The snow had only just begun to fall when the night of the winter dance arrived.

You’d spent most of the day trying to pick something nice — not that you had much in Jackson, but Ellie and Dina had raided some storage crates for everyone and found a dress that fit you perfectly. Dina had even helped do your hair while Ellie kept teasing you for blushing every time someone said Manny’s name.

But there had been tension building for weeks.

You noticed it every time Jesse stopped to say hi. Every time he offered to walk you home or brought you tea when patrols ran late. You and Jesse had always been friends — nothing more. But you weren’t blind. Jesse had been looking at you differently, and Manny saw it.

Still, you’d thought things were okay. Manny had kissed your temple when he picked you up, calling you “mi cielo” in that soft, warm voice that always made you melt. He’d wrapped you in his coat because you were shivering, and for a while, it felt like the night might be perfect.

But the moment Jesse walked into the dance hall, everything started to fall apart.

You felt Manny tense beside you, his arm tightening around your waist. Jesse had been appointed to the council the day before, and the attention he got that night didn’t sit well with Manny.

“He thinks he’s so important now,” Manny muttered under his breath. “Look at him. Thinks he can just take anything he wants.”

You frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t answer.

Later in the night, while you were catching up with Jesse near the refreshment table, Manny stormed over, eyes dark with anger.

“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” he snapped at Jesse.

Jesse held up his hands. “I’m just talking to her, man. You need to calm down.”

“Stay the fuck away from her.”

You stepped between them. “Manny—!”

But Manny ignored you. “I know your type. You pretend to be the good guy, but you’re just waiting for me to mess up.”

Jesse’s voice stayed calm. “You’re already messing up. Look at her — she’s scared of you right now.”

That did it. Manny turned away from both of you and stormed out.

Your heart dropped.

Jesse gently touched your arm. “You okay?”

You couldn’t answer. Couldn’t even look up without your eyes burning. Dina found you a few minutes later and sat you down on the stairs outside the hall, wrapping a blanket around your shoulders.

“He had no right,” she said softly. “You’re not property.”

You nodded, but your throat felt tight, words caught behind the ache in your chest.

The next day you woke up feeling hollow.

You didn’t see Manny at breakfast. Didn’t see him on the training fields. But you needed to talk to him — needed to understand why he’d acted like that.

So you went to his cabin.

The door was cracked open.

And what you saw made your breath leave your lungs like a punch to the stomach.

Manny. Shirtless. Sheets tangled around his legs.

And a woman curled against him.

Not just any woman — someone from Jackson, a girl who’d always smiled too long at him when he passed, always laughed too loudly at his jokes.

She looked up. Froze.

Manny turned, blinking awake. “Mi amor—wait—!”

You stepped back. Shaking. The cold of the morning suddenly slicing into you.

“You told me I was the only one,” you whispered. “You promised my dad…”

“Wait, it didn’t mean anything—”

You laughed — bitter and broken. “Don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that again.”

You walked away before he could say anything else. And even though it felt like your heart had shattered into a thousand pieces, you didn’t look back.

Later that evening, Jesse found you sitting on the back steps of the library, knees hugged to your chest.

“Word’s going around,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

You nodded.

He sat beside you, close but not touching. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“I thought… I thought he loved me.”

“I think he loved the idea of having someone waiting for him,” Jesse said. “You’ve always been more than that.”