The Indifference of a Man Forgotten (BOOK I)

Chapter 5- A Willing Risk

--Dahlia POV--

"Oh my god! That was amazing!" Isaac screamed, possibly more surprised than I was as I laughed, waving at the large crowd before I skated over to him as fast as I could, jumping off the ice, and into his open arms, both of us almost falling back onto the ground.

"Did I do good?" I asked.

"Good? That was beyond unbelievable," If he carried on complimenting me as much as he was then my head would grow larger than a watermelon, but nonetheless, I took the compliment with a prideful grin.

"Thank you," I sighed, tightening my arms around him as I hugged him tighter.

"Dahlia, Dahlia come on. The interviewers are waiting," Daniel, my coach walked over to me, followed by a few crew members. One of them handed me a water bottle as I took the beverage, gulping it down, and only now realising how thirsty I was while the other crew members helped to tidy me up, neatening my hair, patting some powder onto my face, and throwing a blanket over my cold shoulders as I latched onto the soft material.

"I'll wait outside your changing room, meet me there once you're done with everything," Isaac gestured to the distance as I nodded along, sparing him a small smile as he replied with a wink.

It's been five years since I graduated from high school, and I was currently 23 years of age. Ever since I somehow managed to win a gold medal at the Olympics almost 3 years ago, my career skyrocketed to beyond what I could have possibly dreamed of. 

And most nights I lay awake at night, thinking that it's all going too smoothly to be real, but despite that pessimism, I like to believe that I've become better at being optimistic rather than pessimistic, I'm trying.

Ever since the Olympics, I've won various other medals; Gold, silver, and bronze from all sorts of competitions hosted all over the world, the Grand Prix being one of the many. And I gave every single one of my medals to my dads' who framed them on the walls of our home. While I've been busy travelling the world, I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like with my family, so I asked Daniel to cut back on the amount of competitions I partake in.

"Dahlia, that was a beautiful performance today," One of the interviewers started as I stood in front of the board, smiling through all the bright flashes of their lights.

"Thank you," I gratefully nodded.

"What was your inspiration for the performance?"

"As I stated in the press conference a few days ago, my theme was 'unrequited love'. The story of a girl who fell in love with a man that didn't love her back, and it's the journey of her overcoming those heavy feelings. The inspiration was none other than my own life story," I explained.

"You mean to tell us that there's a man out there that didn't accept your love?" She said as if it were a crazy idea. I don't know if I should be offended or complimented by that.

"My love isn't something that I want anyone to feel like they have to accept. He didn't love me, and I can't hate him for it because you can't choose who you love," Is what I chose to say after a little bit of thought.

"What do you have in store for your next competition? And what competition will you be competing in?" Another reporter cut in as he shoved himself forward with his outstretched mic.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that I'll be cutting back on the number of competitions I'll compete in for the next few months, I want to relax a little, and spend time with my family back home in Rome... And as for what I have in store, well, you'll be surprised to know, so I won't go spilling any secrets," Those words did well to rile them up as I waved, going to leave the area.