Chapter 2: Left Out Cold

Annalyn’s POV

“Kristoff,” I said, my voice now shaking. “Look at the door.”

He turned.

The color drained from his face.

His jaw clenched, lips twitching into a tight smile as a few curious heads turned toward me. He didn’t say a word. Just moved, quickly, stiffly. His footsteps were crisp and practiced, like every muscle in his body had been trained for this kind of scene.

I barely had time to react before he reached me. His hand locked around my wrist, too tight to be anything close to gentle. He pulled me inside with that same polished smile plastered on his face, like he was escorting me somewhere special, like I belonged here.

I stumbled beside him, trying to keep up, nearly tripping on the marble floor. My chest tightened. My heart thudded erratically, confusion clouding every thought. I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off with a glare. Sharp. Warning. Don’t you dare.

We passed gold-gilded mirrors and guests in glittering gowns, their voices hushed in growing curiosity. One woman whispered, “Who’s that?” Another tilted her glass, watching us like a slow-moving train wreck.

He dragged me past the curious glances, down a hallway that felt too bright and too cold. We rounded a sharp corner, and then he shoved open the door of a restroom. The sterile light overhead buzzed as he slammed it closed behind us.

Only then did he let go.

His hand fell from my wrist like I burned him.

“What the hell are you even doing here?” he barked, the words laced with panic and fury. “How did you even find me?”

That voice. That tone. It didn’t belong to the man who used to whisper sweet things into my neck, who once carried me home in the rain just because I was tired. This voice was foreign… corporate, cold, cruel.

I blinked at him, disoriented. “Is… is that all you’re going to say to me?”

“Annalyn… God,” he muttered, rubbing both hands through his hair like he wanted to tear it out. “You shouldn’t have come. You can’t be here. This is a mistake.”

“A mistake?” I echoed, my voice thinning with disbelief. “I came all this way for you. To celebrate…”

“You have to go,” he cut in sharply, stepping back like my presence alone was too loud. “Right now. You can’t let Clarissa see you. I’ll come find you when I’m done here.”

My breath hitched. “You’ll find me?” I let out a short laugh that cracked at the edges. “You’re standing there, looking me in the eye, in a damn tuxedo… about to get engaged and that’s what you say to me?”

He says nothing and worse of all he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Did you even remember what today is?” I whispered, voice hollow. but his expression is still blank “It’s my birthday today.”

He blinked. Stared at me like I’d said something absurd.

“So?” His shrug was like a slap. “It’s just a day. We’ve all got bigger things to focus on.”

My mouth went dry.

“Why, Kristoff?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Why?”

He stayed silent, jaw tight.

I took a step forward. “I said why.”

Still nothing. Just that blank, nervous pacing.

It broke something in me.

“ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!” I screamed, the sound ricocheting off the white tiles like a whip.

He spun toward me, finally… eyes flashing.

“Because you’re not what I need anymore!” he snapped. “You don’t fit, Annalyn. You never did. I just made do with you while it lasted. You’re still thinking about birthdays and icing and bus rides. I’m thinking of empires. I need more than some girl from Glasslow with lazy eyes and just dreams.”

I stared at him like I’d been slapped.

“Clarissa,” he continued, voice hardening, “She’s the daughter of the wealthiest man in Kancun. Do you have any idea what that means? Her father is going to be investing millions into my tech startup. He’s opening doors I’ve knocked on for years. All I have to do is marry her. That’s it.”

My stomach twisted. I pressed a trembling hand to it like I could keep everything inside from falling apart.

“You… used me,” I whispered. “All this time… was I just practice?”

He didn’t answer.

And that silence was louder than a thousand yeses.

I didn’t think. I just surged forward, my fists slamming into his chest over and over. “How could you do this to me?! How could you?!”

He grunted but didn’t stop me.

“You PROMISED me!” I sobbed, still pounding, still breaking. “You said we’d build something together. You said I was your future!”

“News flash! I lied… so stop this and get out of here before Clarissa sees you,” he growled, grabbing my shoulders. His fingers dug into my skin, hard and mean.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

“I said STOP!” he shouted, and then he shook me. So violently my teeth knocked together. “You don’t get it, do you?! I’ve seen my future, Annalyn. And I’m diving into it with both hands. If you try to ruin this for me… if you make a scene… I swear, I’ll make sure you regret ever stepping foot in this city.”

He shoved me aside like I was a broken door in his way.

I stumbled back and hit the tiled wall, the breath knocked out of me. I slid down, my knees giving out. The cold bit into my skin, but I didn’t feel it.

All I felt was the collapse of everything I thought was real.

And then… nothing.

I didn’t know how long I sat there. Maybe minutes. Maybe years. My small makeup stung my eyes, my throat was raw, and my heart… my heart was shattered into so many tiny pieces I couldn’t tell where the pain ended and the numbness began.

Eventually, I stood.

My legs moved without direction, like I wasn’t inside them. I pushed the door open and walked out of the restroom. The hallway blurred before me, but some invisible thread pulled me forward… toward the ballroom.

I stopped in the shadows of the doorway.

And there he was.

Kristoff.

Dancing.

His hand rested on her waist like it belonged there. She wore a gown that shimmered like stars, and she was laughing… laughing with her whole body. He leaned in and whispered something into her ear.

She giggled.

And he smiled.

Wide. Genuine. Like I never existed.

Then he kissed her.

Right there.

In front of everyone.

My body didn’t move. But something inside me caved. Quietly. Completely.

I turned, not fast, not frantically.

Just… turned.

One step.

Then another.

And another.

Each step felt heavier than the last. Like my bones had been replaced with lead. Like the air was suddenly too thick to breathe in.

I didn’t run. I couldn’t.

I walked through the grand lobby, past faces I didn’t recognize, through the glass doors that had once made my heart race with hope.

I stopped at the top of the stairs outside.

For a second, I just… stood there.

The cool evening breeze wrapped around me, and I let it in. I let it pass over the hollowness where my heart used to be. I didn’t cry right away.

But when the first tear slipped down my cheek, the rest followed like a dam breaking.

I stood there, alone, trembling… watching the city blur through the river of my tears. My fists clenched at my sides. My lips trembled.

I didn’t belong here.

I had nothing left in Kancun.

Without looking, without thinking, I walked down the steps and into the street.

I heard the screech of tires.

A horn.

A scream… high-pitched, frightened. “Mummy!!”

I turned toward the sound.

A child. Eyes wide, frozen, pointing.

A car.

Headlights.

Too close. Too fast.

Then…

Arms. Strong. Around me. A gasp against my ear.

A shove.

Warmth. And then…

Black.