Isabelle stared at the message for a long moment, her thumb hovering above the screen.

He had sent it hours ago, around noon, when she was probably still unpacking with Rina.

A pang of guilt suddenly stirred in her chest as she looked at the message, before she typed quickly, “Sorry. I just saw this. We arrived safely.”

After a moment, she hesitated and added, “How’s Aimee?”

She sent it before she could overthink.

The reply came faster than she expected.

“She’s fine. She waited ...