Chapter 18 The annual Southridge University Dance Competition was a major event. The auditorium was packed to capacity. Sloane was performing a modern solo piece: Breaking Free. As the lights dimmed, a single cold spotlight hit center stage. Dressed in plain black, she began to move. Her body flowed like water-soft, yet marked by a quiet defiance. When the music soared into its climax, her movements turned fierce. She leaped, fell, rose again-again and again-finally ending in a difficult but graceful backbend, frozen in place. The spotlight flared. For a moment, the auditorium held its breath. Then-thunderous applause. Sloane stood tall, catching her breath as she bowed to the audience. In the front row on the left, Eli clapped the loudest, his eyes full of unhidden admiration. Far in the shadows of the back row, another figure stood alone. Jace leaned against the cold wall, watching the girl on stage-the one now shining so brightly. He had seen her dance before. On his birthday. After he won his first award. Back when she used to dance just for him. Now, the applause came from everyone. Her eyes gleamed with confidence and calm. He saw the way Eli looked at her-open, unreserved appreciation. And suddenly, it hit him. Cold. Hard. Final. The girl who once had eyes only for him... was gone. Not in the way that needed a few sweet words to win back. But gone for real. He could no longer stand beside her. Could no longer own her smile. Despair crashed over him like a tide. Jace didn't go up to her. He turned and quietly slipped out of the auditorium, swallowed by the sound of applause behind him. The results weren't even close. Chapter 18 81.82% Sloane's Breaking Free won the gold medal. A few days later, she received a long, slim box-beautifully wrapped. There was no name, only a printed note inside: Congratulations. Breaking Free was beautiful. Inside the box was a rare, out-of-print vinyl recording of the classic ballet Giselle. Sloane remembered mentioning it once during a casual club conversation. She had sighed, saying how she regretted never getting to collect that version. Holding the record in her hands, something inside her stirred, gently but unmistakably. She immediately thought of Eli. That evening, after club activities, as everyone was packing up to leave, she walked up to him and said quietly, "Thank you, Eli. The record... I really love it." He looked up at her, a flicker of understanding passing through his eyes. "I'm glad," he said. "You deserved that win." His eyes held genuine care, admiration, and perhaps a trace of unspoken feeling-but he never crossed the line. He left the choice entirely in her hands. She felt it-that quiet thoughtfulness. And for the first time in a long while, she also felt something stir inside her. It wasn't enough yet. The frost hadn't fully thawed. But it was a start. So she gave him a smile-a little more heartfelt than before, though still guarded. "Really," she said again, gently. "Thank you." Eli didn't show the slightest disappointment. Eli didn't look disappointed. He only nodded. "You're welcome. Get home safe." He stood there, watching her walk away. Sloane cradled the gift in her arms. And somewhere deep in her chest, a small patch of ice had begun to melt-leaving behind a warmth she hadn't felt in a long, long time. And maybe... just maybe... the faint stirrings of something new. Chapter 18 81.82%