Hello everyone! I'm now going to start posting the introductory chapters of the characters that will be introduced in Cold Heart. I won't post all of them at once, but one or two here and there while also posting missing scenes and stuff :) Enjoy!

New Character #1: Carmen

The sky above New York was as clear of clouds as it could be in a big city. A perfect day for walking around doing some shopping with friends, Carmen thought, as well as having some proper girl-talk. Even if she, Heather and Jennifer were all in the same school and sometimes had joint classes they never seemed to have time to talk about stuff other than studies. They needed a break from that and today was that day.

The three of them had met up outside of Heather's apartment complex in Manhattan. Her parents, both of them wealthy British researchers, had made sure she stayed in the "right neighbourhood" upon moving to New York. Carmen did feel a bit jealous about not being able to do the right thing; she lived in a small dorm room an hour away from campus and still struggled with her rent, while Heather had two rooms and a kitchen all to herself. The only positive thing about the dorms was that Jennifer lived there as well; she came from Australia and had befriended Carmen during their first lecture, after which they had been inseparable. Heather often lamented that she was the third wheel in the group, but it never seemed to bother her too much.

They started early and went to all of their favourite stores, both looking at fancy clothes that were far too expensive for university students and buying new, cheaper alternatives.

While they were waiting in line to pay for their purchases at an H&M store on Broadway, Carmen's most dreaded subject was brought up; her boyfriend, Jeremy.

"I haven't seen him around for a while", Heather said. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, sure", Carmen replied. Heather raised an eyebrow at her, prompting her to elaborate.

"He's away doing research in Vancouver. We're fine, though. I mean, we text each other every day and try to Skype when we're both free."

"You sure?" Heather asked and accepted her bagged purchase from the shop assistant. "Because you two seemed to be drifting apart even before he went on this trip."

Carmen avoided the red-haired Brit's gaze as she paid for her purchase.

"He's just a busy guy", she said. "It'll be better once this semester's done for him."

"You said that last semester as well", Jennifer pointed out. She rarely criticized Jeremy, unlike Heather, which made Carmen even more nervous about her boyfriend's whereabouts. Jeremy was, in her parents' eyes, the perfect boyfriend; well-mannered, educated and once he was done with his studies he would be able to get a job that provided a lot of money for a future family. Carmen had fallen desperately in love with him the moment they met, when she had visited the university she now attended about a year and a half ago and he had showed them around. He had taken an interest in her as well, so they had exchanged e-mails and phone numbers. They had moved quickly from being "just friends" to "boyfriend and girlfriend" – a little too quickly in the eyes of some people. Carmen could not have cared any less; after all, she was dating the most perfect guy in the universe.

It was not until she had started attending university herself that things had become a bit more difficult. The long-distance relationship had worked much better for them than this, because now people expected them to meet up as often as possible. However their schedules never seemed to allow more than a quick coffee two or three times per week and now that Jeremy was off working on a research project in his old hometown, the whispered rumours about them drifting apart had started to get to Carmen.

"We're fine", she now insisted as they headed out of the store. Heather sighed loudly, but did not continue the discussion.

"We should get some coffee", Jennifer said, breaking the ice. "Anyone know where we should go?"

Carmen looked around and was about to suggest the nearest Starbucks when she spotted a flyer on a nearby wall.

Time for a coffee break?

Head over to the Enchanted Forest

for the most magical cup of coffee

you've ever had

89 Wooster Street, New York

"Guys, what about this place?" Carmen asked and plucked the flyer from the wall. "It's just a couple of blocks away, shouldn't take more than five minutes to walk."

"Sounds great", Heather said. "I hope they have tea as well."

"What café doesn't have tea?" Jennifer asked.

"Starbucks' tea is dreadful", Heather muttered, causing the other two to laugh as they started to walk in the direction of Wooster Street.