Rolling her eyes, Ariana put her phone away. She glanced towards her villa, muttering to herself, “If he wants me home early, he should leave first."

She remained squatting in the bushes, enduring Holden's messages popping up every ten minutes like clockwork, asking, “Have you made it home yet?"

“Not yet," Ariana responded sporadically, deliberately ignoring some of his messages. Her replies were intermittent until her phone finally powered off due to a low battery, forcing her to put it away.

She lingered a bit longer, and by around nine in the evening, she finally saw Holden emerging from the villa, driving to leave.

With a sigh of relief, Ariana steadied herself against a tree, her legs protesting from the prolonged crouching. She limped out of the bushes, one step at a time.