Chapter 1: The Icy Plunge

“Stop!”

My voice cracked through the night air, sharp against the hiss of falling snow.

The man didn’t stop.

He stood at the edge of the frozen lake, tall, motionless, the dark fabric of his coat whipping in the wind. The ice beneath his boots creaked, a warning that went ignored.

“Hey!” I took a step forward. “It’s not safe!”

He didn’t turn. Didn’t react. Just stared out at the empty lake as though it were calling to him.

Something in my gut twisted. This wasn’t curiosity or carelessness. He wanted to fall.

I ran. “Please… wait!”

Too late. The ice beneath him groaned, cracked, then gave way.

A splash, a choked gasp, then silence.

For a heartbeat, I froze. My phone slipped from my hand into the snow. I could call for help. Wait for someone. But every second that passed was another second closer to death.

Screw logic.

I kicked off my boots, tore off my coat, and bolted toward the hole. The wind sliced at my face, but I didn’t stop.

The moment I hit the water, the cold slammed into me like a fist. My lungs seized. Darkness swallowed everything.

I forced my arms to move, kicking downwards, searching. My fingers brushed something, fabric, solid, heavy. Him.

I grabbed and pulled. His body was limp, dragging me down, but I didn’t let go. My lungs burned. The surface was a blur of gray light above us.

Come on. Come on!

With a scream muffled by the water, I shoved upward, breaking through the surface with him in my arms. I gasped, hauling him onto the ice, my own body trembling violently.

“Hey!” I shouted, slapping his face lightly. “Can you hear me?”

Nothing.

I pressed my palms to his chest and pushed down hard. “Don’t do this.”

One. Two. Three. I breathed for him, cold lips against colder ones.

Still nothing.

His skin was pale, his lashes dusted with snow. He looked dead.

“Please…” My voice cracked. I hit his chest again, harder this time. “Breathe!”

Nothing.

He wasn’t breathing.

“No, no, no…” My voice trembled as I tilted his head back. I sealed my lips over his, forcing air into his lungs. The taste of ice and lake water filled my mouth.

I breathed again. Harder this time. Then once more, desperate. His chest rose beneath my hands, then fell still.

“Come on,” I whispered, my breath shaking. “Don’t die on me…”

A faint gurgle escaped his throat. Water trickled from the corner of his lips. Without thinking, I pressed my mouth to his again, trying to draw out whatever the lake had claimed.

And then… his body jolted.

He lurched upward, choking, water spilling from his mouth as his body convulsed against the ice. I caught him instinctively, my arms wrapping around his shoulders as he struggled for air.

A sudden gasp tore from him as his hand shot up, gripping my waist with startling strength. His skin burned cold against mine, his breath ragged, wild. For a moment, our faces were inches apart, his blue eyes flickering open, alive, fierce, searching.

“Hey, it’s okay… breathe!” I said, voice shaking. “You’re alive… ”

Blue. Cold. Fierce.

For a heartbeat, I forgot to breathe. Those eyes weren’t grateful, they were angry.

He dragged in a ragged breath, his voice rough and low.

“Why the hell did you save me?”

but I didn't hear him clearly.

Before I could speak, his hold slackened.

He collapsed back onto the ice, unconscious.

Snow drifted around us in silent circles, and I sat frozen, staring down at the stranger I’d just dragged from death, his hand still resting against my waist.

He was alive.

man's that was enough.

But we weren’t safe yet.

The ice beneath us groaned, cracking under our weight. My stomach twisted in panic. “Hold on,” I muttered, grabbing him under the arms and dragging him toward the shore. My muscles screamed, the cold gnawed at my bones, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

By the time we reached solid ground, my legs gave out completely. I collapsed, gasping for air, shaking so hard my teeth clattered. My clothes clung to me like a second layer of ice. I had to get us out of here. Now.

With shaking fingers, I yanked off my coat and threw it over him, my breath coming in short bursts. The snowy path stretched endlessly ahead. My apartment wasn’t far, but looking at him, limp and pale, I knew he’d never make it alone.

Even unconscious, he looked intimidating. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead, his sharp features cast in shadow, a faint scar cutting across his jaw. His clothes, expensive, ruined, clung to a body built for strength. Whoever he was, he didn’t belong on that frozen lake.

And I had no idea who he was.

But I didn’t have a choice.

I bent down, hooked my arms under his shoulders, and started dragging him again. Every step felt like torture, my body numb, lungs burning, my lips blue, but I kept moving. Forward. Forward. Forward.