Page 4 of Frozen Promises

SPACE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Catalina

The air holds a bitter chill, matching the ice storm warring inside of me.

I didn’t want excuses tonight. I wanted commitment to us.

Not his work. But all I got was the same damn excuses he always gives me.

And then he called my videos silly. Something fundamentally broke between us, and that’s when I realized I can’t hold this marriage together any longer.

We’re in a sinking ship, and I’m the only one trying to patch the holes.

I’m so fucking tired.

As soon as I’m outside, my phone lights up with a text from Santiago.

I quickly read the message and my heart lurches, but my decision has been a long time coming.

I send a quick reply before stuffing my phone back into my purse.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I’m no longer alone.

Elias is next to me, handing something over to the valet driver, who nods and scurries away.

Elias’s dark brown eyes bore into me. The devastation and confusion in his gaze nearly crumbles me. One look can’t change months of unresolved issues and feelings of being unappreciated. I’m doing what needs to be done, even if it fucking hurts like a bullet to the heart.

I strengthen my resolve. The wind picks up, and I shiver as my hair blows behind my shoulders.

From the corner of my eye, Elias shrugs off his jacket, but before he can hand it over, his car arrives, and I slip inside to avoid an awkward refusal.

Freezing to death sounds like a better alternative to taking anything from him right now.

I fasten my seatbelt, forcing down the storm of pain, hurt, and confusion, burying it deep, and locking it away. I will not break. Not now.

The door opens, and Elias slips in without a sound. He buckles himself in, his gaze flickering toward me. I refuse to meet his heavy stare. Instead, I turn away, staring out the window as if the world outside might offer some kind of escape. The words I wish to say don’t come to me.

A quiet sigh escapes him, barely audible over my pounding heart. Then, without a word, he shifts the car into drive and pulls away, the tension between us thicker than the silence.

Elias clears his throat more than once like he’ll say something.

Anything. But the silence only stretches out.

I feel like I’m sitting next to a stranger not my husband.

A man who should love me. When did he last tell me he loved me?

I’ve always said it first. Have I seriously been so ignorant that I didn’t notice all the cracks in our foundation until the house crashed down around us?

The entire fifteen-minute drive home is swallowed by thick and unyielding silence.

As Elias pulls up to our front gate, his frown sharpens, etched deep with confusion. The gate is wide open, an invitation to anyone, when it should be locked tight. My pulse races, an anxious beat echoing in my chest.

He doesn’t know what this moment means.

But I do.

And I wish I didn’t. I wish it never came to this, but here we are. We are reaching the final chapter of our book.

Our driveway isn’t long—normally, it takes less than a minute to reach the house.

But tonight, it stretches endlessly, each second dragging like an eternity.

There’s so much I want to say to him, but my anger from earlier has deserted me and leaves nothing but heartbreak in its place.

If I speak, the tears will come, and I’ll never be able to stop them.

When we finally reach the end of the driveway, my stomach twists.

We’re not alone. Another car sits in the driveway.

“What the fuck?” Elias curses under his breath.

He reaches over between my legs and my traitorous body, clearly unaware of the state of our relationship, heats for him.

But that heat turns to stone-cold dread when something silver catches the light, shining as he pulls it out. My brain is slow to process what it is.

A gun.

Holy fucking shit. He thinks we’re being robbed.

A small part of me loves that his first instinct is to make sure I’m safe.

And then I remember I’m pissed at him, and he’s about to shoot my best friend. “What are you doing? Put that away! When did you get a gun?”

“I’ve always had a gun. You’ve just never seen it,” he murmurs. His hand curls around the door handle as he pushes it open, but I grab his arm before he can get out.

“Stop! It’s only Santiago and Noah doing what I asked them to do,” I say. Elias tenses under my touch.

In slow motion, he turns his head to look at me. Those brown eyes I once fell in love with now burn with anger and pain, knocking the breath from my lungs. “And why are Santiago and Noah here, Catalina?”

My name on his lips is the catalyst.

The box I pushed my emotions into explodes, hitting me with the full force of anger, sadness, and regret—emotions I can’t hide any longer.

Sobs rack through my body, immobilizing me.

Elias doesn’t even try to reach for me; he’s still rooted in his spot, one hand on the door and the other on the gun.

Even though we are in the middle of a fight, I don’t fear he’ll hurt me. No matter how upset he is with me.

When I speak again, my voice is shaky and inaudible. “Because I need to leave you,” I sob. “I love you so damn much, Elias, but I don’t think you feel the same anymore. So, I have to love myself more.”

“What the fuck does that mean? You think I don’t love you? You think everything I do is because I don’t love you?”

This is the most emotion he’s expressed in months, but it comes too late. And it’s not lost on me that he didn’t say he loves me back. “I need space. Need to be out of your house—”

“Our house, Catalina. It’s our house,” he snaps.

“A house you bought because my silly little videos couldn’t ever afford us something like this,” I hiss, some of my earlier ire coming back.

He winces at my words, much like I did when he diminished the value of my job.

“You’re working anyway, so it’s not like you’ll notice I’m gone.

” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my words.

“And I think you need to be without me for a while.”

“I don’t want to be without you, Catalina,” he snarls.

“I want to believe that. I do. But your words and actions don’t show it. I shouldn’t have to threaten to leave you for you to give a damn about me.”

Elias opens his mouth to snap back, but I don’t want to hear it.

My resolve is crumbling. I need to leave soon, or I’ll talk myself into staying, and we will fall back into the same damn routine.

I can’t keep doing that to myself. I preach in my videos how women should be girl bosses who respect themselves and their bodies and always chase their happiness.

I’ve been ignoring my own advice for far too long.

Catching my attention, Santiago and Noah walk out of the house carrying two bags packed with my things. My time is officially up.

“I’m not spending Christmas alone. I hope your work is worth all of this.

” With those final words, I grip the door handle and push it open, stepping out into the cold night.

Behind me, I feel Elias reach for me—hesitation, regret, and so many unsaid words hang between us.

But just like every other time, in every other part of our lives, I slip through his fingers, leaving him behind.

“Catalina!” he calls.

I don’t look back. I can’t look back.

I keep my head high, telling myself I’m worth putting first.

The first snowflake falls, landing on the bridge of my nose. It feels like even the earth is crying for me.

The moment I reach Santiago, all the strength leaves my body. I fall into my best friend’s arms, sobbing.

“Oh honey,” he murmurs, his own voice hitching with emotion. He knows how hard this is.

“Let’s get her into the car, babe,” Noah says, and two sets of hands are on me, leading me to Santiago’s car.

Someone yells out my name, but it’s lost as I’m guided into the back seat.

The door shuts with a resounding thud. Santiago gets in on the other side, leaving Noah to drive.

I’m grateful for my best friend and fall back into his arms.

Noah steers the car out of my driveway as the snow falls in thick, swirling flakes, slowly coating the world in white. I glance out the back window, my breath fogging the glass, and see Elias step out of the car. He stands there, motionless, watching us disappear into the storm.

For a fleeting moment, I see a man unraveling—a man just beginning to understand the weight of what he’s losing.

Then the distance swallows him, and he’s gone. Just like that.

I turn away from it all, pressing my face into Santiago’s solid and warm chest. His arms wrap around me, anchoring me as the tears come—steady, unstoppable, and silent.

The weight of heartbreak drags at every part of me, each breath heavier than the last. Slowly, exhaustion takes over, and I surrender to the darkness.