Chapter 2

The sound of glacial water was grating in the cold wind.

I didn't turn back to watch Ethan Blackwood put a ring on Serena Davies.

Behind me, I heard cheers and shouts from the people we came with.

But in the vast, empty ice field, the sounds were quickly swept away by the wind.

It was ten kilometers to the hotel.

Ethan had driven me here in his SUV.

Now, the car keys were in Ethan's pocket.

I pulled my thin windbreaker tighter, stepping through the snow, walking back one step at a time.

I hadn't gone far before my legs were already frozen numb, leaving me to move forward almost instinctively.

Three years ago, on that snow mountain, it was just as cold.

It was on an untouched mountain in Alaska.

I was originally a jewelry designer looking for inspiration, but I got caught in a sudden avalanche.

During my escape, I saw Ethan buried in a snow pit.

The rescue team couldn't get in at all.

I used my bare hands to dig in the ice and snow for four hours until I finally pulled him out. His face was blue and purple from the cold.

My fingers were frozen stuck to the snow then; I couldn't pull them apart.

Before he lost consciousness, he gripped my wrist tightly, feeling the scar there.

He said he'd remember that scar, that he'd repay me.

Later, when he confessed his feelings, I thought he'd finally remembered.

Looking back now, I was incredibly naive.

I walked the ten kilometers of snow for a full three and a half hours.

The moment I pushed open the hotel doors and felt the warmth hit me, an uncontrollable shiver ran through me, and I collapsed onto the carpet, utterly drained.

Next to the lobby sofa were two familiar suitcases.

The receptionist explained that the gentleman I was with had checked me out of my room and had my luggage moved here.

I propped myself up using the sofa, my fingers so stiff I couldn't even pull a zipper.

The hotel doors swung open again.

Ethan walked in, arm around Serena, both laughing and chatting.

Serena was wearing the matching white down jacket I'd bought for ten thousand dollars.

I'd planned to wear it tonight to see the Northern Lights and had left it in the hotel closet.

Seeing me standing helplessly by my luggage, Ethan immediately dropped his smile.

"What are you still doing here?"

He released Serena, walked up to me, and calmly scanned me.

"Didn't I tell you to get lost? Who are you trying to play the victim for, hanging around the lobby?"

I lifted my face, red from the cold, and looked at the man I'd loved for three years.

"Did you check me out of my room?"

My voice was hoarse as if I'd swallowed sand.

"Serena is delicate; she can't stand the cold wind in a polar tent."

"Your room faces south, it's warm, so what's wrong with letting her have it?" Ethan pulled at his tie, his tone self-righteous.

"You even slept in a tent on the snow mountain back then. The lobby sofa is good enough for you for one night."

Serena peeked out from behind him, looking at me timidly.

"Scarlett, I'm so sorry."

"Ethan said you're tough and can handle the cold, so he insisted on giving me your room."

"He also made me wear this down jacket, said you're thick-skinned and don't need such nice clothes."

She said "sorry," but deliberately stroked the fur collar of the jacket.

The huge diamond on her ring finger glittered blindingly under the lobby lights.

Looking at that diamond, I didn't cry, nor did I argue with him like I used to over a single word.

Because when a person is truly heartbroken, even getting angry feels like a waste of energy.