Chapter 4

During the hour-long drive to the beach villa after landing, Julian ignored me completely.

He held Sloane's hand the whole way, turning a blind eye to my luggage.

I dragged two heavy suitcases across the cobblestone roads all by myself. The friction left red welts on my palms.

But I didn't whine about the pain like I used to, nor did I ask him for help.

The moment I dropped my bags inside the villa, Sloane sauntered over.

She rudely snatched the tablet from my hands. "Let's see what kind of itinerary our little princess made."

The screen displayed an incredibly detailed travel route for Amalfi.

It even detailed which table at which restaurant had the best sunset view, and which part of the coastline had the softest breeze.

The AI had mapped it out for me.

Sloane's face changed. She yelled out in an exaggerated, jealous tone, "Oh my God, Julian! You treat Aria way too well! This itinerary even says what time she should drink water. You can't even remember your own schedule, but you made something this detailed for her!"

Julian, who was replying to texts on the couch, jerked his head up.

He strode over, snatched the tablet from Sloane, and after a single glance, his brows locked into a hard frown.

The layout was completely foreign. The level of detail was foreign. It wasn't his work at all.

"Who made this?" He glared at me, his tone laced with inexplicable jealousy and caution.

"Give it back." I snatched the tablet back, annoyed. "It has nothing to do with you. You're invading my privacy."

I didn't mean any harm. I was just sick of these two ruining my graduation trip.

But Sloane twisted my words. She stepped back, her eyes going red.

"I'm sorry, Aria..." She bit her lip, looking utterly victimized. "It's my fault. A girl from a minor family like me just lacks manners. I don't deserve to look at a precious princess's things. I'll just leave, okay?"

With that, she pretended to run out.

"Sloane!" Julian pulled her into his arms. He turned back, his eyes bloodshot with rage, glaring daggers at me.

"Aria, what the hell is your problem? Over a stupid itinerary, you're going to force Sloane out? Since when did you become so unreasonable!"

He blamed everything on me out of habit. He trampled all over me for Sloane out of habit.

But this time, I didn't bow my head and apologize like before.

Looking at them holding each other so tightly, I suddenly felt that Sloane actually got one thing right.

"You're right." I met Julian's furious glare and fired back without hesitation. "It is a big deal. Someone put their heart into designing this for me. It's not just a 'stupid itinerary.' And honestly? Having you two look at it disgusts me."

"You..." Julian's face turned livid, probably unable to believe I would ever speak to him like that.

I ignored his shocked face, picked up my drawing board, and walked straight past him.

"Enjoy playing your little tragic romance. I'm going to see the ocean."

When I pushed open the villa doors, I didn't even look back once.

Following the AI's route, I walked alone along the cliffside path for an hour.

Until the deep blue Mediterranean Sea crashed into my view, wild and untamed.

I stood at the edge of the cliff, the sea breeze whipping my hair.

I'd always wanted to see the ocean.

The first time I ever wanted to was when I was eighteen. Julian got drunk and pulled me into his arms, and I smelled the salty sea breeze on his leather jacket.

His ears had gone red as he awkwardly promised me, "When you graduate college, I'll take you to see the sea."

But now, I was finally here, and I only had the wind to keep me company.

I held up my phone, snapped a picture of the sparkling water, and sent it to the AI.

"I'm here. It's beautiful."

The second I hit send, a reply popped onto the screen.

"Turn around."

My heart stopped, then began pounding violently against my ribs.

Those words carried some impossible magic, instantly shattering all my logic.

I gripped my phone and spun around.

And then, I froze.

In my line of sight, there was no mysterious figure.

There was only Julian and Sloane.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and looked frantically past them.

There was nothing.