The Rivalry Clause (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798180691200)

What if the only way to say 'I'm sorry' is during a scripted locker-room brawl?

After a viral misunderstanding forces them into a PR-mandated feud, two former friends use their scripted public fights as a coded language to apologize for a shared past they aren't allowed to discuss.

The Rivalry Clause is a high-stakes sapphic hockey romance about a scripted rivalry, corporate control, and the one heartbeat no algorithm can hide.

A captain trained to smile for the cameras.
A goalie paid to be her enemy.
A love story the league never meant to survive.

Avery Morgan is the Detroit Aurora's golden girl: team captain, franchise face, and the perfect asset for the streaming empire that has turned women's hockey into entertainment. Every expression is monitored. Every pulse is recorded. Every rivalry is engineered for maximum engagement.

As long as Avery plays her part, her sister's medical treatment stays funded. If she slips, the lies keeping her family alive could destroy her career, her freedom, and everything she has sacrificed to protect.

Then Quinn Beckett returns.

Cold, brilliant, and branded the Ice Queen, Quinn is supposed to be Avery's rival. Their hatred is written into a contract, packaged for the cameras, and fed to an audience hungry for sparks. But Quinn is also the woman Avery never stopped wanting - and the only person who can see through the Golden Girl mask.

As the Rivalry Clause tightens around them, Avery and Quinn are forced to choose between the roles that keep them safe and the truth that could burn the league down.

Because the cameras want enemies.
The algorithm wants a war.
And every time Avery's pulse spikes near Quinn, the system learns exactly what she is trying to hide.

Perfect for readers who love sapphic sports romance, enemies-to-lovers tension, second-chance longing, forced proximity, corporate secrets, and women who would rather break the script than keep pretending.