Page 14 of Game on, Love

“She hascats—,”

“Get over it, or learn to live with it. I honestly don’t care.” Vedant’s voice cut through. “She’s staying here and if you are not ready to fix this mess, that’s now on you. But if you make her feel like she’s a goddamn inconvenience for any longer—I swear to you, Rihaan, It won’t be her looking for a new place; it will be you.

“I’ve taken your side long enough. Longer than I should have. Maybe you can pretend not to care about her for the rest of your life, or maybe somewhere, you stopped pretending. But I can’t. She’s ourlittlesister, and I’m done being a stranger to her. Ma would’ve hated this.”

My eyebrows shot up. This was twice he had mentioned their mother in a conversation about Raina.

That had to be a record of some kind. Usually, they would avoid bringing either of them. So much so that I hadn’t realised that their sister was no longer a kid staying with her grandparents in a different country, that she was now a full person.

Who had just moved into our house with us.

Truthfully, with the amount of time either of them spent in this house, it would be more like she was moving in with me.

Rihaan spent the majority of his off time holed up in his gaming room or… somewhere that I’ve always known not to ask.

Vedant travels for 23 weekends of the year for his job, and by the time he does get off, he is either at his team’s motor home or living out of his flat in Monaco.

Rihaan stayed quiet, and something close to disappointment bounced off Vedant and me.

Shaking his head, Vedant turned to face me fully. “Thanks for being cool with her, mate.. and all of this.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“You meeting with Sean this morning?” It was Rihaan who’d asked me that, but I didn’t bother to look at him.

I just nodded, still focused on the unfamiliar unease that ran through me. I had never been one to be involved in their family drama before, but something about seeing it unfold in front of my eyes didn’t sit right with me. Not just because I felt a pull towards Raina, but the way she had taken it—both last night and today. It was like she was used to being treated that way by Rihaan.

In the seven-odd years we had known each other, I had never seen him act like this with his brothers, much less a stranger. But it felt like he crossed a line, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to just sit by quietly if this happened again.

5

Oliver

THE SUNLIGHT STREAMED THROUGHthe café windows. The smell of fresh coffee hung in the air, but it only made me more restless.

I prided myself in keeping a cool head, and it wasn’t often I gotthiswound up. But lately, that part of me had been buried under everything else that had been going on. Across from me, Sean, my agent, who was typing something on his phone as if I wasn’t sitting right in front of him with a relaxed expression, did nothing to ease my frustration.

“Seriously, Sean?” I muttered, “You drag me here, and you’re on your phone? Couldn’t you havetextedme this instead, then?”

He shot me a look, one eyebrow raised like I was the one being unreasonable. “I didn’t want to do this over the phone. Figured if you ghosted me one more time, I might actually start believing in the supernatural. And besides—” he gestured towards the counter. “they make a mean flat white here. Thought you’d approve.”

I stayed quiet because, frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for small talk or coffee. I hadn’t slept a wink in the past week. I spent half the time thinking about what Dad had said and his situation and the other half was spent thinking about a certain someone.

“You’re pissed,” Sean leaned forward, his expression controlled. “I get it.”

“Do you?” I shot back, unable to keep the bite out of my voice. “Because going behind my back to talk to my dad isn’t exactly on the list of things I appreciate.”

“I didn’t go behind your back, Ollie. I made a call because you’ve been dragging your feet since this season started. If youdon’t get your head right, mate, you’ll miss your chance entirely. I wasn’t going to let that happen just because you were too ignorant that you were about to sacrifice something you worked so damn hard for."

My jaw clenched, and I stared down at the empty table, knowing he had a point but not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

“You had no right to put this on him, and he doesn’t need that stress.” His expressions softened a little, but I shook my head. “It wasmydecision.”

Sean sighed, “Look, I get it. But he’s a big reason you are where you are, and honestly? When he asked me, I had run out of excuses. Yes, you are carrying the legacy forward—but even if you can’t remember it, he has always been the first one to root for you.”

He was right again.

I never once felt the pressure of the family legacy. I knew I was talented enough to know I would go on to make my own mark in the history books. I wasn’t overconfident, just self-aware. Yeah, some would anddidargue it was merely a gift handed out to me through my bloodline, but I worked hard, trained hard and played harder.