Khawst, explaining to Bennett it was a mini-vacation with her friend, Aurora.

"If you continue to hide this from your husband, how will you handle his reaction when he finds out the truth tomorrow?"

Aurora inquired as Claudia messaging with Bennett. Claudia responded shyly, "Should I just send him another message and tell him the truth now?"

Aurora grabbed her phone.

“Forget it. You can't change the fact that you've Lied to him even if you confess now! Save it for tomorrow. If he is upset, just say it was meant to be a pleasant surprise for him! Moreover, we can't be sure if he will even be there tomorrow."

Taking in Aurora's perspective, Claudia responded with an approving nod and said, "You're absolutely right, Aurora! Why didn't that cross my mind?"

Beaming with pride, Aurora teased, “Well, it's nothing special. You're not good enough at it, Cece. I told you to read more romantic novels! That's where I picked up such tricks!"

Claudia could only respond with a silent, stunned expression.

With the recent days filled with hard practice, Claudia found herself struggling to catch proper sleep. She just dozed off mid-conversation with Aurora.

After a long chat, Aurora realized Claudia was not responding. She looked over to see that Claudia had drifted into a sleep.

Aurora didn't have the heart to disturb her, letting her sleep soundly until the noise and halt of the high-speed train at the station stirred Claudia awake.

The moment they stepped off the high-speed train, Claudia spotted Amalia.

"Claudia, over here!"

Following Amalia's call, both Claudia and Aurora headed her way, hopped into Amalia's car, and proceeded to the designated hotel prepared for the competitors.

Later in the afternoon, Claudia busied herself validating some paperwork and acquainting herself with the race track.

It had been a hectic day. When Claudia finally had a moment to check her phone, it was already six in the evening.

“You're in trouble. Your husband tried reaching you multiple times,” Aurora informed her, extending her hand to give Claudia her phone.

Spotting the six missed calls, a wave of panic surged through Claudia, exclaiming, "Oh no!"

She fell asleep when she got off the high-speed train and forgot to tell Bennett that she had arrived!

Without wasting a moment, Claudia redialed hastily. The phone barely rang before Bennett picked up, inquiring, "Have you woken up?”

Hearing this, Claudia was stunned and took a look at Aurora subconsciously.

Interpreting Aurora's self-satisfied grin correctly, a flurry of nerves kicked in as Claudia replied hesitantly, "Yes, I'm awake. The ride seemed to have caused some motion sickness. I've been resting since I got to the hotel and forgot to message you. I'm really sorry, Bennett." Aware that she was at fault, Claudia extended a heartfelt apology. Unbeknownst to her, her genuine regret carried a hint of playful flirting.

Catching this tone, Aurora couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

Just then, Amalia returned from a chat with the event organizers’ staff. Seeing her approach, Aurora quickly stopped her, advising, “Don't go over yet. She's talking to her husband. It's not really our place, as singles, to eavesdrop!"