Chapter 4

Karina scoffed, "Aiden, you've really spoiled her. The second something goes wrong, everyone has to drop everything for her. She's your manager, not your babysitter. Does she really need you by her side every second?"

I almost laughed out of sheer frustration.

My boyfriend had left me stranded in the middle of nowhere, and somehow that was no big deal.

Apparently, seeing and filming those blue flames mattered more than his girlfriend.

The water in my cup had gone cold, but the red marks the heat had left on my palms were still there.

"Fine," I said.

Aiden sighed in relief. "Message me when you get here. We'll wait. Don't pull a long face. This is supposed to be a vacation. Cheer up!"

I didn't answer.

I simply hung up.

A gust of wind blew sand into my eyes. They burned, and tears started falling.

I thought about what my friend Maya had told me before I left.

"Are you really going to hike a volcano with them? You come back with blisters every time you travel with those two."

She was right. I hated hiking, yet I kept forcing myself through it for Aiden.

And when Maya criticized him, I'd defended him.

"It's fine. This is our eighth-anniversary trip. It's special. Work will get crazy after this, so it'll probably be our last trip this year."

Turns out, I was right. It would be our last trip.

I opened the booking app and bought a ticket to Veythira.

I thought about the glass room I'd canceled, surrounded by the sea on three sides.

The northern lights I'd dreamed of seeing.

The snow-covered coast.

And Veythira was also home to a Veyra Media branch, where I'd quietly become a partner.

Just last week, they'd asked me to join them and help expand the branch.

I still hadn't given them an answer.

I'd hesitated because of Aiden.

"Scarlett, I don't like the idea of you working so far away. Karina and I are starting a production company. Why don't you come with us and stay on as my manager?"

I hadn't said no. But not because I wanted to join the production company.

After managing Aiden for so many years, I'd finally started to realize how many choices I'd made around him instead of myself.

Fortunately, I had finally come to my senses.

I opened my bookings and canceled every hotel, restaurant, and campsite I'd reserved for the rest of the trip.

I'd booked them. I'd paid the deposits.

If they wanted a vacation without me, they could plan it themselves.

Then I opened my messages and texted Maya: "I'm skipping the volcano hike. I want to see the northern lights in the snow."

Despite the late hour, she replied right away, "Go for it, babe. You've spent long enough taking care of everyone else. Start taking care of yourself."

My eyes filled with tears.

I wiped them away, grabbed my suitcase, and called a cab.

On the way to the airport, I deleted every photo of Aiden and me.

I reassigned Aiden and Karina to a new manager, then deleted their numbers.

People who no longer mattered had no place in my contact list.