Chapter 3
328words
But my pride wouldn't let me admit defeat.
If I lacked natural talent, I'd make up for it with sheer repetition.
I stopped hounding Lucas, and we gradually drifted apart.
I became first on the ice and last to leave.
While others went for meals and rest, I'd stay behind, drilling the coach's instructions over and over.
Even during meals, I'd be glued to technical videos from international coaches.
My solitary focus only isolated me further from my teammates.
In the break room, a cluster of girls huddled together.
"Look at Emily—she came from nothing and made it on pure talent. Then there's Sophia Shaw, with her ex-athlete parents and silver-spoon upbringing. And she's still eating Emily's dust."
"Right? How many thousands does Daddy spend on that rink every year? Give me half those resources, and I'd be leaving her in the dust."
Someone deliberately spoke louder.
"I swear Sophia's obsession with winning is psychotic! I heard her mother used to beat her black and blue as a kid. No wonder she's so messed up—who could grow up normal in that house?"
"No wonder she's always scowling and antisocial. If my mother had trained me like that since childhood, I'd be a basket case too."
In my darkest hour, Lucas blindsided me by officially announcing his relationship with Emily.
He stood before me, unable to meet my gaze.
"Sophia, between us… we've always just been skating partners, right?"
Partners.
Such a simple, weightless word.
Yet it erased everything—years together, unspoken understandings, everything I thought we shared—completely and utterly.
"There's something else," Lucas paused, "I'm leaving your father's club to partner with Emily."
"I've thought it through. Emily's club offers better resources for my development. Our skating compatibility is also stronger."
I stood alone in the empty rink, watching his silhouette recede into the distance.
The rink lights that day were harsh and blinding.
The ice reflected my solitary shadow, paper-thin and fragile.
