Trashing My Ex with the Ice King

MARY'S POV

For the past month, I had been surviving on one pathetic belief: Henry would never abandon me.

Not after nineteen years together. Not after the engagement ring on my finger. Not when my entire life was collapsing around me.

So I spent the last of my money to come to Kingsley’s ice arena tonight, desperate to see him. Desperate for him to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay.

Instead, I found my fiancé with his tongue down another girl’s throat.

My steps stopped cold behind the plexiglass.

Henry Davis was kissing Scarlett Harrington like I had never existed.

Scarlett Harrington. The daughter of the man who had seized my family’s company, stolen our home, and destroyed my life.

For a second, the entire arena blurred around me.

A month ago, I was Mary Collins—the heiress of Collins Group. The girl wrapped in designer cashmere and followed around by bodyguards.

Now?

I was the bankrupt daughter of a fugitive standing in scuffed shoes while my fiancé cheated on me in public.

Someone noticed me first.

“Oh my God… is that Mary Collins?”

“Look at her shoes. I heard her dad ran off with the company money.”

“I thought she’d dropped out already.”

The whispers spread through the arena like poison.

The laughter and chatter from the hockey team slowly died down until the entire place felt suffocatingly silent.

Then Henry turned around.

For one brief second, guilt flashed across his face.

Then Scarlett touched his chest.

And just like that, he looked at me like I was nothing.

“Henry…” My voice cracked embarrassingly.

Scarlett slowly untangled herself from his arms before giving me a pitying smile.

“Well, look who’s here,” she said softly. “I honestly didn’t think you’d still have the nerve to show up at Kingsley after everything that happened.”

I ignored her completely and stared straight at Henry.

“I’m his fiancée,” I said sharply. “Get your hands off him.”

Henry’s jaw tightened instantly. “Mary, stop. She’s my girlfriend now.”

The words hit harder than a slap.

“Girlfriend?” I choked out a disbelieving laugh. “You can’t be serious. We’re engaged, Henry.”

Scarlett sighed softly, looking at me with the same pity people gave stray animals on the street.

“Mary, sweetie… you don’t even have a home anymore,” she said. “Did you really expect Henry to throw away his future just to play charity for you?”

My fingers twitched violently, aching to slap that fake sympathy right off her perfectly contoured face.

But I refused to give her the satisfaction.

Henry suddenly grabbed my arm. “Let’s talk somewhere else. Stop making a scene.”

I shoved his hand away so hard his expression darkened.

“Why?!” I yelled, no longer caring about the dozens of eyes watching us. “Why are you doing this to me, Henry? My mom is in a coma! My dad is missing! You ignored my calls for an entire month, and now you’re screwing the daughter of the man who destroyed my family?!”

Henry’s face hardened at my outburst. He clearly hated being humiliated publicly.

Ironically, the luxury watch on his wrist had been my birthday gift to him.

Without another word, Henry slid the silver engagement ring off his finger.

Then he grabbed my trembling hand and pressed it into my palm.

“I’m giving this back,” he said coldly. “We’re done, Mary.”

My chest physically tightened.

“I didn’t want it to happen like this,” he continued, avoiding my eyes for a second before forcing himself to look at me again. “But my family has a reputation to protect. I can’t let your father’s scandal drag my future down with you.”

Nineteen years.

He had been my entire world for nineteen years, and now he was returning our engagement ring like it meant absolutely nothing.

“I can’t believe this…” My voice shook violently. “The second I lose everything, you walk away?”

“It’s called reality, Mary,” Henry replied flatly. “We’re not kids anymore. Things change. If you can’t handle seeing me with Scarlett, maybe you should just leave Kingsley altogether.”

Then he turned his back on me.

Just like that.

He wrapped his arm around Scarlett’s waist and walked away while she glanced over her shoulder to give me one last victorious smile before disappearing into the locker room.

I stood there frozen while familiar faces from my old social circle watched me like strangers.

People who once begged to be invited to my birthday parties now wouldn’t even meet my eyes.

Humiliation burned through my chest.

I clenched the silver ring so tightly my fingers started hurting.

God, I hated feeling this pathetic.

I wiped my cheeks roughly and turned around to leave—

Smack!

I slammed straight into a broad, rock-solid chest.

The impact sent me stumbling backward, knocking the engagement ring from my hand. It clattered loudly across the tiles.

I instinctively bent down to grab it.

But a sneaker suddenly stepped on the ring before I could reach it.

Not crushing it.

Stopping me.

“A princess shouldn’t bow down for trash.”

That deep, arrogant voice made my breath hitch.

Slowly, I looked up.

He towered over me in a black hockey jersey and shoulder pads that made his already massive frame look even bigger. Dark hair fell messily over his forehead, and his sharp jawline looked almost unfairly perfect beneath the arena lights.

But it was his eyes that froze me.

Pitch-black. Dangerous. Mocking.

My stomach dropped.

Impossible.

I recognized that face instantly from sports networks and magazine covers. He was the captain of the Canadian university hockey team.

He was supposed to be in Canada.

So why the hell was he standing in front of me at Kingsley?

Then the realization hit me like a puck straight to the skull.

He wasn’t just a hockey star.

He was him.

The delinquent boy who used to live next door to me three years ago.

“You…” My voice faded weakly.

A crooked smirk slowly spread across his lips.

“Yeah,” he drawled. “I’m sure you still remember me, Princess. Even though I got a hell of a lot hotter.”

Ryder Vance.

My teenage nemesis.

The same asshole who ruined my Sweet Sixteen by punching Henry so hard his nose broke in front of all my guests.

"You haven't grown an inch since the last time I saw you," he mocked lazily, his dark eyes dragging over me. "Well, maybe your body did, but your brain's still stuck in middle school if you're still chasing that loser."

I let out a bitter laugh and lifted my chin, refusing to look weak in front of my worst enemy.

"So, what?" I shot back. "You transferred all the way from Canada just to witness my downfall in person? I'm touched, Vance."

For a second, Ryder's smirk disappeared.

His gaze dropped to the silver ring in his hand with obvious disgust.

Then, without warning, he tossed it over my shoulder. 

Clang.

The sound of metal hitting the trash can echoed behind me.

My eyes widened.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Putting trash where it belongs," Ryder said coldly. "Holding onto that piece of junk is the same as begging a coward to love you."