Page 36 of Trapped with the Ice Queen

Vivienne’s heart stumbled,a painful twist inside her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, but the answer already felt like it was slipping through her fingers.

Alex took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes avoiding Vivienne’s. "You don’t belong here," she said, her voice flat now. "You belong in that world. The one you’ve built for yourself. The one that’s waiting for you. The one that’s always going to demand you."

The words felt like a slap, and Vivienne recoiled from the sting. She had wanted something else. Something more. But this was what Alex was giving her. A reminder of all the things she could never be, not here, not in the quiet spaces where they had shared something real.

"I’m not like you, Vivienne," Alex continued, her tone sharpening. "I’m not... I’m not someone who fits into your world. And you know that. This whole thing—us—it's just a distraction. You were lonely, and I was there. But that’s all it is. It was just sex."

Vivienne felt her pulse quicken, the tears burning behind her eyes, but she swallowed them down, trying to keep her composure. "You don’t mean that," she said, her voicecracking, barely above a whisper. "You can’t mean that."

But Alex was already stepping back, retreating further. "It was never going to last," she said, her voice cold and distant now. "It wasn’t supposed to. You have a life waiting for you, and I’m just a memory. You need to go back to it. I can’t be part of it. And I won’t pretend like this means anything more than it did."

The words hit Vivienne like a wave, sweeping her under, pulling her down until she could barely catch her breath. She wanted to scream, to demand more, to fight for the things they’d shared. But all that came out was a broken sob.

"How can you say that?" Vivienne’s voice cracked as she lost her composure, a raw ache leaking through her words. "How can you say that after everything? After what we’ve shared?"

Alex’s expression flickered, but it was too late. The damage had been done, and the space between them had never felt more insurmountable.

Vivienne took a step back, her body trembling. "I have to go," shesaid, her voice barely audible.

The world she had built with Alex, the fantasy she had let herself indulge in, was slipping away, leaving nothing but the hollow echo of what could have been.

The door creaked as Vivienne opened it, and the chill outside rushed in, a reminder that winter had not quite let her go. The world beyond the threshold was white and endless. Snow clung to the trees in delicate clusters, and the air felt still, like everything was waiting for something to break.

But something already had broken.

She stood at the threshold, staring out at the quiet, frozen world that had once felt like a sanctuary. But now, it felt as though she were standing at the edge of a precipice, and she was about to tumble into an abyss. The weight of what she had to do pressed on her chest, and for a moment, she couldn’t move.

The phone call had shaken her—her work, a cold reminder that there was no escaping her life, no matter how far she tried to run. It had felt like a sign, a cruel signal that her real life was still out there, waiting for her, waiting to drag her back to the chaos of deadlines and demands.

Her fingers shook as she pulled the phone from her coat pocket again, glancing at the screen. There was a signal now, faint but just enough to call for help.

Her car was still out there, stuck in the snowdrift, a silent monument to her bad luck. They had left it behind when Alex rescued her, but now, it was a reminder of the life she couldn’t seem to shake. She could call roadside assistance; they could have it cleared away. It felt like the simplest solution, but also the hardest. Calling for help meant facing the reality that she would be leaving. That the moment here, with Alex, was slipping through her fingers.

She couldn’t breathe through the tightness in her chest, but she knew she couldn’t stay. Not after everything. Not after Alex had pushed her away. After the words they’d exchanged, sharp and final, leaving her heart cracked open and bleeding. Exposed.

A part of her still hoped for something different. Maybe Alex would apologize. Maybe they would work through it. But the voice in her head, the one she’d tried to ignore, kept telling her it was already over and she had to let go.

She turned to look back at the cabin, the warmth inside now feeling like a distant memory, like something she had only imagined. The fire inside was still burning, the light flickering through the windows in a way that made her feel small and lonely.

Her heart thudded as she stepped back inside, her feet heavy on the floorboards. She couldn’t do this alone. She needed something to help ease the hurt, to make this all feel less final.

Alex was standing near the fire, her back to Vivienne as she poked at the embers. She hadn’t said anything since their argument, and the silence between them felt like a suffocating weight. Vivienne knew what she had to do; she couldn’t leave without speaking to her. But the thought of saying goodbye to Alex, of turning away from something she had allowed herself to believe in so fully, twisted her insides.

“Alex.” Vivienne’s voice broke through the silence, raw and fragile. “My car. It’s still stuck. I could call someone for help…or we could shovel it out together. I don't know what you want, but I can’t leave without doing something about it.”

Alex didn’t turn around at first, but Vivienne could see her shoulders tense. She could feel the resistance in the air, the heated words of their argument thick between them. When Alex finally spoke, her voice was quieter than Vivienne had expected.

“Vivienne...” She sighed, her hands stilling over the fire. “I think it’s time you go. Take the snow gear I gave you. You’ll be fine and warm in that until help arrives. You’ve got to get back to your life. And I’ve got mine.”

The words hit Vivienne like a slap, but she couldn’t bring herself to flinch. She had known this was coming. She had seen it in the way Alex had closed herself off, in the distance that had crept between them. She had seen the finality in Alex’s eyes, and now, she could hear it in the coldness of her voice.

“Alex,” Vivienne whispered, her throat tight. “I don’t want to go. I’ve never wanted anything more than this, than...than what we’ve shared.”

But Alex didn’t meet her gaze. She stood there, unmoving, her face unreadable. “I don’t think you understand,Vivienne. This isn’t real. It’s just... It’s just something that happened. I’m not the person you think I am.”

The words twisted like a knife, deeper, deeper. Vivienne’s heart pounded against her rib cage, and she couldn’t breathe. She had thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something more to what they had—something lasting, something real. From inside her coat pocket, she felt the wooden bird Alex had carved for her, but it no longer felt grounding for her. The truth of the situation felt like a heavy weight she couldn’t carry anymore.

Without another word, Alex turned away, facing the fire.

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