Frozen Heart, Burning Love

Chapter 9 – Threads of Light

Friday afternoon, Aria spotted him outside the café. Elias leaned against the wall, coffee cup in hand, sunlight catching in his hair. He looked untouchable, as always, but something in her tugged forward.

“You do drink coffee outside the library,” she teased.

“Sometimes,” he said.

Aria leaned beside him, clutching her sketchbook. “I promised I’d buy you one.”

“You didn’t.” His voice was calm, factual.

“Then I still owe you.” She grinned, refusing to let his coolness push her away.

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t walk off either. To her, that meant everything.

---

That night, the campus green was buzzing with movie night. Blankets and fairy lights filled the field. Aria laughed with her friends until her gaze caught on him—Elias, standing alone by a tree, watching but apart.

Before she could lose her nerve, she crossed the grass. “You came.”

“I was walking,” he said, as if that explained everything.

“Then walk with me.”

For a second, she thought he’d refuse, but he fell into step beside her.

They followed the path by the lake. Lanterns rippled on the water, crickets humming in the background. Aria hugged her sketchbook, sneaking glances at him. His steps were steady, unhurried.

“Do you always walk alone?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Consistent,” she said with a smile. “And do you always talk this little?”

His mouth almost curved—almost. “And you always talk this much?”

“Someone has to.” She laughed, and this time, she swore she saw the faintest flicker of a smile.

---

They stopped at a bench under a willow tree. Aria opened her sketchbook, pencil drifting until his face appeared on the page—sharp lines, guarded eyes, distance she couldn’t reach.

When Elias glanced at the drawing, his body went still. “You shouldn’t,” he murmured.

“Why not?”

His gaze was unreadable, but his voice was low. “Because you see too much.”

Her heart pounded. “Maybe that’s why I can’t look away.”

The silence stretched, fragile as glass. Then Elias rose abruptly. “It’s late.”

Aria closed her sketchbook slowly, following him back toward the path. She didn’t push. But as she walked behind him, she knew she had touched something he didn’t want revealed.

And for the first time, she wondered if Elias Vale wasn’t running from the world—he was running from himself.