When I stepped outside, New York had been swallowed by a storm. Snow fell thick and fast, clinging to my hair, my lashes, coating the streets in a treacherous white. I gritted my teeth, climbed into the car, and drove, even though I knew the roads were against me.
I’ve never been a confident driver, and the slick streets, coated with fresh snow, nearly threw me off more than once. Every block felt like a battle, every turn a gamble.
By the time I finally got the cherry cake, my legs were wobbly from slipping on the icy sidewalks countless times. My fingers were numb, the box barely in my grasp. I handed it to her.
She took a bite, scrunched her face, and spat it into a napkin.
“It’s freezing. It tastes awful!” she whined.
Damien didn’t respond. Without a word, he tossed the entire box into the trash, crouched down, and scooped her up into his arms. “Come on. I’ll take you somewhere warm to eat.”
I stayed frozen, holding myself together, until he glanced at me, irritation written all over his face. “Why are you just standing there? Get in the car.”
I had no strength left to argue. Sliding into the back seat, I pressed my head against the cold glass, shutting out everything around me.
The ride was torture. Ariana leaned against him, whispering into his ear, and he let her. Their laughter echoed in my skull, a dull thrum against the numbness in my limbs. I closed my eyes, willing myself to pretend this wasn’t happening.
Then, headlights blazed into my vision. A car from the opposite lane had spun on the ice, sliding straight toward us.
Damien didn’t hesitate. He swerved sharply, the world tilting sideways, and in the split second before impact, he threw himself over her, shielding her completely.
The crash slammed into me like thunder. Pain shot through my body, the world narrowing to one image: him. Him holding her. Protecting her.
My lips trembled, and everything went black.
---
When I woke, I was in a hospital bed. A stranger told me they had found me unconscious and brought me here. A week passed. Not once did Damien appear.
Every day, though, I saw her. Ariana. Her posts were sharp as knives, images of him at her bedside, holding her hand, feeding her soup.
“I didn’t expect that between life and death, he would choose me,” she wrote.
“He wanted to see you, but I said I had a headache, so he stayed.”
“Celeste, I’ll make sure I’m the only one in his heart.”
I blocked her. I blocked him too.
Before, I might have hoped we could part without hate, that some shard of what we once had could survive. But after this… no. I didn’t want to see him again. Not once, not ever.
The day after discharge, it was his mother’s birthday. I wanted to stay away, to cut every tie to the Thompsons. But she called relentlessly, begging me to come, even threatening that she wouldn’t celebrate if I didn’t.
She had always been good to me. After my parents died, she treated me like her own daughter. I couldn’t ignore her, especially since she was the only warmth left in that house. Besides, if I was ending this engagement, I needed to do it in front of her and his father. They deserved to hear it from me.
I agreed.
His mother loved grand celebrations. By the time I arrived, the house was alive with glittering lights and laughter, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.
And then I saw them.
Ariana holding Damien’s arm, steadying him, his voice sharp and cutting through the hum of the party.
She noticed me. Striding toward me, she tilted her head and smiled that cruel little smile.
“Look at you. Nearly got yourself killed just to protect me,” she mocked.
My stomach tightened. Before I could even move, her gaze locked on mine. “Damien’s mother is so on your side. You must feel very proud,” she said, her voice dripping with contempt.
I tried to pull away, but she clung to my arm, nails digging into my skin.
“She’s only on your side because of your mother,” she spat. “Your parents were short-lived, weren’t they? Gone. How long can that friendship last? Once I have Damien, do you think she’d ever go against her own son for you?”
Something inside me snapped. My parents—no one dared touch them. Before I realized it, my hand had struck her face. The sound of it cracked through the room.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed, and she stumbled back, sobbing into Damien’s arms.
“I only told her not to stay angry at you!” she cried. “But she said I shouldn’t care at all. That you mean nothing to her!”
Damien’s expression darkened. He looked at me like I was a stranger.
“Celeste. APOLOGIZE.”
I laughed bitterly. The man who once shielded me from everything now stood as her protector. I stared at them, then turned toward the door. I wanted no part in this twisted display.
But Damien’s hand clamped onto my wrist, hard enough to make me wince. The pain in my bones was nothing compared to the ache in my chest, seeing him believe her.
I lifted my eyes to him, steady and unflinching. “I hit her because she insulted my parents. And as for you… she’s right. Someone who chooses her over me without even asking the truth is nothing to me.”
One by one, I pried his fingers off, refusing to be trapped, and finally walked away.
