ine' s Day, just like it

ed with chocol

led with u

-flavored. A small, handwritten

d things lately. See if you like them.

from Ethan Va

o, when Grandpa finally found me, his long-lost granddaughter, living a quiet life in a small town, he presented me with t

emed the most stable

eighteen years, the girl my grandfather had raised by mistake. She

ext came a few

t's Chloe's too. I invited her to cele

ad fought, I had cried, I had made

just typed

lodge, I knew it was a mistake. Chloe, wrapped in a thin designer dress and covere

knees in front of me, her voi

e my birthday with Ethan and you. Please, please let me

ne, were blazing with a fury that felt hot enough to burn me from across the room. The ot

monster,"

pa what you reall

ed to a block of ice in my chest. It was finally, c

t did you d

chill on my skin was nothing compared to the ice in his stare. Chloe

led mess. "It was... I accidentally got kidnapped on the

than, her eyes wid

to the ski resort, Et

a picture for everyone to see: I was the cruel, jealous villain, and she was the innocent vic

ver said a bad word about you. She moved out of the Miller mansi

sneer. "Even if you're jealous that all four of us like her, you c

rms. "She even gave up her beloved Ethan

just some girl from a hick town who got lucky. In the three years since I was found, not a single one of them, besides my grandfather, had ever truly accepted me. I wa

room believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that I had arranged

d on Ethan's, my voice low and stead

did

into his cold,

here she was coming from, or how I would eve

a shout. "Are you saying Chloe would joke about

stand beside him, a unit

o make her realize that our C

smells like fish. I've disliked

less. It felt like even the air I was breathing was be

dress, and she shivered dramatically in Ethan's arms. Her clear, doe-like eyes

s all i

brow, carefully placed Chloe into Liam's waiti

ok felt like a d

front of me, his sha

e it

flat, devoid o

couldn't believe

n' s face darkened, his patience wearing

uld react, he reached out. His fingers were cold as

otion, he unzipped it a

ical blow. The biting wind wrapped around me, seeping thro

lding my jacket, and walked directly to Chloe. He wr

back to me, his eyes filled

lothes stripped, you should

voice a low, threatening

lesson. I, Ethan Vance, will neve

out a single backward glance. The crowd of their friends followed, th

sort lodge. I stood there, frozen, for a l

y legs, I stumbled toward the main exit,

or was

tling it, but it wouldn't b

most mature, the most stable. I learned later that none of them wanted me. They resented my return because it meant Chloe, their Chloe, had to leave the Miller family. Befor

llingness to forgive, had only made them see

fumbled in my pants pocket and pulled out my phone. The

y jaw ached. I huddled into a corner, trying to conserve any warmth I had

from Grandpa,

ingers, I brough

whistle echoed throu

ought I saw a figure, a man dressed all in black,