That wasn’t what I expected.
She looks at me properly now. Steady. Clear.
“I’ve been through this before,” she says. “I know what it feels like to be torn apart publicly. I survived it.”
My chest tightens.
“You three taught me that I can survive it again,” she continues softly. “I’m worried about you.”
That hits harder than anything else.
“My career?” I ask.
She nods.
“You’re at the beginning of everything,” she says. “You don’t get to hide behind a name or step back from it. You are your career. You are the face of it.”
Her voice tightens slightly.
“If this affects that… if I affect that… maybe we should think about stepping back and taking a break.”
“No.”
The word comes out sharper than I intend.
“Absolutely not.”
She blinks slightly.
“Jackson,”
“I finally get to say you’re mine,” I cut in, stepping closer. “I’m not stepping back from that. I’m not giving that up because people don’t understand it.”
Her expression shifts and concern crosses her face.
“Jackson, you need to think about...”
“If this affects my career,” I interrupt again, “then that says more about them than it does about me.”
My jaw tightens.
“I don’t want to play for people who can’t accept my life. My relationship. That’s not something I’m hiding.”
“You can’t say that,” she says, her voice soft but firm.
“Hockey isn’t the end of the world, Lia,” I shoot back. “Yeah, it’s a dream. But it’s not the only one.”
I step closer again.
“You are more important than that.”
The room goes quiet. Zach moves first.
“Hey,” he says calmly, stepping in. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
Elijah’s voice follows, steadier, more controlled.
“Let PR do their job.”
