All Chapters of SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ZANE’S POV I stepped into the family estate the next morning and felt the air change. The house smelled like coffee, old money, and tension thick enough to choke on. My father stood at the head of the long dining table with papers spread out in front of him. Mother sat to his right looking calm and composed in her usual silk blouse. Victoria was already there with her arms crossed and her face set like stone. Sophia Lang waited on the far side wearing a cream gown, with diamonds, and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I stayed in the doorway a second too long. My father looked up first. “You’re late.” “There was traffic.” I walked in and took the empty chair at the opposite end. No one offered coffee. No one smiled. Father pushed a folder toward me. “Sign.” I opened it slowly. It was an engagement agreement, more like a merger term. Sophia’s name was beside mine in crisp black ink.I looked up. “This is bullshit.” “Watch your language,” Mother said quietly. Father leaned for

ZANE’S POV I didn’t sleep a single minute after Lila walked away from me outside Rusty’s. I drove home through the snow with my hands shaking on the wheel and her voice still ringing in my ears. “Get the fuck out of my life.” I replayed it over and over until it carved itself into my skull. I parked in the garage and sat there in the dark for almost an hour watching my breath fog the windshield. Every time I tried to close my eyes I saw her face when she slapped me. The hurt. The anger. The way she looked like she meant every word.Morning came slowly and gray. I showered hot enough to scald then dressed in black jeans and a hoodie because I couldn’t stand the idea of anything formal today. I needed to fix what I broke even if she never knew my name was attached to the fix.The first move was Connor’s office. I called him while I drove downtown.He picked up on the second ring. “You’ve not called me in like four months. Did someone die?”“I need a favor,” I said and my voice came ou

ZANE’S POV “Let’s get out of here Lila.”Lila shook her head fast, eyes wide and glassy. “I need to finish this.”“You already did.” I held my hand out, my palm up steady. “Come on.”She stared at my palm like it might bite her, like it was a trap she’d fallen into too many times. Ethan let out a wet and ugly laugh behind me. “You really think you can just walk in and take what’s mine?”I didn’t turn, I didn't even glance at him. “She was never yours, uncle.”Lila’s cold and trembling fingers slid into mine. I closed my hand around hers firmly as I pulled her close, I tucked her against my side and walked her out past the shouting. Her father’s voice chased us down the hall calling her ungrateful, calling me a bastard, calling us both every name he could spit. I didn’t slow down, I didn't look back. Outside the cold bit sharply straight through my jacket. Snow swirled thick fat flakes sticking to her damp lashes. I led her to the Rover, opened the passenger door and waited. She cli

ZANE’S POV I woke before the sun with Lila still curled against my chest. Her breathing stayed slow and deep. One arm draped across my waist. Her hair fanned over my shoulder like dark silk. The sheet had slipped down to her hips, and I could see every soft curve the morning light painted gold. I didn’t move. I just watched her. Her chest rose and fell, her lashes lay dark against her cheeks and her lips parted slightly.Never in my life had I stayed in bed after sex just to watch someone sleep. I had never cared enough to notice how someone’s face softened when they weren’t fighting the world. With every other woman, it was simple. Fuck. Leave. Forget. But with Lila, the leaving part kept failing. The forgetting part never started.I traced one finger along her bare shoulder. Her skin felt warm and smooth. She sighed in her sleep and shifted closer. My chest tightened in a way that felt dangerous. I told myself it was just good sex. Chemistry. Nothing more. But the lie tasted thin.

ZANE’S POV I slammed the study door behind me so hard the frame rattled. My blood roared in my ears. Lila’s words still echoed: “I’m marrying Ethan. The wedding’s on Saturday. I’m looking forward to it.” ‘Looking forward to it.’ Fuck that. I had stood up for her. I had told my father the deals were off, told Ethan she walked. And she had shut me down like I was nothing. Like everything we had shared meant less than the twelve million hanging over her head. My chest burned with something sharper than anger. Betrayal, maybe. Or stupidity for believing she would finally choose herself or maybe choose me.I had built this whole damn fairy tale in my head. That she felt it too. That last night had changed something real. But no. She folded the second the room looked at her.I stormed through the house without looking back. Sophia called my name from somewhere behind me, her heels clicking fast on the marble. I ignored her completely. Keys in hand, I climbed into the Rover and peeled ou