CUTTHROAT

Five years. One ranking between them. And neither woman knows where the rivalry ends and the wanting begins.

Aleka Dorane has built her life around being untouchable. As the reigning world No. 1, she is ruthless on court, immaculate under pressure, and famous for giving the media nothing they can use against her. Winning is more than a career. It is proof that every sacrifice, every lonely hotel room, and every brutal hour of training was worth it.

Yuki Faraday has spent five years trying to take that proof away from her.

World No. 2, fiercely competitive and scarred by the injury that nearly ended her career, Yuki knows exactly what it means to live one step behind Aleka. She has chased her through finals, rankings, headlines, and sleepless nights, determined to beat the one opponent who always seems to know what she will do before she does it.

Then their federations force them into the same training program.

Shared courts become late-night encounters. Sharp words turn into conversations neither of them meant to have. A rivalry built for cameras begins to fracture behind closed doors, revealing an attraction that is far more dangerous than either woman expected.

Because the world loves Aleka and Yuki as enemies.

Sponsors profit from the feud. Reporters dissect every glance. Their careers depend on carefully controlled images, and neither woman can afford to become the headline everyone is waiting for. But secrecy has its own cost, especially when stolen kisses become something harder to dismiss and the person who knows exactly how to defeat you becomes the only one who might truly understand you.

With the biggest matches of their careers approaching, old injuries, family pressure, ruthless expectations, and years of buried fear begin closing in. Aleka has spent her life believing she must be flawless to be worth keeping. Yuki has survived by refusing to let anyone see where she hurts.

On court, only one of them can be number one.

But when winning means risking the one thing neither of them planned to want, how much are they willing to lose for each other?