Chapter 42: Breaching the Contract

I pushed open the front door of the SinBin and was immediately hit by a wall of heavy bass and the suffocating smell of stale beer.

It was a Monday night, but apparently, the Briar hockey team didn’t believe in the concept of a quiet evening.

Warm yellow light spilled from the high living room windows onto the porch, and inside, the massive entryway was packed. A mini-party was in full swing.

I walked past a group of freshmen crowded on the stairs. Through the double doors of the dining room, I spotted Jake and Bear standing around a long folding table, refereeing what looked like a highly competitive game of beer pong.

"Nora!" a voice boomed over the music.

I turned to see Bear stepping out of the kitchen, holding a massive red cup.

He gave me a wide, gap-toothed grin, completely unbothered by the chaos around him. Jake turned around at the sound of my name, his face lighting up with his usual golden-retriever energy.

"Hey, guys," I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I adjusted the strap of my tote bag. "Is Knox upstairs?"

"Yeah, Cap came back about half an hour ago," Jake nodded, taking a sip from his drink. He gestured casually toward the grand wooden staircase. "He went straight up to his room. Looked like he was in a mood, so we let him be. Go on up."

"Thanks," I murmured, offering a tight smile.

Nobody tried to stop me as the entire team believed Knox and I were officially together.

To them, the captain’s girlfriend walking up to his bedroom was the most normal thing in the world.

I climbed the stairs, my boots sinking into the runner as I navigated the second-floor hallway. The noise from the party below faded into a low, thudding hum as I approached the heavy oak door at the very end of the hall.

My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my throat.

I stopped a foot away from his door, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. I had spent the entire walk over preparing the words in my head. I’m sorry. I understand now. We can fix this.

I raised my hand to knock, but before my knuckles touched the wood, I noticed the door wasn’t completely shut.

It was unlatched, resting half an inch open. A warm strip of light cut across the dark floor carpet.

I reached out, gently pushing the heavy oak panel open. "Knox...?"

The word died on my tongue.

The room smelled of cedar and expensive cologne, but there was also the heavy, unmistakable scent of sweet perfume.

Sitting on the edge of his unmade bed was Knox. He was leaning back on his hands, his dark Briar hoodie unzipped to reveal his chest. His expression was completely devoid of emotion... cold, detached, and utterly ruthless.

And kneeling on the rug directly between his legs, her hands resting on his thighs as her dark hair fell over his lap, was an unfamiliar brunette.

Her head was moving in a slow, steady rhythm, her lips wrapped tightly around his hard length as she gave him a blowjob.

I froze.

Every drop of blood drained from my face, leaving me completely paralyzed in the open doorway.

The girl didn’t notice me at first. But at the sound of the door hinges creaking, Knox’s head tilted slightly.

His dark, unblinking eyes lifted, locking directly onto mine across the room.

He didn’t push her away. He didn’t cover himself. He didn’t even flinch. He just sat there, his eyes burning into mine with an icy, devastating challenge that felt like a slap straight across the face.

Like he was silently asking what I could do about it.

The nauseating wave of guilt I had carried all the way from the library vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of white-hot fury. My pragmatism snapped into place, shielding me from the shock.

"Are you kidding me?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the heavy silence of the room like a whip.

The brunette gasped, scrambling backward so fast she nearly tripped over the rug. She wiped her mouth, her eyes wide with panic as she looked between Knox and me.

She recognized me immediately... the entire campus knew who I was by now. The captain’s girlfriend.

"I... I’m so sorry, I didn’t..." she stammered, grabbing her discarded sweater from the floor.

"Leave," Knox said in a cold, hard tone. I knew he wasn’t referring to me as his eyes were locked on the girl.

She didn’t need to be told twice; she practically ran out of the room, her shoulder brushing past mine as she fled down the hallway, leaving the two of us alone in the suffocating silence.

Knox didn’t move to adjust his clothes immediately. He stood up slowly, his jaw locked, and pulled his zipper up. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring me down.

"Did you come to deliver another lecture, Bennett?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom. "Or did you just want to make sure your compliance check cleared?"

"You’re breaching the contract," I shot back, my hands curling into tight fists at my sides. "Paragraph four, section B. Exclusivity in public and private spaces to ensure the credibility of the arrangement."

Knox let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "You’re quoting the fucking contract right now?"

"Yes, I am!" I stepped further into the room, kicking the door shut behind me with a loud slam. "Because that contract is the only thing standing between me and fifty thousand dollars in out-of-state tuition! If Pierce or Brennan finds out you’re bringing random puck bunnies up here while the whole team thinks we’re dating, my scholarship waiver is gone!"

"Then let it go," Knox sneered, stepping toward me. His massive frame dominated the space, but I refused to back down. "Tell them it’s over. Tell them I cheated on you and we broke up. Or are you getting attached? Because that’s also in the fvcking contract."

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, my chest heaving. "Because I figured it out? Because I realized you can’t read the damn worksheets?"

The air in the room instantly plummeted to freezing.

A muscle jumped along Knox’s jawline. His eyes darkened, stripping away the careless playboy facade and leaving behind something feral and cornered.

"What are you going to do, Bennett?" Knox challenged as he took another step forward, towering over me. "Tell Pierce? Tell the whole campus that I can’t read?" He spread his arms wide, a bitter, twisted smile pulling at his lips. "Go ahead. Ruin me. Do it."

He was goading me, pushing me to the edge. He was trying to force me to break our contract so he wouldn’t have to face the humiliation of me knowing his secret.

The sheer cruelty of his defense mechanism took my breath away.

"You know what?" I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of rage and disappointment. "I came here to apologize to you. I felt terrible for pushing you in the library. But you are exactly what everyone says you are, Knox. You’re an arrogant, selfish asshole."

I turned on my heel, grabbing the doorknob.

"I’m not breaking the contract, and I’m not telling your secret," I said, looking at him over my shoulder. "But I’m done putting in all the effort to save your eligibility while you pull shit like this. If you want to pass, you know where Study Room 4C is."

I opened the door and walked out, leaving him standing alone in the center of the room.