Chapter 56

CHAPTER 56

|| Ares's POV ||

" Yeah, I will be there on time, Coach!", I mouthed, my voice dripping low in tension. The coach just notified me that the Jury had called me today to hear my explanation. Then, they will decide on my career. I hated so much to be judged, and insulted by everyone around me. But I had no choice here. The scandal issues were going viral and fans were upset with me. Some even stated that they weren't going to watch my match again no matter which team I had joined. If such hatred from the audience continued, no club or team would of collaborate with them. As a result, my career will be doomed and I will see no more sunshine in my life.

" Did you find her?", Savannah commented on my back, her face turning remorse for me. Whenever I looked up at her, I felt more sorry for my wrongdoings. She left her family, and career for me. She entrusted herself to me but here, I was dreadfully failing in my career.

How will I support my family if I can't play any longer?

My mind felt like a mess whenever I thought about these things. I tried to contact Catherine but it was like she had vanished into the air. Her contact info was no longer available and had no social media appearance in the past few years. Cathedral was the main cue to this scandal. If I could find her, I would be able to know what happened that night.

I shook my head 'No', Savannah's expression fell but she quickly composed herself, encouraging me,

" Don't worry! There will be some news!"

I nodded hopefully and informed her which had her face turning pale gradually,

" The Jury has asked for my presence. They are more likely to make decisions about me."

Savannah pressed her lips, forming a small smile,

" No matter what the final decision is, we will face it together, Ares!"

______

Savannah had parked our car outside. Instead of using my newly bought SUV, we rented an old truck from the neighborhood all because I had to hide my sorry face from Paparazzi. I hated this life honestly. For a person who attained limelight whenever he walked around, it was impossible to l in this sneaky life.

Giving my princess one final glance, I headed inside confidently, straight for my coach's office room. Five members of the Jury were already there when I arrived inside the office.

My coach offered me a seat in front of them. I drop down with a pulp. All of their eyes were on me as they started speaking seriously,

" Ares..you know why you have been called by us...Well, we don't have issues with your private life but your public image also matters to us."

I read those harsh comments about my scandal and how badly my fans turned against me. It was painful to see those people cursing me who used to love me once. My mood was so badly affected that Savannah noticed and snatched the phone from me.

The other member commented coldly, staring up at me hard,

" You should have been more careful of your personal life. Celebrities don't have anything personal, Ares!"

At least, the jury wasn't furious with me as It wasn't anything related to the sports world. I knew that they hoped for me to continue playing despite everything. The last trophy left a bigger impression on them. They were just trying to figure out how to calm down the situation.

The other member suggested kindly,

" Do you have any evidence to submit?"

I inhaled a sharp breath, muttering,

" So far, nothing, Sir but I believe that I have been framed."

The members all agreed and one of them commented wisely,

" As a successful sportsman, you are bound to face these situations frequently. We just expect that you better be careful whom you trust the next time. If you have any evidence to show the fans, we can help you to clarify your name. We don't want to lose a star like you but if you don't have anything..we have no choice but..to blacklist you temporarily to satisfy the public."

I swallowed hard thickly. Despite knowing the consequence, it was hard for me to accept such a big decision. But I knew that I needed time to clarify my image. With another deep breath, started pursuing my lips together,

" Please do it...Sir....but give me some time..to clear my name..."

The Jury nodded and admired my decision. The senior one spoke suggestively,

" We will give you one month to submit evidence, Ares. But it's best that you don't seek help from cops. It will attract the media again. Better hire a detective or find it by yourself. Your reputation has already been damaged enough."

Nodding my head rapidly, I replied with respect before getting up,

" Thank you, Sir! You can blacklist me until I find out who is after my career."

Ten minutes later, another piece of news broke through the internet like a virus,

" Ares Thatcher has been banned by the official team!"

" Ares Thatcher is no longer playing in upcoming games! "

A sad smile crept on my cheeks at the piece of news, floating around as soon as they made their decision. The Jury was right. A public figure had no personal life regardless of how careful he is.

Savannah scrolled through the news, her face settled into a permanent scowl. She hissed after tossing the phone aside,

"This shitty reporter! What do we do now, Ares?"

We were sitting in our rented car backdoor currently. Thankfully, those reporters didn't notice our presence, or else they would have stopped us here already. Biting my lips down painfully, I muttered with an exhale,

" I don't know, Princess...They don't want me to seek help from Cops.."

Savannah twisted her brows before coming up with a suggestion,

" Ares...I think...I can help you with this.."

My head snapped back at her questioning and saw her small nod. She continued after picking up her phone,

" I can always seek help from Kasper. He is like a family. I am sure that he can help us in finding Catherine."

_________

I didn't like the idea of asking for help from Kasper simply because I hated this boy who acted overprotective of Savannah. I understood that they were very close but I couldn't help myself from getting jealous, especially the way he kept touching her, hugging her now and then.

" Was this her last address?", Kasper voiced, grumbling the cookies, Savannah made for him before arrival. Instead of going to his house, Savannah called him to the container house. I gave him an affirmative nod, trying my best to not scowl because I could see that he didn't like me too. However, we could say nothing as Savannah was our main connection here who valued us both.

I provided Kasper with enough informatioaboutof Catherine. Basically, I didn't care about the one-night pleasure and had long research before finding this little piece of news. Catherine's father had shifted business somewhere which the neighborhood had no clue. Catherine didn't even maintain contact with her older friends any longer after they moved house.

Savannah appeared out from the kitchen, carrying another tray for us. She placed it down carefully and gave her friend a hopeful stare. Kasper read through the little information that we had and assured putting another cookie inside his mouth,

" Give me 2 days."

Savannah asked narrowing her eyes darkly,

" What can we do if we are certain that it wasn't Ares in that video?"

My lips pursued to force a smile at her words. Despite everything, my princess still hoped that the guy behind Catherine's figure couldn't be me possibly. Kasper pondered thoughtfully before giving his piece of advice,

" That would be easy to clear his name. We can always file a complaint with the charge of defamation against the person."

Savannah nodded and thanked her friend before leaning next to my shoulder. At least, I wasn't alone here.

Minutes afterward Kasper disappeared from our house, and the doorbell rang again. Unwrapping myself from Savannah, I shifted over to open the door and spotted an anxious Ethan who seemed horrified.

Ethan dragged his eyes down, straight to some crumpled paper in his hand,

" Aria...Aria...is gone.."

" What?", I yelled at him nearly and grabbed the paper to read through it carefully,

" I DON'T THINK THAT WE ARE SUITED FOR EACH OTHER, ETHAN! THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF ME THIS DAY. I HAVE FOUND A PLACE TO STAY FOR THIS MONTH!"

My mind went blank, observing very well that the letter was from Aria undoubtedly. I knew her regular handwriting but it was weird to know that she had decided to leave on her own.

Where could she go? To mom!

After the party, my mother left the next morning without telling us anything. Perhaps, she was angry that her motives weren't accomplished. She went on vanishing like she was never here.

_______

|| Aria's POV ||

I narrowed my eyes at the group of noisy girls, passing from one side to another. They all were laughing and joking around as if they had no issues in life unlike me whose life was full of troubles. I left Ethan's home after he came back and went to a nearby supermarket. I couldn't afford to get his career ruined because of me. Grandpa Harvey was stating the truth. Someone like me didn't deserve Ethan.

I stared at the tickling clock blankly. After thinking and pondering, I came to find an empty bed in our University dorm. It was the best choice for now as Ares had his issues to look after. Besides, staying with this University girl would encourage me to study harder. I had to find a job fast for the baby. I couldn't depend on others always. But one thing, I knew that Ethan would be very mad at me. At least, he would be forgetting me sooner or later. Even if he found out about my location, he wouldn't be allowed here since the dorm had always followed strict rules. No more staying outside after 7 pm and also, and no boys were allowed in this area. These were another reason behind my stay here. Even those nagging paparazzi couldn't follow me up here but the main problem was that was there any empty bed for me as I came unexpectedly?

Sighing, I waited for the lady receptionist who went to look inside the dorm to see whether they had any vacancies or not. My mind drifted back to those happy moments which Ethan and I shared very recently. I didn't tell him anything about his grandfather. I didn't want to become a home wrecker who would run to her husband's complaint as soon as he gets home.

" You are lucky, Miss Thatcher! Someone is moving to the house today. So we can offer you her bed for now!", the chubby receptionist reappeared with a bright smile and dropped a key in front of me. Relief crossed over my expression after she confirmed that there was room for me. I smiled at her big, paying gratitude for pulling me out of this difficult situation,

" Thank you! Please do the registration fast!"

I couldn't afford to rent a whole apartment like Ethan. At most, I could stay here as free and do some side job to fulfill my stomach. Slowly, I would start to learn to become independent.

The lady offered a kind smile and started doing paperwork on the pages. I dropped my eyes on my lap, pondering about everything until a sudden voice surprised me from back,

" I knew that you will be here!"

I jerked, snapping my head back to see who it was!