The Fiancé Who Left Her To Die

ess shriek of the wind. I was lying in a shallow depression in the snow, a hastily dug pit. Br

ed wail that grated on my ears. "She tore her own jacket and t

ough on my shoulders. "Alex! Ale

rned with every shallow, ragged breath. The cold was an invasive presence now, inside

imbers, a friend of Bryan's, peered down into my snow pit.

t me not with concern, but with utter contempt. "I knew it.

a note of genuine panic now coloring

rms and dragged me more fully into the snow pit, my boots scraping uselessly against the ice. He pa

now from his expensive glov

g on the fabric of his snow pants with the

nd away, his expression one of

ft voice. "Don't be too hard on her, Bryan.

his voice was a physical blow. "Let's go. She'll come

faded, swallow

s al

e. Left to die by the ma

ivering now, a terrifying milestone. I knew what it meant. My core temper

exposing the inner layers to the elements. The wind funneled directly into the breach, a constant, bruta

me. My satellite phone was gone. But there was on

ned to interface with the smart blanket. And hidden within the cuff of the left sleeve, stitched into the sea

to rea

toward my face, but it barely twitched. My right arm was slightly more responsive. With agoni

ingers, numb and useless, couldn't

was how it ended. Betrayed, abandoned, and f

burst of strength. I wasn't going to die

ff. My teeth clamped onto the thick material, ignoring the jarring pa

ll, almost invisibl

it. Once. Twice. Nothing. The pressure sensor w

tolen by the wind, I smashed m

ible red light blinked o

as a

ul. It was followed immediately by an overwhelming w

ssibly heavy. The world was fading to a peaceful, numbing

gan to claim me, a shad

me, the blue light of my blanket illuminating her face. The fake te

ice barely a whisper against the wi

u're just having a tantrum. He told me he's resented you for years. Hates living in your shadow. Hates that

s, piercing the last

whispered, her smile widenin

me, a final, contemptuous gesture. "Don't

into the whiteout, leaving me with the te

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