His Father Bought Me-Chapter 16: A Twisted Match

Disbelief and anger warred fiercely inside Roman’s chest, his knuckles whitening around the phone as he stared at the screen. He swiped away from the image and opened the NHL blog instead, his eyes widening the moment the first headline appeared.

Roman Whitehall finally hooked... Literally.

His jaw tightened. He tapped the article, and a video from a hockey content creator began playing.

"Roman Whitehall and Estelle Rutledge are married," the lady announced with obvious amusement. "This is a match made in heaven if you ask me. Can you believe it? The hottest thing in hockey married to a crippled ice skater? A twisted match, I must say."

Roman felt heat rush through his veins. "This has got to be a joke," he muttered under his breath, staring at the screen in disbelief. "I am not married," he murmured as if hoping his words could reach the other side of his screen.

Before he could even finish processing what he had just watched, another notification popped up on the phone, a video message. He tapped it open, and his eyes widened immediately.

It was an old video of him. The footage was from an old interview, one he recognized instantly. His own voice filled the hallway.

"If I ever got married, it would be to a fellow hockey player," the version of him in the video said with a mocking sneer. "And not just anyone. Someone who is at the top of the charts just like me... someone everyone wants but only I can have."

Roman felt his stomach twist as the final words landed. "Someone like Lena—" He swiped the screen off before the sentence could finish.

The anger and disbelief rushing through him surged all at once, pushing him up from the floor. Without another thought for the woman on the other side of the door, he turned and stormed down the hallway toward Magnus’s study.

If anyone had done this, it had to be Magnus.

As he approached the study, the door opened, and Vance stepped out.

"Where is my father?!" Roman barked as he stormed toward him.

Vance frowned slightly at the sudden aggression. "Is everything alright? Your father isn’t here."

"Where is he?" Roman demanded, his voice harsh enough to vibrate against the walls.

Before Vance could respond, the shrill ringing of Roman’s phone cut through the air. He glanced at the screen, irritation flashing across his face.

Without hesitation, he pressed the power button, and the sound died instantly. When he looked up again, he caught the faint smirk on Vance’s face.

Roman’s jaw hardened. "You did this, didn’t you?" he said through clenched teeth. "You and that monster."

Vance forced a polite smile. "I didn’t do anything," he said, his tone infuriatingly calm. "I simply followed orders."

Roman’s fists tightened at his sides, the tendons in his hands standing out. "Then tell me where the hell he’s hiding," he barked.

Vance opened his mouth to reply, but the shrill ringing of Roman’s phone cut through the hallway again. Roman groaned under his breath and glanced down at the screen.

Nathan. Of course, his best friend wanted answers too. He tapped the answer button and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hey, man! What’s going on?" Nathan’s voice burst through the speaker. "Why are they saying you’re married?"

Roman closed his eyes briefly and exhaled, though the tightness in his chest refused to ease. "This is not a good time," he muttered. "I’ll call you back."

"Wait, I—"

Roman ended the call before Nathan could finish. He barely lowered the phone before it started ringing again. The name flashing across the screen this time made his lip curl. It was Lena.

He scoffed softly and ignored the call, letting it ring out. When he lifted his head to continue questioning Vance, the hallway had already fallen quiet.

Vance was gone.

Roman turned, scanning the corridor, but there was no sign of him... only the faint echo of footsteps somewhere deeper in the house. A curse slipped under his breath.

Without wasting another second, Roman pivoted and walked toward the stairs. His footsteps struck the polished steps as he descended. When he reached the landing, the butler was standing in the foyer below, stiff and alert.

"Where is my father?" Roman demanded.

The butler swallowed, visibly shrinking under the heat of Roman’s anger. "He just left, sir," he said carefully, his voice trembling just slightly.

Roman didn’t bother asking where. He already knew.

Magnus never moved without a plan, and if he had started this mess, then he would already be positioned somewhere to watch it unfold.

Roman shoved the front doors open and stepped out into the cool evening air. The gravel of the driveway crunched beneath his shoes as he crossed to his car. He slid into the driver’s seat, and the engine roared to life the moment he started it, the sound vibrating through the quiet estate.

Within seconds, he was pulling out of the driveway, and the iron gates of the Whitehall estate slid open as his car sped through.

High above the driveway, Vance watched from one of the mansion’s tall windows. He stood there calmly, his hands tucked behind his back as Roman’s car disappeared down the road.

Then he pulled out his phone and dialed. The line rang once, twice, and then a quiet click followed.

"He just left," Vance said. "He’s heading to you."

There was a brief pause on the other end, then a cold voice answered. "Let him come. I’ve been waiting for him." Magnus said coldly.

Then the line went dead.

Vance lowered the phone slowly, a faint smile touching his lips as he shook his head. Then he turned and walked away.

—

The road blurred past the windshield as Roman drove, the headlines still burning behind his eyes. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest until he finally pulled up outside the Whitehall Arena.

His car had barely come to a full stop before he pushed the door open and stepped out. Anger and confusion surged through him, hot and fierce, leaving little room for him to think. His fists were clenched so tightly that the skin across his knuckles had turned pale.

All he wanted in that moment was answers.

He walked across the pavement and through the glass doors of the building. The blast of cool air inside brushed against his skin, carrying with it the faint scent of floor polish and expensive perfume. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The moment he stepped inside fully, conversations died almost instantly, and heads turned. They already knew.

Roman could feel their stares following him as he walked, whispers trailing behind him like shadows, but he didn’t slow down. Right now, none of it mattered.

Only Magnus did.

Just as he reached the hallway that led to his father’s office, Lena stepped into his path, forcing him to stop.

She looked like she had been waiting for him to show up as she stood there with two of her friends. Her red dress stood out against the neutral tones of the corridor. For a brief moment, Roman simply stared at her.

And then the realization hit him. Their meeting. The proposal he had planned. He had forgotten.