All Chapters of Left Behind on Our Eighth Anniversary Trip, I Found a New Horizon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

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 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 righ

I looked at the mountains in the distance."Somewhere I like."Aiden went silent. Then it seemed to click. "You went to see the northern lights? Why?""Because I wanted to."His voice sharpened. "Scarlett! Can you stop behaving like a child? Going somewhere that far away by yourself is dangerous. I promised I'd take you to see the northern lights another time. Couldn't you wait?"There it was again. Wait. Another time. I'd heard enough."Aiden, you've promised me 'another time' too many times. I'm done waiting."He paused, then softened his voice. "Are you angry because I forgot you hadn't gotten into the car that night? I was careless. I didn't notice you weren't there. But we were already so far away, and if we'd turned back, we would have missed the blue flames. Then the whole trip would've been wasted. Besides, I knew you could find your own way there."I gave a humorless laugh."Aiden, why should I have to catch up with you? I never wanted that trip in the first place. And the sec

I went inside to rest. Aiden stayed outside in the freezing cold, refusing to leave.That evening, Karina shoved my door open and stormed in."Scarlett, I know you're angry, but Aiden is freezing out there. Don't you care at all? And we rushed here before we could even check out the location for our new company. Do you know how hard it was to find that place? Someone else could take it before we get back—"I cut her off. "What does any of that have to do with me?"Karina stared at me, speechless for a second. Then her voice rose. "How can you say that? You planned the whole trip! You knew we were supposed to check out the site on the way back, but you canceled everything anyway. You did all this just to force us to come after you, didn't you?"I couldn't believe what I was hearing."I booked those hotels and restaurants, and I paid for them. Why would I keep paying for a trip I'm not even on?"I stared at her. "You had no problem leaving me stranded. Why are you so shocked that I cance

Aiden stayed in Veythira for five days.Every morning, breakfast appeared outside my door.Years ago, that would've made me happy.Now it just irritated me.I finally called him. "Aiden, if you don't want me to hate you, stop coming here."On the fifth day, Karina showed up instead.She planted herself outside my door and refused to leave."Scarlett, fine. You win."I stared at her, having no idea what she was talking about.She closed her eyes and forced out the words. "Aiden quit the company and backed out of starting one with me. All he thinks about is you. Now he's looking for work here so he can stay near you. He threw away his entire future for you. Happy now?"I smiled."I wasn't competing with you, so there's nothing for me to win."Karina scowled."Scarlett, what is your problem? I understand Aiden better than anyone. We like the same things. We want the same things. If you didn't really love him, why did you stay for eight years just to dump him now?"By the time she finished