Chapter 1
Liam ‘Ice King’ Carter was born into a world of silver spoons and golden trophies. His family owned half the city’s luxury hotels, his father an ex-NHL legend, and his mother a socialite with a permanent seat in the arena’s VIP lounge. For Liam, hockey wasn’t a choice — it was an expectation. He was trained from the moment he could walk, pushed to be faster, smarter, and stronger. He was a champion before he even understood what it meant to lose.
But winning felt empty. No matter how many medals he hung on his wall, no matter how many headlines screamed his name, it never felt like enough. He wasn’t Liam. He was Carter’s son — the Ice King his father built, not the person he wanted to be.
Emery ‘Ghost’ Lane came from old money. Her family’s name graced skyscrapers and charity galas. But behind the glimmering facade, she was invisible. Her parents were too busy buying their way into elite circles to notice the daughter they left behind. She grew up in echoing mansions, learning that silence was safer than speaking, that being unnoticed meant being untouched.
Hockey became her rebellion — the one thing they didn’t control. She wasn’t Emery Lane on the ice. She was Ghost, a phantom who could slip past defenders before they even knew she was there. Her team loved her. The crowd adored her.
But no one really knew her.
And the loneliness burned.
