Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Hope’s POV

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I turned around and was met with Levi’s drenched figure. Water clung to every strand of his hair, his clothes soaked through, his chest rising and falling from the hurried walk back. I couldn’t stop my first reaction.

I slammed my fists against his chest, but he simply stood there and took every hit without a single complaint.

“Where did you go?” I exclaimed.

“Do you know how scared I was because you weren’t there when the rain started pouring down? Why the heck didn’t you stay in your car? Or at least stay on the porch where there would’ve been some shade!”

“Sorry,” he muttered softly. “I was thirsty. I didn’t expect the rain to start pouring so suddenly. I was already on my way back when I heard you calling for me.”

“I thought I was hallucinating-”

“You could’ve asked for water,” I said, my frustration spilling over. Despite the rain streaming down my cheeks, I was certain it was mixed with my tears.

“Why would you do all of this?”

I pointed helplessly at the gray sky above us.

“Why would you let yourself get soaked by the dirty rain? Why would you drive seven hours? Why would there be articles about you when…”

“When you’ve already protected me?” he suddenly asked, and that was when my breath hitched.

“I already know, Hope. You don’t have to hide it from me anymore.”

I shouldn’t have underestimated Levi’s influence and power. Deep down, I knew he would find out eventually.

I just never expected it to happen this fast.

“Then why?” I exclaimed again, hitting his chest once more, though there was no strength behind it anymore.

“After everything, why would you still come here? You looked so happy playing. You should keep doing that without worrying about me.”

“Because it’s worth it,” he said, a gentle smile appearing on his lips.

“If you would go through such lengths just to protect me… then I would go even farther just to be with you.”

I couldn’t say anything after that.

Despite the rain falling between us, his face remained impossibly clear. His eyes never left mine, filled with so much honesty, so much unwavering affection, that every word I had been preparing disappeared before I

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12:09 Sat, Jul 18

Chapter 125

could speak them.

“You said I looked happy while playing,” he continued. “Do you know why that is?”

He didn’t give me the chance to answer.

“It’s because of you.”

My breath caught again.

As unbelievable as it sounded, the sincerity in his eyes never wavered.

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“It’s because of you that I’m having fun playing hockey again. It’s because of you that I’ve built the best relationship with my teammates in the four years I’ve been with them.”

“It’s because of you that I want to keep playing better. It’s because of you that I’d walk through the rain without a second thought. It’s because of you that I want to keep protecting you, even if it means risking every bit of unwanted contact with everyone else.”

His voice softened.

“Because it’s you, Hope.”

“You’re the biggest reason I’m doing any of this now. So what’s the point of going through all of it if you’re not by my side?”

We stood there in silence.

It was almost as though the heavens themselves had been listening to Levi because the heavy downpour gradually eased into a light drizzle. The curtain of rain between us thinned until I could see him even more clearly.

Every little expression. Every ounce of love written all over his face.

“Why… me?” I whispered in the end.

“Because it’s always been you,” he answered, his smile growing even wider.

“The same way you would do all of this for me, I would do the same for you.”

His eyes softened.

“Because I love you.”

My heart stopped.

“What about you, Hope?” he asked quietly.

“I know I’m not the best man out there. Heck, I pinned you against the wall the first time we met.”

A small, embarrassed laugh escaped him before his expression became serious again.

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Chapter 125

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“But what is it that you feel about me?”

He stepped just a little closer.

“Without thinking about anything else, without the world interfering, what do you feel?”

What did I feel?

The answer had been clear from the very beginning.

The moment I wanted to protect him and keep seeing him smile while doing the thing he loved most. The moment his happiness became something I cherished more than my own.

I had already known.

I loved him.

Far more than I had ever admitted to myself.

“I love you,” I finally whispered.

The confession barely left my lips before I was pulled into him. Closer. So close that there was no space left

between us.

I had always known Levi’s body was cold.

Yet strangely, standing beneath the rain, where he should have been freezing, all I felt was warmth.

Then, he pressed his lips against mine.

The cold rain disappeared in an instant.

His hands gently cradled my cheeks as he kissed me with a tenderness that stole every remaining fear from my heart. He didn’t rush me. He simply held me there, pouring every unspoken emotion into that single kiss.

Without saying another word, he told me everything I needed to hear.

Suddenly, nothing felt frightening anymore.

Levi…

He truly loved me.

Now I understood.

What I felt for him was exactly what he felt for me.

If I was willing to give up my job for him, then he would do the same for me.

I knew my sacrifice wasn’t nearly as high stakes as his, but at that moment, none of it seemed to matter.

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Chapter 125

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All I could think about was how beautiful life would be if the world could simply let us love each other without making everything so complicated.

He gently pressed my cheeks together, and my lips parted instinctively. He deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing against mine with affection, sending a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the rain.

Time seemed to stop.

The world disappeared until there was only him.

After what felt like both an eternity and a fleeting second, we finally pulled apart, our foreheads nearly touching.

Our fingers had found each other somewhere along the way, our hands now tightly intertwined as though neither of us wanted to let go.

Somehow, he looked brighter than before. The exhaustion I had seen weighing him down had disappeared.

“What about Margaret?” I whispered, unable to stop that certain worry.

He simply shook his head before pulling me into another embrace, gently resting my head against his chest.

I breathed in his familiar scent. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Little by little, my own breathing calmed.

“I’ll handle it,” he muttered.

His arms tightened around me ever so slightly.

“All you have to do is stay right by my side.”

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