Chapter 18

The night of the Aurora excursion, Reid arrived at the viewing site loaded down like a pack mule. He single-handedly pitched their tent, arranged comfortable seating, laid out snacks, and built a small fire—refusing Kimberly’s every offer to help. Once everything was perfectly arranged, he patted a cushioned spot for her to sit.

“This is the prime viewing position,” he explained, wrapping a thick blanket around her shoulders. “I’ll handle the photography; you just enjoy the lights.”

As he stepped back, Kimberly tugged at his sleeve. “Beautiful things should be witnessed firsthand, not through a camera lens. Sit with me.”

Reid’s ears immediately flushed crimson in the firelight. They sat in comfortable silence, Kimberly munching on snacks while the warmth of the fire warded off the winter chill.

A news alert suddenly lit up her phone screen: “Former business magnate Jayden Charlemet passed away this morning after a prolonged illness. Charlemet Industries declared bankruptcy last month, marking the end of a once-dominant corporate empire…”

Kimberly stared at the familiar name, a complex wave of emotions washing through her. Reid had received the same notification. Having quietly researched Kimberly’s past when he first developed feelings for her, he knew exactly who Jayden Charlemet was and what he had done. He glanced at Kimberly, expecting some visible reaction to the news of her tormentor’s death. To his surprise, she simply looked at her phone briefly before putting it away without comment.

“Kimberly, are you—”

“Look! The Aurora!” she interrupted, pointing skyward.

The sudden appearance of the aurora borealis halted Reid’s concerned question. Students around them scrambled for their cameras as Kimberly raised her binoculars to get a better view.

Above them, the navy-blue night sky seemed to split open, releasing undulating curtains of emerald light that transformed the snow-covered landscape into something ethereal and otherworldly. Kimberly lost herself in nature’s spectacular display. When she finally lowered her binoculars, she caught Reid staring at her rather than at the lights above.

In the glow of the aurora, his youthful features were striking—dark hair reflecting hints of green from the sky, a few wayward strands dancing in the gentle breeze. For a fleeting moment, Kimberly glimpsed her own reflection in his clear eyes and saw something she hadn’t expected: a version of herself unburdened by the past.

As Reid’s face grew increasingly flushed—a redness even the northern lights couldn’t disguise—Kimberly suddenly remembered something. She bent down to dig through her backpack. A moment later, she pulled out a white hand-knitted scarf. She’d originally made it for Olivia, but her friend had recently started dating someone who had given her a matching set.

Watching Reid’s neck reddening in the cold air, Kimberly felt a spontaneous urge to give him the scarf.

“Why are you standing so far away? I don’t bite,” she teased, stepping forward to wrap it around his neck. The gesture brought them close enough that their breath mingled in the frigid air, creating a small cloud between them. Something intangible shifted in that moment of proximity. Kimberly realized with quiet certainty that she had finally, truly moved forward.

“Reid,” she said softly, “when the weather gets warmer, would you like to go hiking with me?”

His eyes widened. “Really?”

Kimberly nodded. “I love springtime.”

Pain, she understood now, could be smoothed away by time. And even in the ruins of past heartbreak, new feelings could emerge. After the harshest winter, spring always comes.

Chapter 18

Spring did come, bringing with it opportunity. After the semester ended, Kimberly made a life-changing decision. The trauma she’d endured had awakened a desire to help others who had suffered as she had. She applied to transfer from dance to law, hoping to one day fight for justice for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

To her surprise, Reid supported her decision wholeheartedly. Their relationship blossomed through the summer, but when fall came, Reid received an offer he couldn’t refuse—a position on a prestigious hockey team with a future in the NHL.

“I’ll wait for you,” Kimberly had said, knowing already what his answer would be.

Reid had smiled sadly. “You deserve someone who can be with you every day, not just during off-seasons.”

Their parting had been amicable, both understanding that their paths were diverging. Reid would pursue his hockey career, while Kimberly would dedicate herself to law.

After he left, Kimberly threw herself into her studies with renewed determination. Without the distraction of her dance career or a relationship, she excelled academically, graduating at the top of her class.

Her time with Jayden had taught her to be wary of men, especially those with wealth and power. But when she began her summer associateship at a mid-tier firm in New York, she met Drake Ashcroft—handsome, charming, and seemingly genuine in his interest in her. Perhaps it was her desire to move forward, or perhaps it was the way he looked at her—like she was the only woman in the room. Whatever the reason, she let him into her life, albeit cautiously.

Drake was different from Jayden. Where Jayden had been cold and calculating, Drake was warm and attentive. He pursued her relentlessly, sending flowers to her apartment, showing up at her firm with lunch when she worked late, remembering every small detail she mentioned in passing.

After three years together, Kimberly thought she’d finally found someone who cared for her as a person, not as a possession or a replacement.

Until that night.