air. “Do what?”
“Yeah. You’re innocent, I’m sure.” Elias grins, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
With a shit-eating grin, Malik drifts over to him. When he’s inches from his face, he blows a kiss. “You know you wanted it.”
Planting his gloves on his chest, Elias shoves him away, and Malik uses the momentum to skate off, probably going to torture someone else.
Our head coach blows the whistle, and we all skate over to the bench. But I’m struggling to hear a single word the entire time he talks because I can’t stop thinking about Adrianna and my father and about my girl, Cirella, who deserves the fucking world.
Nothing adds up about the story Cirella told me about Adrianna and Patrick’s relationship. A man that smart wouldn’t leave everything to his brand-new wife instead of his beloved daughter.
I spoke with a couple of our lawyers about it yesterday, wondering if they could dig into it a bit, but I’m waiting to hear back.
Regardless, I’m getting that house back to Cirella in one piece. But in the meantime, while she’s exiled from it, I want to get her something to lift her spirits.
Is it illegal? Yes.
Would my father lose his mind, knowing what I plan on doing? Absolutely.
Am I going to do it anyway? Yeah, with all of my friends.
They might not know or have agreed to it yet, but I’m going to talk to them after practice. I know without a doubt they’ll be down to help me, especially after what we did to that crooked professor when Malik needed us.
It doesn’t matter that it’s illegal to disarm cameras, a security system, and break into said house to steal something when you have the cops on speed dial.
