Her furrowed brow signified a lack of recognition, and the call did not possess the characteristics of a prank.

“Hello? Who is this? If you remain silent, I'll end the call."

At that juncture, Adele chimed in, softly uttering, “Aria.”

Ariana recognized it instantly, and a pleasant surprise overcame her.

She inquired, "Is this Adele?"

Adele replied with a soft, affirmative “Mmm.”

The call from Adele brought joy to Ariana, but a fleeting memory gave her pause. After a brief hesitation, she queried, “Is your daddy there, too? Is this his phone?"

Adele muttered a response and then said, "Go out.”

Ariana knew that Adele meant Holden wasn't around. She checked the unfamiliar number on her phone and thought that it was probably his other number.

Without dwelling on it, Ariana smiled and conversed with Adele.

Adele's words were scarce and sporadic, yet Ariana managed to understand her, and Adele listened attentively, responding to most of what Ariana shared.

As time passed, Ariana heard Adele yawn, so she comforted her before ending the call.

After that, Ariana's phone screen stayed on the call-ending interface.

Emotions swirled inside her as she gazed at the number.

She clicked to exit and noticed a ten-minute call record from Holden.

There was a high probability that Holden was the one who had rescued her once again.

Ariana had lost track of how many times Holden had rescued her.

Feeling frustrated, she ran her fingers through her hair. Her plan to keep a safe distance from Holden was failing as their connection deepened.

Now, even when she saw Adele, she couldn't help but consider Holden first. She tried to create space between them but had now found herself indebted to him and trapped in a cycle of favors.

Overwhelmed, she lay on her bed and pulled the covers over her head.