Dumped By A Hockey Star, Crowned By A Secret Prince

Five years with Jeremy Higgins, and Cathryn Carter was still celebrating their anniversaries by herself.

She'd planned to surprise him during his break, to hand him the gift she'd carefully picked out.

Instead, irritation and impatience filled his response. "Don't make this into some big drama. It's just an anniversary. I told you-championship first, then marriage. This year is everything to my career. So stay away from the rink."

Jeremy was hockey's star forward-the backbone of the national team.

On the ice, he was unstoppable-the MVP everyone feared.

But to Cathryn, he was the fiancé who couldn't spare her ten minutes.

Her gaze fell on the gift she'd wrapped herself. A bitter laugh escaped her.

His coach kept reminding her how stressed Jeremy was. So she swallowed every complaint, every disappointment. She'd just drop the gift and the lunch with security, and leave. She wouldn't be that girlfriend-the one who "gets in his way."

Then a news alert popped up on her phone. "BREAKING: Hockey Star Jeremy Higgins Ditches Championship for Romance. Title Hopes Crash?"

Cathryn froze. Her fingers trembled as she tapped the link.

The video showed the same man-the one who swore he didn't have a single second for her. In his number 6 jersey, he burst out of the locked-down training facility, swarmed by cameras.

He shoved past reporters and pulled a pale woman in a white dress against his chest.

Cameras flashed around them as he faced the press with red-rimmed eyes. His voice cracked as he said, "I'm sorry to the fans, but I've let her down enough. She needs me. More than any of you."

Cathryn couldn't move. Her fingers kept shaking, numb and ice-cold.

The woman was Lydia Clayton, Jeremy's childhood sweetheart and the one he had never truly left behind.

For three years on the national team, every time he lost his shot at the title, Lydia was somehow in the middle of it.

Year one. Lydia caught a cold overseas. Jeremy flew halfway around the world to hand her medicine. He missed the final check-in.

Year two. She wanted to watch a meteor shower. He took her rock climbing, broke his leg, and sat out the rest of the season.

Year three. She fought with her ex. Jeremy stepped in, got into a brawl, and landed himself arrested-banned for six months.

Now came year four. Cathryn actually believed she'd see him lift that trophy and then marry her.

She never imagined she'd watch him abandon the competition and clutch another woman right outside the facility he'd forbidden her to come near.

Just then, the villa door swung open.

Jeremy came inside with the cold air following him, his arms loaded with grocery bags.

Lydia hung on his arm, eyes red-rimmed.

Her voice was barely audible. "Jeremy... do you think Cathryn will be okay with me staying here?"

His arm tightened. His voice, softer than Cathryn had ever heard, murmured, "Don't even think like that. You're everything to me. This is your home now. No one gets to say otherwise."

Cathryn watched them in silence, her nails digging into her palms. It should have hurt, but she felt nothing.

So Lydia came before everyone. Then where did that leave Cathryn, the woman who'd spent five years waiting to be his wife?

Jeremy didn't even glance at Cathryn. He set the bags down and ordered casually, like he was asking for takeout, "From now on, cook lighter. No lamb, no seafood. Lydia's allergic. And make her some soup. She's been out in the cold, and she's fragile. She needs something hot right now, before she..."

His mouth kept moving, but Cathryn stopped listening. Her eyes moved from him to Lydia-still pressed against him. The pain faded, replaced by a hollow numbness.

Five years of waiting. Five years of running his life. And this was what it all came down to?

The words scratched out of her throat. "So you're really walking away for her?"

Jeremy had already grabbed Lydia's suitcase and headed for the stairs. He stopped at Cathryn's voice, annoyance flashing across his face.

He shot her a cold stare. "Are you seriously guilt-tripping me right now? Her depression spiraled after the divorce. She almost died this morning. If I hadn't gone-" He broke off, breathing hard. "And you're standing there judging me? There's always next year's championship. She doesn't get another life."

"Another year?" Cathryn let out a bitter laugh, her eyes stinging. "You said that last year. And the year before that. Jeremy, every time you promised me marriage after the championship, you were just feeding me a promise you never intended to keep. Weren't you?"

"Enough!" Jeremy's voice thundered, disgust twisting his face. "Is being my wife that important? You have to squeeze it out of me right this second?"

No answer came from Cathryn. Instead, she raised her hand and slowly slid off the plain ring she'd worn for three years.

She dropped it onto the cold marble table-careless, final. The ring spun across the surface and came to rest at Jeremy's feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" His chest tightened, a sudden, unexplainable unease washing over him.

"You're right about one thing. A life does matter more than any title." Cathryn looked up at him, and there was no love left in her eyes. Just emptiness. "So I'm done wasting mine on you."

She turned toward the door and walked away, never once hesitating or looking back.

"Cathryn! How much longer are you going to pull this stunt?" He roared after her. "Walk out that door, and don't you dare come back!"

Cathryn kept walking. She didn't even slow down when she answered him. "Don't worry. I'm not coming back. Never."