Snow Glass Secrets
883 Words
CHAPTER 9 — SNOW-GLASS SECRETS
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime when Hannah returned to the penthouse later that afternoon. Her breath still carried traces of the winter air, and her mind was still tangled in the last thing Eric had said to her:
“Be careful… of getting too close to me.”
The words had replayed inside her head over and over again during the walk back. They weren’t dramatic. They weren’t poetic.
But they were real.
Too real.
And that frightened her more than anything.
The suite was warm, filled with the smell of roasted chestnuts and expensive perfume. Her mother was seated on the velvet sofa, reviewing charity documents. Her father stood by the window, speaking into his phone. Her brothers lounged on the armchairs, flipping through travel magazines.
No one noticed she had been gone.
Except Joyce.
Her sister appeared almost instantly, arms crossed, eyebrows narrowed. “Where did you run off to?”
Hannah blinked. “Out.”
Joyce rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the VERY specific answer.”
“I told you— I was out.”
“With him?”
Hannah hesitated.
That was enough.
Joyce gasped dramatically. “You DID see him! Hannah!”
“Shhh!” Hannah hissed, pulling her into the hallway. “I didn’t go with him. I just… saw him.”
Joyce’s grin widened dangerously. “And did something happen?”
“No,” Hannah said quickly. Then softer: “Yes. I don’t know.”
Joyce gave her a long look. “You’re confused.”
“Very.”
“Do you like him?”
Hannah opened her mouth — and closed it again.
Eric’s voice echoed inside her mind.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“You shouldn’t get too close.”
After a moment, Hannah whispered, “I think I want to like him.”
Joyce’s eyes softened. “But?”
“But… he’s hiding something. Something big.”
Joyce considered this. “And does that scare you?”
“Yes,” Hannah admitted quietly. “But it also makes me want to understand him.”
Joyce breathed out slowly. “Well… then be careful. Don’t be blind. And don’t let him hurt you.”
Hannah nodded, though something inside her whispered that the danger wasn’t emotional. It felt deeper. Heavier. Something Eric himself was afraid of.
That night, as the city shimmered beneath their windows, Hannah lay awake staring at the ceiling, replaying every word he had said, every flicker of emotion on his face.
Conflicted.
Haunted.
Protective.
Afraid.
What was he afraid of?
Who was he afraid of?
She didn’t know.
But she intended to find out.
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CHAPTER 10 — A NAME IN THE DARK
Across Paris, in a small, dimly lit apartment above a closed bakery, Eric sat alone at a wooden table. A single lamp cast shadows across his face, making the room look colder than it already was.
The café shift had ended hours ago, but Eric couldn’t sleep. Not after seeing her again. Not after the way her eyes had searched his face as if she wanted to understand him — truly understand him.
That was dangerous.
Too dangerous.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to clear his mind. He had one rule his whole life: attachment is weakness.
Attachment gets people killed.
But Hannah…
Hannah made that rule feel impossible.
His phone buzzed.
He froze.
The screen displayed an unknown number — but he knew exactly who it was.
With a tightening chest, he answered. “Yes?”
A cold voice slid through the speaker. “We hear the girl’s family is in Paris.”
Eric felt his pulse spike. “I know.”
“You’ve seen her.”
It wasn’t a question.
His jaw clenched. “Yes.”
“And?”
Eric closed his eyes. Hannah’s smile flashed in his mind — soft, warm, unguarded. It made his chest ache in a way he didn’t recognize.
“And,” he said carefully, “the plan is moving slowly. I don’t want to rush and draw attention.”
A pause.
Then the voice replied, “You’re not getting attached… are you?”
Eric stiffened.
“No,” he lied smoothly.
“You’d better not. You know the price of failure.”
His stomach twisted. “I understand.”
The line clicked dead.
Eric lowered the phone slowly, hands trembling before he managed to steady them against the table.
Every second he spent with Hannah deepened the lie he was living.
Every moment he looked into her eyes, guilt pressed harder into his lungs.
And every time he warned her to stay away, part of him hoped she wouldn’t listen.
He stood and walked to the small window overlooking the alleyway. Snow had begun falling again, the flakes drifting quietly onto rooftops and cobblestones.
Somewhere out there, Hannah was probably asleep, unaware of the danger circling her life.
He touched the cold glass.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into the silence.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
But sorry didn’t change the truth.
He had been sent to deceive her.
To take her.
To destroy her.
And now he didn’t know how to stop the storm he had invited into both of their lives.
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