POV – Tasha

How could he choose her over me?

I mean, sure, she's gorgeous. I'd heard about her exotic good looks and perfect hair long before we'd met, but I'd always pictured her as some cute little teenage girl. But that first day, when she crossed over to the frozen pond in stride with Dimka, I realized I'd pictured her all wrong. She was no kid, and she was stunning.

She's walked beside Dimka in an almost possessive way that had me immediately on edge, though I did a convincing job of hiding it behind my calm, cheerful face. My acting skills have always served me well. When I spoke to her, her clear, almost musical voice was wary but not unfriendly. It was harder to keep my cheerful-Tasha façade when she threw those snarky little comments at Dimka and called him teasing nicknames, as he smiled back at her knowingly. I knew he was her mentor, but I didn't realize that they were this close.

Later, at the ski lodge, I let my guard down a bit, convinced that Dimka was mine. He'd nearly agreed to my offer of a life together, and I was sure that Rose was out of the picture. But then, after the horrific events at Spokane, I could see it in his eyes as soon as he asked to speak with me privately.

He turned me down.

In his apologetic explanation, he didn't say anything about her, but of course I knew. Once again, I put on my mask and acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. We parted as friends, and he seemed relieved. Inwardly, though, I was seething. Everything was perfect, and she had ruined it. I didn't know how or when, but I knew that I was going to take Rose Hathaway down.