All Chapters of A Cold New Year: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

On New Year’s Eve, Kian Newman never came home. Instead, he had someone deliver a container of frozen ravioli and sent me a single message: "Stay safe this year."I had barely locked the screen when a photo popped up in the company group chat.Isabel Wilkinson, Kian's assistant, had posted it. It was a lavish holiday dinner spread across the table, every dish clearly homemade.The caption read: "Someone spent all day cooking so I could have a taste of home. Love you."I stared at the screen. In the corner of the photo, part of a hand was visible.It was Kian’s hand. The watch on his wrist was the one I’d saved up for months to buy him last year.The table was overflowing with food. Braised short ribs, garlic butter shrimp, and a steaming pot of Tuscan white bean soup. Even through the screen, I could almost feel the warmth oozing from the dishes.Then I looked down at my own table. The frozen ravioli sat there in its plastic container, frost still clinging to the edges from the

Chapter 2

By the time I finished packing, it was well past midnight.I slipped the ring off my finger and placed it on the entryway cabinet. Kian gave it to me during his first year of work.Although it was not expensive, I’d treasured it as if it were priceless. I rarely even took it off to shower.Now, all I felt when I looked at it was irony.Back when Kian had nothing, he was burdened by the crushing weight of medical debt from his parents' illnesses. Creditors had shown up at his door almost daily, yelling insults and demanding payment.I had drained every cent of my savings to help him repay everything. I worked a full-time job by day and ran a street stall by night, once collapsing from sheer exhaustion to sleep right on the curb.Back then, Kian had held me in his arms and cried. He made a solemn vow. If he ever turned his back on me, he deserved to be struck by lightning.Now that he’d finally achieved success, the first thing he did was to abandon the very person who stood by hi

Chapter 3

Kian reacted fast. He strode toward me, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me into the office.The door slammed shut behind us, then he locked it.By the time he turned back around, the panic on his face had already been replaced with forced composure."What are you doing here?" He loosened his tie slightly, avoiding my eyes. "Weren’t you supposed to be heading back to Cedar Hollow?"I didn't say a word. I only looked at him quietly."What you saw just now… it was a misunderstanding."Just like that, the performance began."Isabel still doesn’t understand a lot of things. I was just teaching her client-facing etiquette. "You know how new hires are. She’s a little clumsy sometimes. She was joking around just now. I’ve already talked to her about being inappropriate."I watched his terrible acting, and a laugh threatened to escape me.How had I never noticed before that whenever he lied, his eyes drifted unconsciously toward the lower right?By now, Isabel had fixed her dress an

Chapter 4

After work, Kian didn’t drive to Isabel’s apartment immediately. Instead, he parked outside a mall."Come on," he said casually. "I’ll buy you a New Year’s gift."He led me into a jewelry store.It was not a luxury brand, just one of those chain jewelry stores you could find in any mall.He browsed the display cases for a while before finally picking up a silver necklace with a tiny pendant attached."What do you think?" he asked, holding it against my neck. "It suits your skin tone."The price tag caught my eye: $299.I chose to remain silent and stared at Kian.A few days ago, Isabel posted a photo of a solid gold bracelet on social media. It was one of the latest designs. The bracelet weighed a full troy ounce.The caption read: "A New Year's gift from the boss! Isn't love supposed to have some weight to it?"Kian mistook my silence for disappointment. He laughed awkwardly. "Money’s a little tight lately, and gold prices are through the roof right now. "I promise to ge

Chapter 5

"It's for work. There’s a project overseas. My boss asked me to handle it for a couple of days."Kian stared at me suspiciously, scrutinizing my expression for any flicker of deceit."Work?" He frowned before finally handing my phone back. "How come you never mentioned it?""It was last-minute." I tucked my phone into my pocket and answered casually, “You know I’m busy with work. I didn't have time to report on these trivial matters.”"Just like you apparently forgot to mention the hundreds of thousands in bonuses you’ve been giving Isabel."Kian immediately choked on his own words. The confidence in his posture weakened noticeably."Th-That was for work," he muttered, avoiding my eyes again. "Whatever. If it’s a business trip, then go."He visibly relaxed.It seemed that as long as he believed I wasn't actually deserting him, he felt he still held the upper hand.A heavy, unbroken silence filled the car on the way back.Kian made several attempts to speak, but each one falte

Chapter 6

"Break up?" Kian’s eyes widened in disbelief. There was still a stiff smile frozen on his face. "Lane, do you even hear yourself right now? I’ll give you a chance to retract your words.""I won’t." I looked straight at him, steadier than I had ever been before. "I’m breaking up with you. Did you hear me? Kian, we’re over."The smile vanished from his face completely. What replaced it was pure humiliation and rage.Smack.The slap hit so hard my head snapped sideways instantly. A burning pain spread across my cheek as ringing filled my ears.Kian had put his full strength into it."What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kian roared, "Have I treated you too well or something? Is that why you’ve forgotten who you are? You’re getting way too full of yourself!"I didn’t do anything wrong, so what gives you the right to dump me? I work my ass off supporting this home while you sit around acting paranoid every single day! Lane, you’ve completely disappointed me!"I covered my face and tur

Chapter 7

My phone had barely turned back on after landing in Vaelith when Kian’s call came through.I answered it.The second the line connected, his furious roar exploded through the speaker."Lane! Where the hell are you?! I went home and you were gone! Your suitcase is gone too. You actually left?! "You lied to me! Do you think you can just disappear without my permission? Get your ass back here right now!"His voice was so loud it made my ears ache. Curious stares came from the crowd around me.I held the phone farther away and replied with surprising calm, "Kian, we've broken up. That means I don’t need your permission anymore. I don’t owe you explanations either."From now on, your life is yours, and mine is mine. So stop contacting me."Before he could start screaming again, I hung up, then I blocked his number without hesitation.After that, I blocked him on every platform he could use to reach me.When I finished, I stared at my phone screen and let out a long breath.For t

Chapter 8

A month later, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.It was a local number.Assuming it was work-related, I answered without thinking."Hello?"The other end stayed silent for several seconds before Kian’s familiar voice finally came through."Lane, it’s me." He no longer sounded arrogant. Instead, there was something cautious in his tone, almost ingratiating."How long are you planning to drag this out? I think you’ve made your point after a whole month, don’t you? I know you’re still upset about that dinner."Isabel just didn’t want her relatives interrogating her over the holidays, so I went with her to help her shut them up. We’ve been together for years. Why are you even making such a big deal out of this?"I actually laughed. An entire month had passed, and he still thought I’d left because of a single dinner. The way his brain worked was honestly astonishing."Kian." I cut him off before he could keep rambling. "Do you seriously think that’s why I left you?""Is

Chapter 9

Kian refused to leave Vaelith. Instead, he started harassing me obsessively.Whenever I livestreamed photography tutorials, he’d flood the stream with gifts from burner accounts.One username in particular kept appearing: KianLovesLaneThe screen would explode with animated yachts and rockets until my own face was practically covered.My viewers immediately started spamming the chat, asking who he was.Just looking at that disgusting username made my stomach turn."Mods, turn off gifting," I said with a cold expression and ended the stream immediately.Being buried under money like that didn’t feel romantic. It felt humiliating.He genuinely believed money could buy back everything, including my dignity.The second I ended the stream, my phone started vibrating nonstop. It was message after message from Kian."Lane, why are you ignoring me?""I sent you so many gifts and you won’t even thank me?""I really love you. Please give me one more chance."Every time I blocked one

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