𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭

prologue - D

The world is full of contradictions.

There are those who are born into wealth, their lives cushioned by the softness of privilege, and those who must claw their way through each day, scraping for whatever they can get. There are the sweet and the bitter, the optimistic and the cynical, the ones who love too much and the ones who wish they could feel anything at all.

And then, there are people who have everything but are haunted by an emptiness they can't explain.

And that's where she comes in.

Delphine Beauford has it all. She's the girl everyone wants to be, the girl whose name is spoken in whispers and whose presence commands a room.

Her beauty is undeniable, her talent on the ice unmatched, and her reputation as sharp and cold as the ice she glides over in the early mornings. She's adored, envied, and admired. Perfect grades, flawless features, a smile that doesn't reach her eyes, and a life everyone assumes is perfect.

But Delphine doesn't care about the world—or about anyone in it.

Not anymore.

To the outside world, she's untouchable. But behind the carefully crafted walls, hidden beneath the layers of practiced indifference, is someone who feels nothing but contempt. For the superficial glances, for the hollow friendships, for the expectations that are impossible to escape. For herself, most of all.

Because perfection, as she's come to know, is a prison. And for all the freedom she appears to have, she is caged by her own reflection.

So she keeps herself distant, locked behind walls so high even she can't see over them.

And every day, she does her best to ignore the voice whispering in her ear: that she's a masterpiece painted over an empty canvas.