A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 04

A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 04

My head snapped up.

“What gives you the right to sign for me?”

Ethan looked down at me.

“I’m your partner. I’m the club captain.”

He pulled a training plan from his pocket and threw it in my face.

“From now on, you’ll do takeoff demonstrations for Scarlett and be her crash pad.”

“You’re tough enough. A few falls won’t hurt you.”

I looked at the paper on the floor and felt the absurdity hit a breaking point.

“You want me to be her practice dummy?”

“You want me to throw away over a decade of work so I can be a stepping stone for someone who can barely land a triple jump?”

Ethan’s eyes went dark.

“Watch your mouth. Scarlett has more talent than you and she’s younger. Being her training partner is a privilege.”

“If you want to stay at this club, you’ll do exactly as you’re told.”

The air in the locker room seemed to solidify.

I looked at Ethan’s familiar face and felt, for the first time, like I was staring at a complete stranger.

Ten years of love, and in his eyes, I should be grateful for the chance to serve as Scarlett Brown’s stepping stone.

“And if I don’t?”

My voice was quiet, but in the empty locker room, every word carried.

Ethan frowned, clearly not expecting resistance.

“Chloe, don’t make me say something ugly.”

He stepped forward, crowding me.

“You haven’t competed in a single real event in ten years. Besides staying here as a practice partner, what club would even take you?”

“Without me, you won’t even get ice time.”

Scarlett Brown peeked out from behind Ethan, a smug little smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

“Chloe, Ethan’s just looking out for you.”

“After all, you two have been together for ten years. How could he ever want to hurt you?”

I took a deep breath and forced down the nausea churning in my stomach.

“Ethan, I’m dissolving our partnership.”

Ethan froze.

He stared at me as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous joke of his life.

“What did you just say?”

I spoke slowly, every syllable razor-sharp.

“I said we’re done as partners. And we’re done as a couple.”

Ethan scoffed, his voice thick with mockery.

“Chloe, this is a professional arrangement, not some playground game where you throw a tantrum and I have to play along.”

“Instead of wasting your energy on this, why don’t you take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re even qualified to negotiate with me as an equal.”

“Someone like you, someone I’ve already written off, who else would ever want you?”

He lunged close, his eyes cold and predatory.

“The Northwest Regional Championships start next month. If you refuse to be Scarlett’s training partner, I will make sure you never work in figure skating again.”

“I’ll make sure everyone knows you were kicked out for insubordination.”

My fingernails dug deep into my palms.

This was the man I’d loved for ten years.

To prop up his new favorite, he was willing to destroy every path I had left.

Just then, the locker room door swung open from the outside.

“Ethan Parker. Big man on campus.”

A low, unhurried voice filled the room.

I spun around.

It was the man from the rink yesterday, the one who’d partnered with me.

Today he wasn’t wearing a cap. He was dressed in a tailored black overcoat, his frame tall and commanding.

He didn’t spare Ethan a single glance. He walked straight to me.

“What I said yesterday. Have you thought about it?”

I blinked at him.

“What did you say?”

The man tilted his head slightly, and my reflection swam in his dark, deep-set eyes.

“Start over.”

“Leave this dumpster fire. I’ll make you fly.”

Ethan charged over, reaching out to shove the man.

“Who the hell do you think you are, coming into my house and starting shit?”

The man shifted his shoulder a fraction of an inch, effortlessly dodging Ethan’s hand.

In the same motion, he caught Ethan’s wrist and wrenched it downward.

Ethan let out a sharp cry and dropped to one knee.

The man looked down at him.

“Your base. Absolute garbage.”

Scarlett Brown cowered in the corner, trembling, not daring to say a word.

The man turned to me and held out his hand.

“Let me introduce myself properly.”

“I’m Damien Ashford.”

My pupils contracted.

Damien Ashford.

The genius men’s singles skater who stunned the world five years ago at the Winter Olympics with a flawless quad Axel.

The same genius who vanished from competition at the peak of his career.

He was standing right in front of me.

“Chloe, will you come with me?”