[COLE]
Cole didn't check his messages often—too many reports, business proposals, and useless fluff from people pretending to know him.
But when Estelle's name popped up with the caption: "You might want to see this."—he paused.
It was a simple photo at first glance. A selfie of Iraya, smiling beside her new boyfriend, snowflakes caught in her hair like glittering stars.
The backdrop was unmistakable—Frizkiel. That frozen corner of the world where people disappeared into silence and snow.
But Cole's eyes didn't rest on her or the man beside her.
They were drawn to the blurred crowd behind them. Just a cluster of locals caught in the shot by accident.
A mother hurrying across the street, wrapped in a thick wool scarf, a bundled baby cradled to her chest. He almost scrolled past—until something clawed at his chest.
His eyes narrowed.
He zoomed in. The pixels warped.
