Chapter 277 · My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

Chapter 277

ARIA'S POVThe air inside the Grand Regency Hotel was thick with quiet luxury. Soft piano music hummed somewhere down the grand marble hallway, but every step I took over the heavy velvet carpets felt like walking toward a courtroom.Brandon stayed two steps behind me as we made our way toward the private dining corridor on the third floor.He didn't say a word, but his hand was resting firmly on the small of my back, a warm, steady presence anchoring me against the cold knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach.Two of Brandon’s private security officers, dressed in sharp black suits, walked ahead of us to clear the hallway. The entire private floor had been locked down. No hotel guests, no stray staff, no press.We stopped outside the double wooden doors of Private Room B.Brandon turned me to face him. His dark eyes were intense, searching my face with total clarity. He reached up, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his thumb brushing against my cheek."He's inside," Brandon said, his voice dropping into a low, quiet rumble. "Marcus and one of our men are already stationed by the interior exit door. If he steps within two feet of you, if he raises his voice, or if you simply decide you’re done talking, you turn around and walk out. Understand?""I understand," I whispered, taking a deep, steadying breath. "Are you going to be okay out here?"A faint, dangerous outline of a smile touched Brandon’s lips. "I’ll be in the adjacent room watching the feed. You have total control in there, Aria. Don't let him spin his narrative."He leaned down and pressed a firm, lingering kiss against my temple. The solid warmth of his touch chased away the last lingering shiver in my veins.I pulled back, straightened my posture, and gave the security guard a nod. The guard pulled open the heavy oak door. I stepped through, and the door clicked shut behind me with a soft, final thud.The private dining room was large, dimly lit by a crystal chandelier, with a polished mahogany table set for two in the center. Julian was already standing near the far end of the table.The moment his eyes met mine, he froze.He was wearing a tailored charcoal suit—clean, expensive, perfectly pressed. To anyone else, he looked like the picture of an elite athlete who had everything under control.But looking at him up close, I could see the cracks he was trying so hard to hide. His face was paler than usual, the skin tight around his jaw, and a desperate, burning intensity flickered behind his dark eyes."Aria," he breathed out, his voice rough. He took an eager step forward, his hands reaching out instinctively. "You came.""Stay right there, Julian," I said, my voice cutting through the room like a cold blade. He stopped in his tracks, his hands hovering in the air for a second before he slowly dropped them to his sides.He looked past me, noticing the tall, silent security guard standing motionless by the entrance door, but he forced a tight, soft smile onto his face."Aria, please," Julian said, his tone turning sweet, persuasive, and deeply emotional. He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit down. Please. Just give me ten minutes. That's all I'm asking for."I didn't move toward the table. I kept my distance, standing tall near the center of the room with my arms folded loosely over my chest."I'm not sitting down, Julian," I said calmly, keeping my voice flat and completely stripped of emotion. "You asked for a private meeting to talk about Amelia and clear the air. Say what you came here to say."Julian swallowed hard, taking a slow, shaky breath. He took one step closer to the edge of the table, leaning his hands on the dark wood as he looked at me with open desperation."I wanted to apologize," he began, his eyes wide and shining with what looked like genuine tears. "I wanted to look you in the eye without lawyers, without court reporters, and tell you how sorry I am. Leonie... Leonie poisoned everything, Aria. She got inside my head, she manipulated the legal process, and she drove a wedge between us. She was a nightmare, and I was too blind to see what she was doing until it was too late."I watched him quietly, feeling a cold, hollow pity stir in my chest. He was still doing it. Even now, after everything that had happened, he was still looking for someone else to take the blame."Leonie didn't force you to ignore your daughter, Julian," I said softly, the harsh truth falling heavily into the space between us. "Leonie didn't make you absent. You made those choices yourself because your career and your ego always came first.""I was trying to build a future for us," Julian shouted softly, catching himself quickly and casting a quick glance at the guard by the door before lowering his voice again. "I made mistakes, Aria. I know that. But Leonie is gone now. She's on the run. The court case is over. There is nothing standing in our way anymore. We can rebuild this. We can be a family again—you, me, and Amelia.""There is no us to rebuild, Julian," I said, looking straight into his eyes without flinching. "It was over long before Leonie went on the run. And it was over long before the judge gave me full custody."Julian’s chest heaved as he fought to maintain his composed, emotional plea. "You don't mean that. You're just saying that because he has his claws in you. Brandon is using his money to keep you isolated. He's trying to buy Amelia’s affection because he knows he can't replace me.”"Brandon didn't buy anything," I shot back, my voice turning icy. "Brandon showed up. He stayed. He spent every single day proving to Amelia that she is safe and loved. Do you know what she called him yesterday, Julian?"Julian went deathly still, the air leaving his lungs in a sharp gasp. "What?""She called him Daddy," I said, letting the words settle into the room with absolute certainty. "She said it on her own, without anyone telling her to. Because in her eyes, Brandon is the man who protects her. You are just a memory she's moving past."Julian’s face went instantly pale, the color draining entirely from his skin. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge of the mahogany table so hard the wood creaked under his weight.The emotional, repentant mask he had worn since I walked into the room shattered into a thousand jagged pieces, revealing the cold, dangerous rage simmering right underneath.

Chapter 277