A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 01

A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 01

From the day I started dating my boyfriend, he never stopped calling me fat.

He even gave away my shot at the Northwest Regionals, the chance I’d been waiting ten years for.

“Figure skating is about aesthetics, Chloe. Look at yourself. What part of you has anything to do with that word?”

He lifted Scarlett Brown over his head right in front of me.

“I’m just being honest. At your weight, there’s no way I can do the lifts.”

“If you were as slim as Scarlett, I wouldn’t be in this position.”

I stared at our reflections in the mirror, nearly overlapping, and genuinely could not see where I fell short.

For over a decade, every single time, I was either benched as the alternate or swapped out right before it was my turn to perform.

I’d actually started as a ladies’ single skater.

It was only for Ethan that I switched to pairs.

All these years I’d kept up my solo jump training, but he kept me pinned down, permanently stuck as a backup and a background prop.

This year was my last chance. Ethan had promised he’d let me compete.

He broke that promise anyway.

“There’s a public rink at the mall next door. Go try your luck there.”

“Maybe you’ll find someone with superhuman strength who can actually lift your dead weight.”

I didn’t say a word. I grabbed my skates and headed to the mall.

The moment I stepped inside, my eyes locked onto a man skating alone on the rink. I gripped my skates tight and walked up to him.

“Would you be willing to practice as my partner?”

Before he could answer, I blurted out:

“I might be a little heavy. We can skip the lifts.”

The man bent his knees so we were eye to eye. There was a trace of gentleness in his expression.

“You’re not heavy. You’re a normal size.”

I figured he was just being polite to save me the embarrassment.

But during the practice that followed, he held me steady through five overhead lifts. Every single one was clean and controlled, with not a hint of instability on the landing.

Two hours later, it hit me with absolute clarity: I could be lifted. I could do the hard elements.

By the time I stepped off the ice, I was drenched in sweat.

Then Scarlett Brown’s sugary giggle rang out behind me.

“See, I told you Chloe would be here slacking off. You didn’t believe me, Ethan.”

I ignored her. My gaze was locked on the man still on the rink, launching into the air.

The way he landed, it was like a blade driven into the ice with surgical precision.

Not a single wobble.

The instant he touched down, my heart skipped with him.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Ethan followed my line of sight and let out a scoff.

“So that’s the partner you found?”

I didn’t acknowledge him. Everyounce of my attention was fixed on the man’s movements.

Ethan clicked his tongue and snatched the skates right out of my hands.

“Picking up some pretty-boy amateur con artist. Chloe, you really are getting more pathetic by the day.”

I looked at his face, twisted with anger, and calmly took my skates back.

“He just did five overhead lifts with me.”

The color drained from Ethan’s face instantly.

Height and jump power in men’s singles had always been his sore spot. He’d cut weight obsessively chasing that airy look, and it destroyed his strength. His hands shook every time he tried to lift me, and sometimes he’d lose his center of gravity and drop us both.

But he never once admitted the problem was his.

Ethan lowered his voice, falling into that familiar tone designed to tear me down.

“You think a public rink compares to a professional facility?”

“And you’re shameless enough to make someone lift you at that weight? I’d bet money he’ll be sending you the medical bill tomorrow.”

Scarlett Brown giggled beside him.

“Oh, don’t be so hard on Chloe, Ethan. Sure, she’s on the heavier side, but at least she’s got a stable base.”

“Not like me. If you didn’t hold my waist so tight every time, I’d probably go flying off into the boards!”

She snuggled into Ethan’s arms as she spoke.

Ethan wrapped his arm around her waist with practiced ease, his eyes dripping with affection.

“You’re blessed with natural talent. Not like some people. Every time I lift her, it’s like hauling a sandbag.”

My stomach clenched violently.

For ten years, to accommodate his lifts, I’d starved myself down to a weight that had my doctor issuing warning after warning.

I hadn’t had my period in six months.

My doctor told me if I kept dieting like this, my bone density and joints would be destroyed. Worst case, I’d never compete again in my life.

But Ethan only cared about the number on the scale. He never once cared about my health.

I looked him in the eye, my voice raw.

“Ethan, I’ve already lost so much weight that my doctor says I can’t lose any more. What else do you want from me?”

Ethan frowned, as if he’d just heard the most unreasonable thing in the world.

“Why are you yelling at me?”

“The head coach already said your axis is off. An unstable axis means too much body mass throwing off your center of gravity.”

“Scarlett is lighter than you, leaner than you. Why can’t you learn from her?”

I clenched my jaw so hard I tasted blood in the back of my throat.

Scarlett Brown’s so-called lightness was maintained through unhealthy starvation and purging. She couldn’t even land a standard triple jump.

But in Ethan’s eyes, she was perfection.

Just then, the faint scrape of a blade on ice stopped right in front of us.

The man pulled off his cap, revealing a face all sharp angles and clean lines. Sweat traced a path down the bridge of his nose.

He braced one hand against the railing, his gaze passing right over Ethan and landing squarely on me.

“Your axis is fine.”