Chapter 2

Aiden and Karina chatted nonstop during the drive.

Aiden teased her in his usual lazy tone, "Karina, next time you want to turn a man down, don't use me as your shield. I have a girlfriend, you know."

Karina laughed and kicked playfully at him.

"What's wrong with pretending to date a gorgeous, famous influencer? Or do you want to make it real?"

He was driving. It was dangerous, and I almost told her to stop.

But Aiden simply took one hand off the wheel, caught her ankle, and pushed her foot down.

"Karina, knock it off."

The words died in my throat.

Was I supposed to be grateful that he still remembered he had a girlfriend?

He might have said he was taken, but he did nothing to stop Karina from flirting with him.

I sat in the back, watching the trees blur past the window.

My phone's GPS chimed twice.

"Aiden, you're going the wrong way. This way takes longer."

They ignored me. A while later, Aiden pulled into a karaoke restaurant.

I looked at the table full of spicy, greasy food, then at Karina singing into the microphone.

"Aiden, your throat can't handle this. I just got you a new role, and you can't lose your voice. Get something mild instead."

Karina passed Aiden the microphone. "Please. Bland food is as depressing as diet food. We're on vacation. Forget about work for once."

Aiden laughed and agreed, "All right. Whatever you want."

I frowned.

"Aiden, remember the last time your throat flared up? You couldn't even say your lines—"

"Scarlett." Aiden cut me off impatiently. "We're supposed to be having fun. Can you stop killing the mood? It's just dinner and karaoke. I'll be fine."

So Aiden ate whatever he wanted and sang until he was hoarse.

Half an hour later, his voice was gone and his throat was burning.

Out of habit, I took out his lozenges, poured him some water, and handed them over.

Karina lounged beside him, chin resting on one hand as she swung her legs.

"Scarlett, do you mother all your clients like this?"

Aiden paused with the water halfway to his mouth, then laughed.

"She's always been like this. I'm used to it."

I went still. I'd cared for him because he was my boyfriend. But with one sentence, Karina made it sound like I treated every client this way.

That afternoon, we continued toward the volcano.

The sky was overcast, and rain looked likely.

I reminded Aiden, "Slow down. The road gets really winding up ahead."

Karina kept taking pictures without even looking at me.

"Scarlett, if you're that bored, lie down and sleep. Don't distract him while he's driving."

Aiden laughed along with her. "Be good, Scarlett. Close your eyes."

I gripped the seat belt and said nothing more.

The road became more winding, and my carsickness quickly got worse.

My stomach churned, and cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

I searched my bag for my motion-sickness pills. Then I remembered I'd given them to Aiden at lunch when I pulled out his lozenges. I had no idea where he'd put them.

I called out to him, "Aiden, could you pull over? I need to buy some medicine."

He said okay without really listening. The music was too loud.

Karina was busy showing him a video that had just gone viral.

"Look, Aiden! I just posted the video of us singing, and tons of people are saying we sound great!"

Aiden glanced at it. "Not bad. Maybe I've got a future in music."

They both burst out laughing.

I curled up in the back seat with one hand over my stomach and closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch them.

But there was no escaping the pain.