Page 199 of The Heart of Winter

The way that psychologist insisted my relationship with Sariel was nothing more than a byproduct of necessity. Something born out of survival instinct. Could it be true? Everything in me protested, resisted.

Now that we were back on solid ground, we were supposed to return to our separate lives. According to him, that was the healthiest option. The best path forward.

My phone was working again, and I found myself just staring at the screen, unsure what to do. Would it be smart to call him? Text him? Maybe not on the first day… he was probably overwhelmed, meeting with his family, trying to process everything.

After some hesitation, I put the phone in my pocket.

It was better to wait. Give him space. He’d likely been fed the same line of ‘therapeutic advice’ I had. Maybe he needed time to think things through, and then, maybe we could decide together. And deep down, I felt the next move should be his.

***

The next morning, I got a call from Jacob.

The conversation was stiff. Formal. I was tense the entire time, still haunted by the strange ‘brainwashing’ he’d set up for me on the plane.

Jacob said he was grateful we’d been found alive and thanked me for helping his son survive on the island. He also told me that whenever I felt ready, physically and mentally, my old job at the company would be waiting for me.

It was a massive relief. I told him I just needed a few days to get my head straight, but I’d be back soon.

He assured me that was perfectly fine, and that he was glad, I’d be taking over for Manager Lorens, who’d been filling in for me and was apparently drowning in reports and analyses. The workload was too much for him.

I also asked about the Beta Activation Program. As it turned out, for DevApp, losing two employees had just been another bump in the road. Lorens and Werner flew to Japan a week after the crash to replace Sariel and me. The project was already back on track.

Everything had just… moved on. As if I’d never disappeared at all.

Maybe that was a good thing? Maybe it would make going back feel easier.

But one thing still bothered me:

Sariel.

Jacob didn’t mention him. Not even once, except for that brief moment when he formally thanked me for ‘helping his son’. The way he said it, like Sariel and I were strangers and I’d done him a favor, it felt cold, and it further confirmed my suspicion that Jacob had been the one to send the psychologist.

But I didn’t push it.

He told me he was looking forward to a longer conversation, but he was about to leave town to meet with a government official.

They were planning a new initiative called Strong Start, a program aimed at encouraging college students to start families, in an effort to counteract the growing influence of the Beta Empowerment and NotFromHere initiatives. It would offer financial support and housing assistance to couples planning to marry after graduation. DevApp would be involved in building an app to collect and manage applicants, so Jacob was supposed to discuss the finer details of the deal.

When the call ended, I just sat there, staring at the phone.

What now?

I glanced at the list of contacts, and Sariel’s name sat right at the top.

Me, always the one who planned everything, now felt like I was floating in a void.

I didn’t know how to act, or what to feel. That whole airplane brainwashing had thrown me completely off. The vibe surrounding our return felt heavy. Too official. Jacob was already involved, already trying to shape the narrative.

They all wanted me to start preparing to fall back into the old rhythm of my life. To pretend that none of this mattered.

Was everything that happened on the island just… over? Like a book you finish, close, and never think about again?

Maybe that was the only logical way to move forward?

The thought made my heart race. Something inside me twisted with anxiety.

Goddammit, Winter,I thought. You’ve never let yourself get attached before. And now you’ve gone and fallen for this beautiful, wild, unique kid, who might, in six months, decide he needs a new experience and toss an aging albino beta like you aside without hesitation?

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