He Remembered, But No One Else Did

Chapter 3 The Push That Changed Everything

Eveline kept her voice steady and answered as calmly as she could. "Sorry, I didn't bring my phone with me."

Brenton gave a small smile. "Looks like you're serious about your job. No phone on the slopes. That actually makes me feel better leaving Clare with you."

Another sharp sting hit the bridge of Eveline's nose. Right then, she was grateful for the snow goggles and mask hiding her face, because she knew exactly how pathetic and broken she must look underneath.

She gripped her snowboard tighter, her words nearly swallowed by the cutting wind. "You can count on me."

Brenton didn't seem to notice anything off about her. He spent a few more clingy moments with Clare before heading off with his friends toward the advanced runs.

"Vivian," Clare called, tilting her head in that cute way of hers, "could you show me how to carve those turns properly?"

She wore a fluffy fox-fur hat that made her look like a sly little white fox, all bright eyes and mischief. No wonder Brenton couldn't get enough of her.

The edge of Eveline's board sliced into the fresh powder with a soft crunch as she moved through the motions on autopilot.

Behind her, Clare let out a light, playful laugh. "You know, Vivian, my boyfriend has been teaching me to ski since college. Every single time he gives me his gloves and lets his own fingers turn bright red from the cold. I feel so guilty, but he always tells me my hands are the most perfect work of art in the world, and they can never get hurt."

Clare looked straight at her and asked sweetly, "Do you have a boyfriend, Vivian? Probably not, right? Otherwise, how could he let his girl come out here doing this dangerous work all by herself?"

Eveline froze mid-turn. Something in Clare's tone felt too pointed, like every word carried a hidden blade.

Clare blinked innocently. "Vivian? Why did you stop?"

"It's nothing," Eveline said, forcing herself back onto the board. "Let's keep going."

"Oh, look, there are way fewer people over there. I want to try that side." Clare pointed and took off without waiting for an answer.

Eveline pushed off immediately to follow, but in the blink of an eye, Clare had vanished into the white.

Eveline's stomach dropped. "Clare?"

The wind whipped ice crystals across her cheeks as she skidded to a sudden stop at the edge of a cliff.

Below lay an undeveloped stretch of backcountry, jagged rocks jutting out like the teeth of some lurking beast.

Behind her, the sharp scrape of skis cut through the wind.

Eveline whipped around just in time to see Clare hurtling straight toward her at a weird, unnatural angle.

"Help! Save me!" Clare screamed in fake panic.

Pure instinct made Eveline lunge forward and grab her poles. The massive momentum sent both of them tumbling over the edge and down into the deep snow gully.

The moment her right leg slammed against the rock wall, Eveline heard the sickening c***k of bone.

Blood bloomed across the white snow like spilled ink, and from the top of the cliff came Brenton's raw, heart-shattering shout. "Clare!"

Clare's pink goggles lay shattered fifteen feet away, but she herself was unharmed. She scrambled up with surprising speed and then deliberately rammed her body into Eveline again.

Eveline fought through the blinding pain, trying to push herself upright, but an impossible force drove her straight down into the bottom of the snow pit.

Her head slammed hard against a rock. Warm blood poured down, flooding her vision completely.

Through the haze, she heard Clare's soft, triumphant laugh. "That fortune teller's talisman really worked wonders. Eveline, you really thought you could compete with me?"

So Clare had known her real identity from the very beginning. She had even gone out and hired a fortune teller just to get rid of her.

But why? Clare already had her parents' love, her brother's protection, and Brenton's entire heart wrapped around her little finger.

'Why can she still not stand the sight of me?' The question spun in Eveline's pounding head, but the pain was too fierce to let her think straight.

Up above, voices erupted in chaos. The loudest was Brenton's terrified, shaking roar. "Clare! Clare, are you okay?"

Clare's voice drifted down on the wind, full of dramatic sobs. "I thought I was going to die. The coach suddenly rushed at me, and I just couldn't stop."

"Damn it!" Brenton exploded in fury. "Where is she?"

"I don't know… She saw me fall and then… she just ran off." Clare's voice trembled.

"Don't worry, Clare, I'll make sure she pays for this. Let's get you to the hospital first."

Their voices gradually faded, carried away by the wind. Eveline lay at the bottom of the snow pit, watching the flakes drift down one by one.

Her warm blood slowly froze into hard crimson ice. The last bit of hope she had been clinging to finally turned to nothing.

With trembling fingers, she pulled out the silver ring and pressed it deep into the coldest layer of snow.

The way the ring sank silently into the darkness reminded her exactly of their so-called love, disappearing without a sound into endless night.