Kathryn

Everything was perfect until it wasn't. Nobody warns you that it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.

Now my life revolves around working two part-time jobs to make ends meet while taking care of my daughter alone. Ensuring she doesn't drown in my grief.

When Graycee asks to play hockey, I scrape and save enough to sign her up for the local youth league. The smile on her face as she steps out onto the ice makes every sacrifice worth it.

It's the same smile I used to see on her father whenever he played too. The smile that still haunts me to this day. The one I never thought I'd see again in person.

But somehow those dark eyes and that cocky-as-shit smirk are staring right back at me. Grayson Monroe, the man I've been hiding from in plain sight for the last six years.

Grayson

I didn't want to believe it at first. Kathryn Kilgor, a girl I never thought I'd see again. She's here. In this rundown skating rink, meant to host Vancouver's next generation of hockey players.

I searched for this woman for years and couldn't find her. Now that I have, I realize she's not alone. She has a daughter. A little girl, with the same set of dark eyes that look back at me every time I stare into a mirror.

Still, I don't want to believe that Kathryn would do this. She wouldn't hide a child from me, my child from me. I gave this woman everything. My heart, my soul, my fucking dignity. And she stepped on it like it was worth nothing.

The panic on her face shouldn't excite me. But I've been hurting for six years now, all because of her. I'm thinking it's time my runaway ex felt some of that pain too.