Ice & Prejudice

Chapter 22

Ria's POV:

I woke up with a jolt, my heart racing as the remnants of another nightmare clung to the edges of my consciousness. The familiar terror, the flashbacks—everything had been more intense lately. The 'anniversary'—God, I hated that word. It made it seem like it was a party, a celebration of a good thing that happened all those years ago—of that night was approaching, and no matter how much I tried to push it out of my mind, it kept creeping back in. Three years. Three years since everything changed.

I forced myself out of bed, trying to shake off the lingering fear as I padded to the kitchen. The early morning light filtered through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the floor. I focused on the simple task of making my matcha latte, the ritual calming in its familiarity. The whisking, the careful pouring of hot water—it was grounding, a way to start my day with some semblance of control.

But my mind wouldn't let me rest. It kept replaying fragments of that night, the sounds, the smells, the fear. I hadn't been sleeping well, waking up drenched in sweat, my heart pounding like I'd just run a marathon. The nightmares were relentless, dragging me back to that place over and over again.

Yesterday, I couldn't even concentrate on tutoring Nikolai. I barely slept these past few days, and when I did I hoped I didn't. I kept seeing Vlad's smug, ugly face as the judge said the verdict. I heard the cheering and chatter from his side as my whole world crumbled.

As I stirred the frothy matcha into the alternative milk, I couldn't help but think about how different things were supposed to be by now. I should've moved on, should've been able to live without constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for something bad to happen. But the fear was always there, lurking just beneath the surface.

The sound of my phone vibrating on the counter snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced at it, expecting some random notification, but instead saw Nikolai's name light up the screen. My stomach twisted. He was one of the last people I wanted to hear from right now, especially with everything that had been going on in my head lately.

I sighed, picking up the phone and reading the message.

Nikolai: Need to talk to u

Straight to the point, typical Nikolai Wolves. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of talking to him, but I couldn't just ignore it either. I took a sip of my matcha, trying to savor the warmth before typing a response.

Me: I have classes until 3:30pm. Maybe later.

I turned off my phone, not wanting to see if he'd reply. The last thing I needed was more stress, especially from someone from his family. I knew he meant well, at least most of the time, but that didn't make dealing with him any easier. He had this way of getting under my skin, of pushing my buttons without even trying. And right now, with everything else I was dealing with, I didn't have the energy for it.

I took my matcha and went back to my room to get ready for the day, trying to push the anxiety down as I got dressed. But it lingered, a constant hum in the back of my mind, as if reminding me that it was always there, waiting.
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The last class of the day dragged on, the minutes ticking by at a painfully slow pace. By the time it was over, I was more than ready to get out of there and head home. I just wanted to be alone, to try and shake off the lingering unease that had followed me all day.

But as I stepped out of the lecture hall, I was greeted by a sight that made my heart sink—Nikolai Wolves, leaning casually against the wall, waiting for me. Of course, he couldn't just text like a normal person. No, he had to be right there, in my face, forcing me to deal with him.