We checked into our private cabin at the foot of the mountain.

The plan was to ski tomorrow, but I had no intention of going.

So I only grabbed my overnight bag, leaving the ski gear in the trunk.

Samuel parked the car and, with a rare flash of perception, noticed I hadn't brought all my bags.

"Where's your ski gear?"

I shrugged it off.

"Forgot to grab it."

But I didn't turn back to get it like I normally would.

I swiped the key card and entered the suite, Samuel following with the rest of the luggage.

Seeing me on the floor, rummaging through my suitcase, he walked over.

"Are you angry?"

I didn't look up. "No."

The next moment, he pulled me to my feet and into his arms.

His hugs were always like that—warm, all-encompassing, a blanket smothering any simmering emotion.

When we were younger, I only saw him as a senior from the business school. It wasn't until he'd dealt with a clinging ex for me, holding me close to calm my frayed nerves, that I’d felt my heart hammer against my ribs.

A world away from the steady, tired rhythm in my chest now.

Samuel chuckled softly. "You're jealous, aren't you? Because I brought Chloe along."

I only agreed because she was his old friend, I thought bitterly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given her the time of day.

He cupped my face and peppered it with light kisses.

"Chloe said you get petty, and I didn't believe her. Guess she was right."

His laugh was like a needle prick to my already bruised heart.

Then his phone buzzed. He glanced at it and shook his head with a resigned sigh.

"Chloe says the blankets in her room are too rough. I'm going to bring her a few."

He then bent down and pulled the entire stack of Loro Piana cashmere blankets from my suitcase, leaving just the two scratchy, hotel-issued ones behind.

It was two hours before Samuel returned from the suite next door.

I looked at the empty space in my suitcase where the plush blankets had been and felt a sudden chill.

I remembered the time I forgot my bathrobe after a shower. It was right there, within his reach, but he'd been too lazy to get up from his desk to hand it to me.

Now, he'd just walked the entire length of the hallway from his suite to Chloe's.

He didn't even think to say no.

Samuel didn't return to our room until late. He seemed to want to say something, but he found me already in bed, my back turned to him, feigning sleep.

When I opened my eyes the next day, Samuel was already in his ski suit, adjusting the goggles for Chloe, who was somehow already in our room.

"The strap needs to be tighter, or snow will get in."

Chloe stuck out her tongue playfully. "You're so thoughtful, Samuel."

Watching them, I sat up.

"You two go have fun today. I'm not going."

I hadn't planned on going anyway. Watching their easy chemistry, I knew I'd just be in the way.

"Ava, you're awake? What did you just say?"

Chloe blinked, then patted Samuel's arm.

"Ava's talking to you. Say something."

A smirk touched Samuel’s lips. "You think she's like you? Needs to be coaxed out of bed?"

He turned to me. "I wanted to let you sleep in, so I didn't wake you. Hurry up and get ready. We're about to head out."

Then he grabbed his gear. "Chloe, let's go downstairs first. We'll wait for Ava in the lobby."

I rose from the bed and walked to the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, looking down.

Chloe walked ahead, constantly turning back to laugh and chat with Samuel.

He followed close behind, actually laughing and responding to her—a stark contrast to the clipped, one-word answers he usually gave me.

They always had endless things to talk about.

I didn't like extreme sports or outdoor adventures.

I couldn't join Samuel on his beloved cave dives, heli-skiing, or skydiving trips.

But in all our years together, I never thought that was a problem.

Two people didn't have to be identical to be together.

But looking at Samuel's smile now, I knew he was happy today—a hundred times happier than when he spent a "boring" weekend with me, tasting the cocktails I'd mixed.

I opened my chat with Samuel.

He was already urging me to come down.

I wanted to type 'Let's break up,' but my fingers felt heavy, stiff.

So I sent a voice message instead.

"You guys go ahead, I'm not going."

Then a second one.

"Samuel, we're over. Let's break up."

His first reply was a single word, "Okay."

Then, it was a voice memo from him that said, "Okay, then hurry up. We're waiting for you in the lobby."

Lazy, as always.

He’d only bothered to read the auto-transcribed preview of the first one.

He probably thought my second message was just me telling them to wait.

It had always been like this. Always.

I put down my phone and sat in silence for a long time.

The cabin's front desk phone rang. I answered.

"Yes, I scheduled a private car. To the airport."

The temperature difference between inside and out had given me a slight fever.

My head felt thick and groggy as I waited for the driver.

By the time my mind cleared, there were over a dozen missed calls on my phone.

Without looking at the caller ID, I hit redial.

"Ava, why didn't you follow us?!"

The voice on the phone overlapped with the one right in front of me. I looked up to see Samuel.

His face was a thundercloud. Seeing the suitcase beside me, he snarled, "What the hell is this? Are you throwing another tantrum?"

"Why didn't you come? Do you have any idea how worried Chloe was when she couldn't reach you? She went down a black diamond trail by herself looking for you, and now she's missing!"

I tried to clear my fuzzy head and checked the missed calls one by one.

"She never contacted me—"

Samuel slapped the phone from my hand. It disappeared into a snowdrift.

His gaze was as cold as the ice around us.

"Ava, you're just pissed that I brought Chloe, aren't you? Now that you've gotten her into trouble, what's the point of playing innocent?"

"I never thought you were this kind of person. So cruel you'd harm a friend."

My temples throbbed. I rubbed them and bent down to fish my phone out of the snow.

"If that's what you think, then fine."

I grabbed my suitcase to leave, but he seized my wrist in a vice grip.

"You think you can just run off after causing all this trouble? You're coming up the mountain with me to find her!"

Samuel was much stronger than me, not to mention I was feverish and my limbs felt like lead.

I was dragged onto the ski lift before I could even change out of my thin jacket.

The rescue team was already on site but hampered by the worsening blizzard and near-zero visibility.

Samuel pulled me along, the only sounds our ragged breaths and the scrape of skis on snow.

He frowned and looked back at me. "How many heat packs are you wearing? Your hands are burning up."

My lips were pale. "I'm not wearing any."

He sneered. "Quite the performance."

After a few hundred more yards, the blizzard became a raging whiteout, visibility dropping to less than two meters.

Suddenly, a faint cry for help cut through the howling wind.

Before I could process it, my hand was violently flung away.

"Chloe, it's me!"

The deep snow wasn't packed solid. I stumbled backward, my feet sliding out from under me. I slid uncontrollably for a dozen yards before my back slammed into a thick pine, the impact jarring me to a halt.

Through the swirling white, I saw Samuel hoist Chloe onto his back.

Their two silhouettes became one.

The wind was deafening, but I could still hear Chloe's tearful voice in his ear.

"What about Ava, is she okay?!"

Samuel glanced back into the white void, but he couldn't see me.

"Don't worry about her. You're the most important thing right now!"