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57.

Author: Justina
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-28 13:20:19

Samantha’s POV

I shoved the last spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth even though my stomach was in knots.

Cole’s words about blindfolds and trust echoed in my head like they were carved into the walls. Trust drills. With Anthony. If there was one thing I’d spent years avoiding, it was exactly that.

The oatmeal sat heavy in my stomach, like cement instead of food. I chewed too fast, swallowed too hard, almost choking on the bland taste.

Anthony sat across from me, eating in silence. His spoon moved with precise rhythm, clinking lightly against the bowl. His jaw flexed as he chewed, but his eyes stayed fixed on the table. He didn’t look smug anymore. Not amused. Just… closed off. Focused. Like he’d already shut the world out.

The silence stretched thin, pulling taut across the cafeteria table between us. I hated it. I hated how silence with Anthony felt louder than anything else.

Finally, I muttered, “You’re awfully quiet.” I didn’t want to say anything, but I wanted to know if he was ok
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  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    66.

    Anthony’s POV He had to be fucking joking. We we’re not student athletes for Christ’s sake. “Homework?” I repeated, just to make sure I’d heard him right.“Yes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out two small notecards, holding them up like they were golden tickets to hell. “By tonight’s bonfire, I want you to write down ten things you’re grateful for in your partner.” He instructed. For a moment, I honestly thought I’d lost too much oxygen during practice and was hallucinating.“You’re joking.” My voice was flat. Please let him be joking.Cole arched one dark brow. “Do I look like I’m joking?” he retorted.Samantha barked out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Grateful? For him?” The way she spat the word “him” made my chest tighten.“Ten things,” Cole said firmly. “No less.”I stared at the notecard as he shoved it into my hand, like it might catch fire and save me from this nightmare. “This is ridiculous. I mean, training I can handle. Running until I puke, sure. Falling until my

  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    65.

    Anthony’s POV The rink smelled of cold ice and metal, sharp and sterile, like the place itself was daring me to slip. The air bit at my skin the moment I stepped inside, a slap of chill that stole the warmth right out of my lungs. My footsteps echoed too loud on the concrete, each one a reminder that I was late by Cole’s standards, even if I’d made it on time by the clock.Samantha was already there. Of course she was.She sat on the bench near the boards, lacing her boots with precise, almost violent motions, like every tug was punishment, on the laces, on herself, on me. Her jaw was clenched so tight I could practically hear her teeth grinding, and her shoulders were stiff, squared like she was gearing up for battle. She didn’t glance my way when I walked up, not even a flicker of acknowledgment.I opened my mouth, instinctively reaching for humor like it was armor. “Wow, early for once… should I be worried?” Something stupid, something to break the ice. But the words withered i

  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    64.

    Anthony’s POV “Isaac…”“Don’t even try to deny it. I can hear it in your voice. The great Anthony Vale… rattled.” He whistled low. “Now this, I’ve got to see.”I sighed. I didn’t respond. One thing I was glad about was the fact that Isaac was not in the training camp with them, because he would have known the moment he saw me last night after returning from the spring.Isaac quieted for a second. “But seriously… how’s it going with her?” he asked in a serious voice now.My chest tightened at the unspoken weight in his question. He didn’t have to say her name. I knew.“Complicated,” I muttered. “She hates me. Keeps saying I betrayed her.”Isaac hummed, a low thoughtful sound that usually meant trouble. “Did you?”“No!” The word came out harsher than I intended. I sat up straighter, my hand fisting the bedsheet until my knuckles ached. “That’s the thing. She swears I stood there and did nothing while people tore her down, but that’s not what happened. I told them to shut up. I defende

  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    63.

    Anthony’s POVThe morning light stabbed through the thin curtains, and I groaned into my pillow. Every inch of my body felt like I’d been steamrolled, flattened, scraped clean, and then run over again for good measure.Muscles I didn’t even know existed screamed the second I tried to move. My shoulders felt like they’d been forged out of lead. My calves? On fire. Even my fingers ached. How the hell did fingers ache?Training camp wasn’t just intense, it was hell. Cole Westwood didn’t believe in “taking it easy.” No. He believed in tearing you down until you cursed every choice that had brought you to this moment, and then grinding you harder until there was nothing left but dust and willpower. He called it discipline. I called it sadism with a whistle.The fact that I wasn’t complaining like Samantha didn’t mean I loved it. Far from it. I hated every second, the endless drills, the bruises, the way my lungs burned after the ice runs. The only difference between her and me was that I

  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    62.

    Samantha’s POV “You idiot!” The words ripped out of me as I shoved him, harder than I intended. He toppled back with a grunt, surprise flickering across his face before he caught himself on his elbows. My legs felt shaky as I scrambled to my feet, air tearing in and out of my lungs. “You scared the shit out of me!” I screamed at him.Anthony sat up slowly, brushing dirt off his palm. And still, that grin. That stupid, maddening grin that acted like nothing touched him.“Relax,” he said, eyes glinting like he hadn’t just pulled the ground out from under me. “I was just teasing.”“Teasing?” My voice rose, sharp and cracked at the edges. It was anger, but underneath it… God, it was something else, something hotter and scarier. “You think this is funny? That nearly giving me a heart attack is your idea of a joke?” I asked in a sharp voice.His grin wavered, slipping at the edges. “Sam, I didn’t mean…”“No!” I snapped before he could finish, the word tearing through the thick air between

  • SHATTERED ICE:One rink, bound by betrayal    61.

    Samantha’s POV I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose like I could squeeze out the frustration. “Unbelievable. Of course he sends you to drag me out. Couldn’t send a manager, couldn’t knock himself, nope… he picks the one person I least want to see right now.” I said.Something flickered in Anthony’s eyes… hurt? Or maybe just tiredness. Hard to tell. “Guess I should be flattered,” he muttered, leaning casually against the doorframe, though the way his jaw flexed gave him away.“Flattered?” I scoffed. “You’re delusional if you think I’d ever…” I bit the words off before they could spiral into something I couldn’t take back.Anthony’s hand stayed firm on the door, steady and unyielding. His voice was calm, almost too calm, like he’d rehearsed it. “Sam, come on. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” He muttered.I glared at him, heat rising in my chest, every nerve sparking with annoyance and something I refused to name. “You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”“I’m not,”

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