How Does Cold Shot End?

BLURB Maya Chen thought the worst day of her life was when her husband Ethan Hart divorced her after three years of marriage, replacing her with her best friend Vanessa. But when the world ends in an extreme cold apocalypse weeks later, Maya realizes her personal hell was only the beginning. Given a second chance when she mysteriously wakes up one month before her wedding, Maya has thirty days to rewrite her fate. She must decide whether to save the people who will betray her, whether to trust the dangerous investigator who offers her revenge, and whether to warn a world that won't believe her about the frozen doom coming for them all. As temperatures plummet and civilization crumbles, Maya discovers that survival isn't just about stockpiling supplies. It's about choosing who deserves to live and who deserves to freeze. And when Ethan realizes what he's lost and comes crawling back, Maya will have to decide if some betrayals are worth forgiving—or if revenge is a dish best served frozen.

Ean's face twisted with anger as he grabbed me by the arm, dragging me toward the old, rusted freezer in the corner of the warehouse. "You're going to feel what Helen felt," he spat. "Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with her." I struggled against him, panic rising in my chest. "Ean, this is insane! It was an accident! Let me explain—" He wasn’t listening. He shoved me inside the freezing metal box and slammed the door shut. The echo of the lock clicking into place made my heart pound in my ears. I banged on the door with my fists. "Ean, please! You can’t do this!" I screamed, but the sound of his footsteps grew fainter as he walked away. He left me with nothing but a single bowl of water, like I was some kind of prisoner. I slumped against the cold metal, shivering. The temperature plummeted almost instantly. The hum of the freezer kicked in, and I realized too late—it wasn’t broken like he thought. It was working, and I was trapped. My body shook uncontrollably as the cold seeped into my bones. I screamed for help until my throat was raw, clawing at the walls in desperation. My bloody handprints smeared across the icy surface, a silent plea for mercy that no one would hear. Seven days passed. When Ean finally returned, the look on his face was one of smug satisfaction. He had expected me to beg, to apologize. But when they pried open the freezer, all they found was my frozen body, stiff and silent, my suffering long over.

Eli Rayes is everything Frieda Frost hates: Rich, arrogant, emotionally unavailable, and adored by everyone. With perfect grades, a promising hockey career, and a reputation as the school's golden boy, he seems to have life handed to him on a silver platter. Unlike her, who has to struggle for everything. Fierce, stubborn, and determined to escape the financial mess her family is drowning in, Frieda has spent years working toward the Global Excellence Scholarship. She is determined not to let anyone stand in her way. Not her classmates, not her teachers, and definitely not the hot hockey player who couldn't take his eyes off her. She wants this scholarship more than anyone else. But unfortunately, Eli wants it too. What starts as academic sabotage quickly turns into an all-out war. Humiliating pranks. Rumors. Public arguments. Neither of them is willing to back down. But things became far more complicated when their parents announced they were dating. Forced into each other's lives outside school, Frieda and Eli discover that beneath the insults and endless battles lies a dangerous attraction neither of them can ignore. But with jealous exes, hidden family secrets, betrayals, and a scholarship only one of them can win, falling in love may be the biggest mistake they ever make. After all, when fire meets ice, someone is bound to get burned.

The fake daughter only sneezed. My three brothers reacted as if she were on her deathbed, crowding around her anxiously and refusing to let her out of their sight. So when she pointed her finger at me again, insisting I had shoved her into the pool, they accepted her story without a second thought. They hauled me to a deserted walk-in freezer, sealed the door behind me at -58°F, and made sure the only escape was out of reach. I screamed for my oldest brother, the CEO, to let me out. He called me a cruel attention seeker. I begged my second brother, the doctor. He told me I finally got what I deserved. I begged my third brother, the big-shot attorney. He just sneered. "You've always been jealous of Chloe. Now you pushed her into the pool when you knew she was fragile? You really are rotten. Someone like you needs to stay in there and cool off." Then, they bundled Chloe into their arms and rushed her to the hospital over a sneeze. Bit by bit, warmth seeped from my body, until it seemed like ice was flowing through my veins instead of blood. After thirty-six hours, I slipped away, lost to the cold. Three days later, Chloe returned from the hospital, and only then did my brothers remember I existed. But by then, the freezer had already claimed me.

I caught my boyfriend sleeping with my cousin/best friend. And three days later, I became the campus slut. A single edited recording was all it took for everyone to turn against me. My boyfriend, my cousin, my teammates, even the aunt and uncle who raised me — they all believed the lies. Overnight, I lost my place on the hockey team, my scholarship, my reputation, and the only family I had left. Cast out and humiliated, I transferred to a distant university with one goal: Start over. I thought that leaving would end my nightmare but I was wrong. My new team hates me. Their captain wants me gone. And my new coach, Vance Sterling, looks at me like I'm the last person he wants on his ice. But hatred quickly turns into something neither of us can control. Stolen glances become secret touches, late-night practices become forbidden kisses. And before I realize it, I'm falling for the one man I can never have. The problem is that if our relationship is exposed, we'll both lose everything. Worse, the enemies who destroyed my life aren't finished with me yet. My jealous cousin. My cheating ex. A bitter rival determined to take my place. They're willing to lie, scheme, and destroy anyone who stands in their way, including the man I love. Now I'm caught between the career I've spent my whole life building and a forbidden love that could cost me everything. And when a shocking secret from Vance's past collides with mine, I discover that the people who ruined our lives have been connected all along. They thought they broke me. Instead, they created something far more dangerous. The Ice Queen is coming for her crown.

A disgraced college hockey star facing a career ending scandal must fake date the cynical campus journalist who detests him all for the cameras of a high stakes reality TV show. The Setup: Jaxson Reed is one step away from the NHL draft when a viral video of a campus fight brands him a violent liability. Facing immediate suspension, his only lifeline is a deal struck by the athletic board and a streaming network: star in a new campus reality show, Beyond the Ice, and use a wholesome "fake girlfriend" to rehabilitate his image. Summer Brooks is a fierce journalism major who hates sports privilege. But when her tuition funding falls through weeks before graduation, she’s backed into a corner. In exchange for playing Jaxson’s devoted partner on television, the network agrees to pay her tuition in full and secure her post-grad career. The Conflict: The rules are simple: fake it for the cameras, ignore the mutual dislike, and don't catch feelings. But forced proximity quickly blurs the lines. Behind the script, they discover the truth about each other’s hidden vulnerabilities, and their bitter rivalry ignites into a very real, terrifying love. The Climax: Just as they find solid ground, the show's producers leak old footage of Summer admitting she took the gig purely for the money. With the championship game hours away, Jaxson feels utterly betrayed, and their contract dissolves in front of millions. To save his career and win back his trust, Summer must step away from the script, risk her own future, and expose the truth before the final buzzer sounds proving that sometimes, the most authentic love stories are the ones you never planned to write.