Iced Heart Found Love Beneath The Waves

Tyler’s voice rattled through the phone, low and urgent, like he was afraid someone else might be listening.

“Drake, I wouldn’t be calling you after the biggest night of your career if this wasn’t serious,” he said.

I pressed the phone tighter to my ear, glancing toward the bedroom where Heiley still slept, oblivious. “You’re scaring the hell out of me, Ty. Just say it.”

There was a pause. I could hear him exhale, heavy.

“It’s Heiley,” he said finally.

My grip on the counter tightened. “What about her?”

“She’s… look, I don’t know how to tell you this, man. I didn’t want to believe it myself. But it’s real. I saw her.”

The words slashed through me like blades. I wanted to laugh, dismiss it as some drunken joke, but Tyler’s voice was too steady, too grim.

“Saw her where?” I demanded.

“With Anderson.”

The name hit me harder than any body check ever had. Anderson. My rival. The man who’d been breathing down my neck on the ice for years, desperate to topple me. And now… with her?

“You’re wrong,” I said, voice sharp, almost pleading. “You must’ve seen wrong. Anyone could look like her—”

“I wish to God I was wrong, Drake …But I know what I saw. Last week. Downtown bar. They weren’t just talking. They were…” He hesitated. “They were together. And not in a way you can mistake.”

The world tilted. My chest went hollow.

“She—she was with me last week,” I said. “She was at dinner with my parents. She—”

“I don’t know what to say, man. I debated telling you. But if you’re planning to put a ring on her finger, you need to know.”

I pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead, trying to hold the pieces of myself together. Tyler’s words burned through me, but still I resisted.

“She loves me,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

“I thought so too,” he said quietly. “But you need to ask her. Don’t walk into this blind.”

The line went dead.

--

I stood there, staring at nothing, the phone heavy in my hand. In the other, the velvet box dug into my palm.

Propose? Confront? Both paths stretched before me, both ending in fire.

The sound of bare feet on hardwood snapped me back. Heiley padded into the kitchen, hair messy from sleep, oversized shirt hanging off her shoulder. She smiled when she saw me, soft and effortless, like she had a thousand times before.

“Morning, champ,” she said, voice warm. She leaned up to kiss me, but I froze. For the first time in my life with her, I couldn’t move.

Her smile faltered. “What’s wrong?”

I swallowed, the taste of bile bitter on my tongue. Ask her, Tyler had said. But how? How do you ask the person you thought you knew better than anyone if they’ve been betraying you with the man who’s made a career of trying to destroy you?

Instead, I forced a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “Nothing. Just tired.”

She searched my face, suspicion flickering, then nodded. “You should eat. You’ve barely had anything since the game.”

I let her fuss, moving around the kitchen, humming under her breath. The ordinary rhythm of her movements, the casual intimacy of it, clashed violently with the storm tearing me apart inside.

I couldn’t accuse her. Not yet. Not without proof.

But I also couldn’t ignore Tyler’s voice in my head.

Don’t walk into this blind.

--

Later that afternoon, Heiley was on her phone in the living room, laughter spilling into the air. I watched her from the hallway, every tilt of her head, every secret smile, dissected under my gaze. Who was on the other end of that call? A friend? A brand agent? Or Anderson?

I clenched my fists, trying to steady the rage threatening to erupt. If I asked and she lied, I’d know. If she told the truth… I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.

When she hung up, I forced myself to step into the room.

“Heiley,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant.

She looked up, startled. “Yeah?”

I opened my mouth, the words right there on the edge of my tongue—Are you cheating on me? Are you with Anderson?—but they caught in my throat.

Instead, I heard myself say, “You said you had a surprise for me.”

Her eyes lit up, relief smoothing her features. “Oh! Right.” She grabbed her purse from the table and pulled out a small envelope. “I was going to wait until tonight, but…” She handed it to me, smiling.

I opened it with trembling hands. Inside were two plane tickets. Maldives. Luxury resort.

“For us,” she said, beaming. “After the season, just the two of us. No cameras, no media. Just you and me.”

I stared at the tickets, my heart a warzone. On the surface, it was perfect—exactly the kind of surprise she would give. But beneath, Tyler’s words festered, poisoning every smile, every gesture.

“Heiley…” I started, my voice hoarse.

But before I could finish, her phone buzzed again. She glanced at it, too quick, too practiced, before sliding it face-down on the table.

Something inside me cracked. ---

My suspicion builds as Heiley’s phone keeps lighting up with “private” messages she refuses to explain. My anger finally boils over, pushing meto follow her—

only to stumble upon the truth with my own eyes.