The Broke, Mute Boy I Saved Was a Bored Billionaire Chapter 05

The Broke, Mute Boy I Saved Was a Bored Billionaire Chapter 05

Veda volunteered to coach me.

“Beginners fall all the time. I’ll take Tressa.”

Bastien glanced at her, then nodded.

[Veda’s a great skier. Stay with her.]

He trusted her without question.

Watching the look they exchanged from only a few feet away, I finally understood how much distance stood between us.

There was no crossing it.

Veda led me toward the beginner run, then suddenly veered away, heading for an isolated stretch near the edge of a steep slope.

“It’s too crowded over there,” she said. “Let’s find somewhere quieter.”

I followed without objecting.

I knew she wanted to talk.

While I was paying for everyone’s passes, Bastien had been watching me.

Veda had been watching him.

I wanted to hear what the woman who had helped turn me into a joke had to say.

Part of me even wanted to tell her that she was already beautiful, wealthy, and surrounded by people who adored her. She did not have to tear another woman down to be loved.

She never gave me the chance.

Veda caught hold of my wrist, her voice turning cold.

“You heard us that night, didn’t you?”

“I saw you hiding outside the lounge like a rat in the gutter.”

I tightened my grip on my ski poles but said nothing.

Veda gave a quiet laugh. “I thought you’d have enough pride to walk away. Instead, you’re still clinging to Bas even after finding out the whole thing was a game.”

“Do you have any idea how disgusted he is by you?”

“He says you’re old, ugly, and so cheap you probably buy your underwear from a bargain bin.”

“That scarf you gave him? He tossed it to Bracken.”

She smiled brightly. “Oh, did I forget to mention Bracken is my dog?”

The edge of the slope was only a few yards away. Beyond it lay a deep hollow filled with loose snow.

Veda did not slow down.

I finally realized what she intended to do and tried to pull away, but she refused to let go.

“Are you insane?”

She laughed and suddenly picked up speed.

Then she slammed into me.

Pain exploded through my chest.

I lost my balance and plunged over the edge, tumbling into the hollow below.

The impact left my ears ringing. Through the muffled noise, I heard Veda scream from above.

“My leg!”

Voices rushed toward her. Bastien’s friends called her name as they crowded around.

“She pushed me!” Veda sobbed. “I was only trying to help her, and she attacked me!”

I lay at the bottom of the hollow with sharp pain tearing through my right leg. Snow had slipped beneath my collar, and my entire body shook from the cold.

I tried to get up, but the powder was too loose. Every movement dragged me deeper.

I opened my mouth to call out, but blood rose in my throat.

All I could do was stare toward the ridge and wait for Bastien to look down.

He never did.

Neither did anyone else.

Their footsteps faded until there was nothing left but wind.

They walked away as though I had never been there.

My phone buzzed.

Bastien: [What the hell is wrong with you? Veda was trying to teach you. Did you really hurt her just because you’re jealous of us?]

Bastien: [I was wrong about you.]

I read the messages again and again.

By the fifth time, something inside me finally settled.

It did not matter how long I hesitated or how many excuses I made for him.

Bastien would always be willing to throw me away.

He did not even believe me.

How could he possibly love me?

I remained in the hollow until the sky went completely dark.

My phone buzzed again.

Bastien: [Veda’s birthday party is at Cobalt Ridge Lodge tonight. Come apologize.]

A laugh slipped from my lips.

Then I called his mother.

“Dr. Rothwell, it’s Tressa.”

“Please come get me from the north run at Blackpine Summit. I’ll send you my location.”

“We need to leave for the research center as soon as possible. I think my condition has gotten worse.”

She agreed immediately.

After the call ended, I deleted every unread message from Bastien.

Above the hollow, the resort lights shimmered across the night sky like the northern lights.

What a shame.

I had wanted to see the real thing with him in Iceland.

The next time we met, I would be calling him my little brother.