The cold wind brushed against her bare arms. Ice had sat on a rock, knees drawn to her chest, eyes fixed on the dark horizon where the sea seemed to swallow the stars. Her thoughts swirled, endlessly returning to the scene on the beach, to her unforgettable moment with Bern, to Teddy and his lies, and to Lora, who knew nothing.
She hadn't heard the footsteps behind her.
— Ice…?
The soft, worried voice made her startle. Melissa approached, her eyes shining with concern, her coat wrapped tightly against the cold wind.
Ice didn't move. She remained seated, head bowed, hands buried in the damp sand.
— I… I've been looking for you everywhere, murmured Melissa, crouching beside her. I used the location to find you… how did you even get to this beach? Ice, I… I didn't mean to leave you alone in the club. I'm sorry.
Ice took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembling of her hands. She felt tears welling up again, but this time, she didn't even try to hold them back.
— Melissa… I… I… I did it… with a stranger…
Melissa's breath caught. She took Ice's hand in hers, warm and reassuring.
— Ice… calm down. Tell me. Everything. What happened. You can trust me. I'm here, you know I'm here.
— I… I didn't want to, Ice started, her voice shaking. I just wanted to forget Teddy. I just wanted… not to think. But… it happened. And now… now I feel… dirty. Betrayed… myself…
I just slept with a stranger and the worst part is… I liked it.
She cried silently, her shoulders shaking with muffled sobs. Melissa held her close, letting her cry, saying nothing, simply being there to share her pain.
— And… he was… different, murmured Ice between sobs. Tall, attractive… he looked at me… and… and I don't know… it was… it was more than just a moment.
Melissa nodded gently. She knew that the mixture of desire, pain, and loneliness could push anyone to lose control.
— Ice, you're not a bad person, she said softly. You were hurt. Teddy has lied to you from the start. What you did… it's human. And you don't have to carry this guilt alone.
Ice shook her head.
— But I can't… I shouldn't have… it's Teddy… I… I've broken something that wasn't even mine…
Melissa sighed, watching the waves crash against the sand. She knew that words alone wouldn't soothe Ice, but she wanted at least to offer her a space to breathe, to think.
— You need to understand… it's not your fault. Teddy is the one who chose to lie to you, to betray you. Lora isn't angry with you, and… the stranger… he's just a reflection of what you needed at that moment. You didn't betray a heart, Ice… you only responded to a void.
Ice took a deep breath. Her still-red eyes met Melissa's.
— I don't know how… how to move on… I feel… lost.
— We take it one step at a time. We breathe, we think, we breathe again. You are not alone.
Ice nodded, but deep down, she knew that even with Melissa's support, the weight of her own guilt would not easily disappear.
— Bern, on the other side
Meanwhile, Bern had gone to the other side of the beach after leaving Ice alone. He sat on the sand, staring at the place where she had gone. The fresh air and the salty scent of the sea only intensified the heat of the night, of the tension and desire they had shared.
He ran a hand through his hair, clenching his fists in the sand.
— Damn… he murmured. She… she carried me away with her. It's the first time a woman has made me feel this kind of emotion.
He didn't know how to define what he had felt. Neither desire, nor passion, nor even attachment. It was all mixed in a burning cocktail he had never experienced before.
— It was… intense. But it was her… not me. No commitment, no promise. Just… a moment.
Yet a part of him wanted to run after her, to hold her back, to understand her silences, to feel that she was okay.
He stood up, the sand crunching under his feet, and walked slowly toward the edge of the beach, but his thoughts remained fixed on Ice.
— She feels guilty… he knows. I have to… I have to let her breathe… after all, it was just a one-night thing, even if it wasn't like the other times.
— Teddy, on his side
Meanwhile, Teddy had returned home after giving his son medicine and reassuring Lora about her temporary fever. But nothing could calm the storm raging in his mind.
He locked himself in his office, the door closed, sitting behind the polished desk as if seeking answers in the wood.
— Damn… what am I going to do…? he murmured, head in hands.
Every image of the morning flashed back to him. Ice, the pain in her eyes, her immediate reaction to Lora and Lily… and now, the guilt burning in his soul.
He had tried to rationalize his behavior for years. Work, stress, routine… but none of it excused anything. Ice… she wasn't supposed to know about his lies.
— What do I say? What excuse should I use… damn, I really broke her…
He stood up, pacing the room. Every movement seemed futile. Every thought brought him back to Ice and the moment when he realized he had lost something precious because of his choices.
— I have to… I have to fix this… but how? She hates me… and rightly so…
— Morning wake-up
The morning light filtered softly through the curtains of Melissa's apartment. Ice slowly opened her eyes, muscles sore, hair still slightly damp from the sea and the beach the night before. Her head felt heavy, her body exhausted from the mix of alcohol, emotions, and the physical effort of the previous night.