"That's messed up." Kylie said through a video call, rolling her eyes. "But, you two are finally together!"

"Cheers to that." I replied bemusedly. "We completely have no idea what to do."

She pursed her lips in response to her brainstorming, looking up at the ceiling for whatsoever inspiration. She lowered down her gaze to me and said, "I think...you both should settle things up after the winter break. Meanwhile, I know you can do something."

"What?" I asked her in curiosity.

"Have fun together and forget about other problems. It's a good deal, have a holiday full of times with your lover boy." She suggested, grinning on the screen.

"Cheers to that!" I exclaimed more excitedly now, assured with her words.

She was right about it, it's the holiday season after all. It's the time for all people to have fun before returning to work and studies, the time to relax comfortably and spend quality time with the loved ones. But, this was a time for Asher and I to rest before the war starts.

"Ugh, I'm so jealous of you." She grunted with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm still on my training and I only have a day off. Rob doesn't even have a day off that day."

I shook my head in disappointment and said, "You and your love problems. Two-timing, seriously?"

"Jeez, I'm not even dating Damien. We just had a small fling, that's all. I've never said we're serious about it." She said defensively, a frown forming on her face.

"Whatever, I still think you have to settle some conflicts with your emotions." I advised her, releasing a deep sigh.

She paused for a moment and said, "Robert is the one I want now."

However, her voice sounded uncertain and shaky. I asked her, "Are you sure?"

The silence engulfed the conversation and she nodded in response. I wasn't sure, but she seemed to still have some feelings for Damien. I knew Damien still liked her, but she was uncertain about her own feelings. Time probably passed too long for her and her true feelings for her boyfriend now weren't real, maybe she lost the bits of it. But, what could I do?

Someone called out her name, although the voice was muffled. She turned her attention to what seemed to be the right side of the room and turned back to face me. "I gotta go, happy holidays and have fun!"

"You too, goodbye!" I exclaimed back with a grin and hung up the video call.

I let out a deep sigh of relief, collapsing onto my comfy bed on my back. I breathed snugly as my skin made contact with the soft, cold fabric of the covers.

What should I do with Asher? What kind of activities he likes doing? Should it be romantic?

A knock could be heard behind the door to my bedroom, bringing me back to the reality. With a loud voice, I said, "Yes, come in."

The doorknob twisted slowly as the door swung open with a loud creak, I wasn't startled at all because it had always been like this. Asher appeared out of the door and stood in the middle of the doorway, before he said, "Can I really come in?"

"Do you need me to repeat it a hundred times?" I replied bemusedly, rolling my eyes in response.

He nodded his head and walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked to my bed, landing his bum on the bed beside my head. I pushed him away saying, "Get your bum out of my face."

He moved slightly before leaning in closer, giving me a short kiss on the lips. That totally caught me off guard, making me widen my eyes in dumbstruck. I commented, "You've gotten really into PDA, huh."

"But...this is a private space." He argued back, a smirk curving his lips.

"Whatever." I said bemusedly, adjusting the comfort of my neck on the bed. "Any ideas on what to do?"

"Ah, I have something for you." He told me, causing me to sit abruptly straight with my eyes boring right into his jade orbs.

He revealed a paper-wrapped box, tied up with a thick red bow. I asked him, "What is this?"

"Just a Christmas gift." He told me without any doubt in his voice. "To be honest, I don't think we both shared a lot of personal things together a lot."

"Yeah, that's true." I added, finally realizing the truth.

We both didn't really share much about our lives, mostly just teasing each other. Even though we had known each other since high school, we hid our identities. So, I didn't know much about him.

"So, you sure you can give me the perfect gift?" I asked him challengingly.

"Sure." He accepted the challenge, carefree about it.

This response of his just made me feel even more excited and clueless about the gift. I began to untie the bow, pulling the knot open. I lifted the lid of the box, revealing crumpled colorful papers covering the real present. I dug my fingers through the crumpled papers, pulling out the gift.

A pair of heels, the resemblance to the pair I wore as Cinderella was incredibly shocking.

"This is..." I faltered in awe, staring at the heels wide-eyed.

"It's also an apology gift, I did broke the original one." He told me, cutting my pointless faltering.

"It wasn't big of a deal, it's just broken." I lied, I was slightly upset. I loved those shoes, but they were lost and broken.

"Well...think of these as your real ones." He told me with a small smile.

I stared at the gift again and told him, "Thank you, Asher. Did you plan this?"

A victorious smirk appeared on his face and he answered, "Of course."

"I didn't get you a gift because we were on bad terms before the wedding incident." I honestly told him.

He planned this, he knew we both were in bad terms. How did he plan this? Did he speculate everything?

"Did you speculate everything and know that I would go to the wedding?" I asked him in curiosity with a hint of annoyance in my voice. He made me look like an obvious person, a predictable one.

He chuckled and answered, "Yes, every single detail. Not really, I just knew somehow we both would be on good terms again."

"Ah, seriously." I grumbled under my breath, narrowing my eyes at the heels.

He let out a short chuckle again and said, "Let's do something more fun instead."

"What?"

"Something icy."

***

"I'm going to die."

"No, you're not." Asher reassured me with his words, but I still thought that I was going to die.

"I'm going to die."

He grabbed my wrist, his fingers slithering down to mine. He intertwined his fingers around mine and a smirk formed on his face. I felt safe almost instantly, flustered. "I know that would fluster you."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he bursted into small chuckles. I said, "Whatever, Asher."

"Seriously, whatever?" He asked me with a huge frown on his face, but a glint flashed through his jade orbs.

I stared off to the feet of the hill, coated with snow all the way. A few coniferous trees grew nearby, but they weren't really dangerous for sledding. Snowflakes swirled around me, dancing gracefully and beautifully. They were just here to fool me, making the scenery look beautiful when we both were going to sled down the abnormally high hill.

I had never done sledding before, I heard it was fun. But, it didn't look fun for me.

"At least let me read the how-to's in my phone." I whined.

He sighed in disbelief, eyeing me back as well. He said, "Fine, but you have to know I'm better than what the tabloids say."

I let out a snort, he still managed to be cocky like this. He smirked and walked away from me—to the sled to be more precise. I shook my head and took out my phone. I read the articles.

Find a good hill to sled on.

I bet Asher already knew that and did that.

Get at the top of the hill you plan to sled on.

I did, even though I didn't want to. I even sang, "Do you wanna build a snowman?" But, he refused and told me to do it later.

Depending on what kind of sled you have, choose how to sit. For a round one, sit cross-legged. For a long one, sit with your legs out in front of you or lie down on your stomach or back.

I cringed at the thought of lying down on my stomach or my back.

Now, push off with your hands and hold on tight to the sides.

I barely had any hope of even getting on the sled.

Learn how to turn and brake.

Asher should know, I was too afraid to attempt it myself.

"Are you done yet?" Asher whined loudly, his back bent over to the sled.

I scrolled down the screen to find nothing more and yelled back, "Yeah, yeah!"

"You should go to the bathroom first!" He yelled back.

"What?!" I yelled back. "We're already on top of the hill!"

He paused for a moment and yelled, "Nevermind, then!"

Why would he want me to go to the bathroom? I stomped my way towards him, struggling due to the thick snow. I asked him, "Why the bathroom?"

"If you get scared easily, you might pee yourself." He told me as if it were nothing, I dropped my jaw bemusedly.

"No, I'm not going to be like that." I argued, hitting his shoulders.

He smirked and said, "I won't worry about you, then. Wear your gloves, nah nevermind."

I took out my gloves, wearing them almost immediately. I was wearing a large and thick blue coat, a wooly beige scarf, and a beanie to top it off. Call me excessive, but I had the benefits of being warm.

He let out a deep sigh as he straightened his body posture, brushing off clumps of soft snow from his hands. He wore his gloves and took a seat on the sled, "Let's sled now."

I was becoming anxious, nervous. I hesitantly sat in front of him, sitting according to the article's tips. I felt my hands shaking in fear, but Asher placed his gloved hands above mine and said, "It'll be fun, don't worry."

I gripped tightly to the sides just like what the article said. Asher pushed off and we moved slowly. The sled began to speed up and I squealed in fear already. I heard Asher's faint chuckles as we started to go faster. It was freezing cold on my bare-skinned face, not even including the snow that sprayed everywhere.

This time, it was exciting. I screamed in the horrific excitement, speeding very fast. We went by the coniferous trees, barely crashing into it. Asher screamed as well, a very excited scream. I felt tears welling up in my eyes because of the wintry breeze, but I was deeply happy inside.

If this were fun, what more fun activities would I do with Asher?

After minutes of yelling our heart out, we finally arrived at the bottom of the hill. I felt a surge of adrenaline running through my veins, my breaths were short but I had a wide grin on my face. Asher was the first one to get off the sled, collapsing on the snow-coated ground in his back. He let out a shaky breath, but a wide grin was also spread out on his face.

I lied down next to him, feeling the coldness of the soft snow through my coat and to my skin. I said breathlessly, "That was fun."

"I told you so." He teased, laughing out loud with the sultry voice of his. "I was just like you too, but that thought changed immediately when I tried it out."

"Who convinced you?" I asked him, making a snow angel while I was lying down on the white clouds.

The grin on his face faded away and a blank look appeared on his face. He answered me, "My dad."

As soon as those words came out, I erased my grin unconsciously. He continued, "He was a good father before, but he somehow turned that way."

I remained still and silent, not knowing how to react. He explained, "It was merely a few days before Christmas, we went to a hill just like this. I was a crybaby about that, but my dad told me that it's going to be fun and I'd feel free. It was true, I felt the excitement and the freedom."

"But, my dad became stiff and short-tempered. I never knew why." He ended his explanation, a small frown appearing on his face.

"Maybe...you should take him to sled." I suggested, making the frown on his face disappear.

His lips curved a small smile and he asked me, "Really?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me from his lying down. I said, "You and your father said that sledding is fun and gives a feeling of freedom, maybe he is experiencing the lack of fun and freedom. It can't hurt to try."

He turned around to face me, merely a few inches away from me. He answered me, "Thank you, princess."

"For...?" I raised my eyebrow in confusion. It was merely a suggestion.

"For opening my eyes to see how wonderful of a woman you are."

Phew, I barely finished this chapter last minute. I'm getting distracted by the clueless self I am and the time for back to school. Ugh...

Anyway, thanks for reading my story full of grammatical errors! See you in the next chapter!