Chapter 121: Frozen Flame Volume 2

POV Emília Grey

I was three months behind on rent.

I didn’t know how to pay it, let alone where to get the money I was missing. I was already working as much as I could in a day, being a medical student, but it wasn’t enough. If it were, I certainly wouldn’t be drowning in debt.

"You either pay this week, or you leave."

The first option was almost impossible unless I sold my body, my soul, or something like that.

The second option couldn’t be real. I was too young to be homeless.

"I’ll try," I replied.

"I don’t want attempts, Emília. I want the money, no excuses."

I made my way to college with my head throbbing. I considered stopping by human resources, trying to convince them to give me a spot in the campus dorms. But the answer didn’t change. Even though I was on a scholarship, the best student in my class, I wasn’t guaranteed a room.

My life would change if I got that spot. I wouldn’t waste my life doing monthly calculations and saving pennies just to have something to eat. Yet there I was, considering squeezing more hours into a day for another part-time job.

I spent the lectures glued to my phone, looking for jobs that wouldn’t demand too much from me. I already worked at a laundry. It wasn’t physically demanding, but it took hours out of my day just to earn a third of minimum wage.

I was screwed.

"Want some?" Kayleen Cullbert asked, offering me a cigarette.

When the classes ended, I decided to go to the rooftop of one of the campus buildings, hoping to clear my head. My problems were drumming against my neurons nonstop, making it impossible to silence my mind.

"Stop being a bad influence. I told you I’m not smoking anymore," I muttered.

She laughed.

"You’ve been saying that for two years."

"Forgive me for having relapses," I mocked, and she stuck her tongue out.

"You’re the gymnast. You shouldn’t even have a cigarette in your hand."

"What cigarette? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

I rolled my eyes.

"Where’s Penelope?" I asked curiously.

My best friend shrugged.

"That’s a question with many possible answers."

"I’m here!"

The girl’s shout made me turn my head in her direction. I was lying on the cold ground, while Kayleen leaned against the safety rails.

"Where have you been?" I asked as she arrived, breathless, and sat beside me.

"Watching the open practice of our athletes."

"Ugh. Gross."

"Stop it!" Penelope lightly smacked my leg. "You missed a spectacular show of muscles and butts."

"I didn’t miss a thing," Kayleen defended herself. "Actually, my eyes gained a lot."

I couldn’t help but laugh.

"Penelope, there’s no saving you," I commented.

"You guys don’t know how to live. By the way, Asher was there."

I soured.

Kayleen’s eyes landed on me, but I avoided any reaction.

I had grown used to sharing the same space with the boys over the past few years. They roamed the university like students just like me. Four years ago, the four boys had been declared innocent, so no one could deny them their freedom.

Like me, they had also been affected by Dante, who left scars so deep they reached the soul. I believed that the betrayal hadn’t only affected me, yet I often wondered why they acted as if they didn’t know each other.

The five boys who had once been bonded by shared trauma now behaved like strangers. It was as if that close friendship no longer existed.

"He’s not that hot," Kayleen commented, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"You guys need an eye doctor."

"Speak for yourself."

My best friends continued debating trivial things, making me opt to stand and lean against the rooftop rails, gazing at the bird’s-eye view of the campus.

I noticed how far we were from the ground. One fall and I’d break every bone in my body. One simple misstep, and my heart would stop.

I always wondered if death would solve my problems. If it would agree to erase my pain, giving me access only to the good things I’d had in life. Because every day, when my eyes opened, nothing good crossed my mind. I only had bad things to cry over.

I only had bad things to hate.

I didn’t like holding grudges, but every time I thought of him, my heart turned into a ravenous beast, consuming every good part of me. It was a constant ache.

He had planted a cruel side in me, hungry for vengeance but useless. I had no way to fight him.

Why was I thinking about him?

I tormented myself with guilt. I had believed in him and had been naive enough to ignore all the warnings.

But even as I blamed myself, it was impossible not to hate him for the cracks he had left in my heart.

"Emilia, are you okay?" Penelope interrupted the course of my thoughts.

I sighed, turning to face them.

"I'm going to lose my home."

"What?"

"Why?" they both asked in unison.

"I don’t have the money to pay. The landlady gave me an ultimatum."

"My God, girl," Penelope sighed. "You can stay with me and the girls. I’m serious."

I immediately shook my head.

"I don’t want to depend on you."

"You won’t be depending on anyone," Kayleen said firmly. "You’re being stupid not to accept help."

"Honestly, I don’t even know why I brought this up," I admitted, moving to grab my backpack and leave the area.

However, they stopped me before I could move.

"Don’t even think about turning your back on us," Penelope threatened. "We know you’re stubborn as hell, but don’t be about this. We’re offering you a place to stay."

"For how long? I don’t know if I’ll ever have enough money to afford a new home. That was the cheapest place in town, and I still failed," I said through gritted teeth, furious with my own financial troubles.

"And the inheritance?" Kayleen dared to ask, forcing me to feign disinterest.

"I don’t want to live off it."

"But it’s your only option."

"That’s nonsense," Penelope muttered. "Emilia’s going to be an amazing doctor. You’re so close to graduating."

"If I can even make it to the end," I lamented, exhausted. "Let’s change the subject. I’ll figure it out on my own. Don’t worry about me."

Kayleen and Penelope exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to let it go for now. But I knew they’d bring it up again sooner or later, determined to get me to accept their help.

"Let’s head home. I’ll drive," Penelope suggested.

As we descended to the parking lot, a crowd of people caught our attention. Groups of students were whispering amongst themselves. Even after all these years, rumors remained the greatest source of entertainment in town—and at Olympus University as well.

"They’re probably ogling the athletes’ butts, aren’t they?" I asked, scanning the scene with judgment.

"I think they’re talking about the Faceless Ones."

A flood of thoughts rushed through me, overwhelming me with strange feelings that surged to the surface.

They went by many names. There was no clear definition of who—or what—they were, how many of them existed, or what they wanted.

People treated them like a secret society. The mystery surrounding them was fueled only by hearsay from those who claimed to have seen them.

According to descriptions, they wore black cloaks from head to toe, prowling the night like Grim Reapers. Some said they’d seen just one, while others spread delusions of there being more than ten.

Some believed they were mystical figures, hunting the first sinner to cross their path. Others claimed it was impossible for anyone to live to tell the tale. The Faceless Ones didn’t let anyone return to normal life after seeing them.

Their victims were either killed, tortured, or completely destroyed.

They were chaos, recklessness, danger.

The police refused to comment on them, leaving no way to know if they were as real as people imagined. According to the news, not all deaths and disappearances were connected to them. But they were definitely hunting for something. That much was certain. They dug, searched, and craved an objective beyond our comprehension.

Not everyone was their prey.

So the lingering question remained: who were their real targets, and who would be next?

"I don’t know why people find this so amusing. What those monsters do is serious," I said.

"You used to think Dante was part of them," Kayleen jabbed, making me swallow hard.

I hated myself back then.

I had investigated everything I could about the Faceless Ones, finding nothing to satiate my curiosity. I could’ve sworn Dante was involved, but I eventually concluded I’d been acting like an obsessed fool, feeding my anger and bitterness with the idea of tying him to my past.

Whatever the Faceless Ones were, they didn’t match his profile.

Dante was forged by the night, shadows, and danger. His essence was painted in the same shades as the word "cruel." Everyone knew what he was capable of, but it was always for his own vengeance. He didn’t run in groups. It had been proven that he acted alone.

So the possibility of him being involved was almost nil.

"And I concluded I was wrong," I finished.

The girls accepted my response. They knew how much I hated the thought of him, which only worsened if we stopped to talk about him.

Dante was all my worst parts, and I found myself eternally bound to them. Not even in death would I escape the life sentence of having my mind tethered to him in the most twisted way possible.

"Yeah. You’re right."

We got into Penelope’s car. She was the only one of us who had one, not to mention the one with the most money.

I didn’t envy her, but I often felt inferior compared to the two of them. I needed to turn my life around, but I knew that wouldn’t happen until I claimed my inheritance.

When I entered the modest apartment, the small, cozy, and warm space greeted me. I shared it with the landlady herself, who gave me a room of my own along with access to the kitchen and bathroom.

For years, I’d been used to larger spaces, to maids cleaning every inch of the floor I walked on, to meals always ready on the table and a fridge full to bursting. That’s why it was torture to feel hunger and open the tiny, dusty cabinet only to find a single can of corn inside.