COLD UNTIL YOU

CHAPTER 4: THE BETRAYAL

Eliana believed their fragile bond was safe, but fate disagreed. One afternoon she walked into the student center, planning to return Adrian’s notebook. Before she could call out, she saw him near the vending machines with Sophia Mendez, a confident girl known for chasing what she wanted. Sophia laughed, laid a hand on his chest, and before Eliana could blink, leaned in and kissed him.

The world tilted.

Adrian pushed Sophia back, clearly angry, but Eliana didn’t stay to see. The image was burned into her mind — his face close to another girl’s, the soft curve of her smile. She walked away quickly, blinking against tears.

The next morning he found her under the oak tree where she often sketched. “Eliana,” he said, breathless, “it wasn’t what you think.”

She didn’t look up. “You don’t have to explain. You made yourself clear.”

“She kissed me,” he insisted. “I didn’t—”

“Stop,” she whispered, closing her sketchbook. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Her voice shook, but she kept walking until he was only a memory behind her. That night Adrian sat alone in his dorm room, replaying the moment, hating himself for not reaching her sooner. When he finally gathered the courage to find her, her roommate told him she’d left for the semester break. The silence that followed was colder than any winter he had ever known.