Page 249 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
“I’m going to announce my retirement at the gala.”
Lia’s eyes widen.
“Retirement?”
I nod.
“During the foundation speech. I’m going to step away at the end of the season.”
The words don’t feel heavy. They feel… settled.
“I want to focus on the foundation,” I continue. “Work with my sister. Maybe start coaching kids. Give myself time to figure out what’s next.”
She studies me carefully.
“Are you sure?”
I meet her gaze.
“Yeah.”
And I am.
“This last game just made it clear,” I say quietly. “My body’s done. My head’s done. And I don’t want to keep splitting myself between two lives when I already know which one matters more. I’m ready for the next chapter.”
She smiles softly.
“Then I support you.”
Jackson nods.
“Same here.”
Elijah gives a small, approving nod.
“Do it.”
And just like that, it settles. Not as something I’m losing. But something I’m choosing. I lean back slightly, letting the quiet of it sink in. Letting the certainty settle where doubt used to sit.
Because for the first time in a long time, I’m not torn between who I was and who I’m becoming.
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
fifty-three
Liana
The room is dimmed just enough that the screen becomes the focus.
Soft light spills across my stomach as the technician moves the wand slowly, deliberately, her expression calm in that way that tells me she’s done this a thousand times before, that this is routine, normal, even if it doesn’t feel that way to me.
My fingers curl slightly in the paper lining beneath me, the crinkle loud in the quiet room, my body still not entirely used to this.
To any of this.
Pregnancy.
Appointments.
