A Deal With The King of Ice のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 51 - チャプター 60

NOAH’S POVMy eyes stay fixed on Cross the entire time we eat. That unsettled feeling in my chest refuses to ease. I still don’t understand why he accepted the invitation.Yes, he saved Mom. That doesn’t mean he needed to sit at our table. It bothers me more than it should. The food is good. Better than good actually, but my appetite is almost nonexistent. The only reason I keep eating is for Mom’s sake.“So, sister.” Cross’s voice cuts through the quiet. “How’s the relationship with my brother going? I hope he’s not being a complete dickhead to you. Miles can be quite annoying, you know.”I lift my gaze and meet his. That same subtle amusement is sitting in his eyes—the look he gets right before he decides to push someone’s buttons. I’ve only known him a short time, but I’ve already learned to recognize it.Ignoring him, I just go back to pushing food around my plate. From across the table I catch the way Mom tenses at the mention of Miles.“Actually,” Cross continues, still perfe

TIFFANY’S POV Minutes after Miles drives away, I remain standing in the same spot, staring at the empty road. His words keep circling in my head. Those were clear warnings, weren’t they? My mind drifts further back to every indirect flirtation Cross has thrown my way. The way his eyes lingered on me longer than necessary. The way his body had pressed against mine in the kitchen earlier. The light brush of his fingers when he pushed the hair from my face. The sharp, unwanted electricity that followed. My breath catches. Does Cross actually want me? Has he been trying to seduce me this entire time? “No way.” The soft gasp leaves my mouth as my hand covers it. If that’s true, then what the actual hell is he thinking? I shake my head hard. Whatever game he’s playing, I will not enable it. I need to draw a hard line right now. If he wants to chase that kind of thrill, he can find it somewhere else. I march back inside. The dining table is already cleared. Obviously, Cross has

NOAH’S POV The next morning Miles and I slip straight back into the fake lovey-dovey routine like nothing happened over the weekend. After he drives me to campus, he walks me all the way to the front of my lecture hall, same as always. Then he leans down, presses a light peck to my forehead, and gives me that perfect golden-boy smile before wishing me luck in class and heading off to his own. A quiet relief settles in my chest as I watch him leave. Only two days ago we had almost ended the entire arrangement. The fact that we didn’t somehow makes me feel… lighter. And that lightness immediately feels strange. Why am I actually glad we didn’t have a fake-relationship breakup? Weird, right? Shaking the thought off, I start walking into the classroom. “Noah?” A guy I vaguely recognize from the athletics staff is coming toward me. “Coach Eddie wants to see you in his office right away, before your classes start.” He says, already brushing past me without waiting for an ans

NOAH’S POV Once classes are over, I head straight to the café where Emelda works. I haven’t seen her in days, not since that day at the rink, and I haven’t spotted her around campus either. At this point, I’m starting to get seriously worried. A small part of me is even afraid she might have gone back to Mama B. Which is why the relief that washes over me when I walk into the café and find her behind the counter, attending to a customer, is almost overwhelming. Her eyes light up the moment they land on me. “Noah!” she says excitedly. She quickly finishes with the customer before coming around the counter. The moment she reaches me, she pulls me into a tight hug before I can even ask if everything is okay. “Oh, Noah.” She pulls away, her eyes suddenly soft and slightly teary. “How can I ever repay you for what you did for me?” “Maybe you can start by telling me why you haven’t shown up at school for a while now?” I ask. She gives me an exaggerated, almost comically offended lo

NOAH’S POV“Oh my God, Noah! Tyson, pass her the water, quick!”Emelda’s panicked voice cuts through the dining, and Tyson immediately reaches for the glass and hands it to me.The second it’s in my hands, I practically gulp down the entire thing as though I’ve just been handed the water of life.Which, in this particular moment, it pretty much is. Except I still want to fucking die.Thankfully, the water clears whatever had lodged itself in my throat, and I can finally breathe properly again. I take several slow, deep breaths, trying to calm myself as the embarrassment settles in.“Careful, dear.” Mr. Rodriguez says, genuine worry in his voice.I offer him a small smile.“I’m fine now.”I return to my food, taking much smaller bites this time, as though the tortilla is somehow responsible for nearly choking me to death instead of the fact that Tyson and I have apparently just been declared a perfect couple.“Papa. “You can’t say things like that. They’re exes.” I hear Emelda whisper