Chapter 121: Rescue Mission: Closet Edition
ISABELLA’S POV
The sound of our front door unlocking at exactly 9:04 a.m. could only mean one thing: chaos was here.
Sure enough, Aria breezed in a second later like she owned the place, arms full of iced coffee and judgment.
I was curled up on the couch in an old T-shirt and sweatpants that had officially graduated from ’lounge’ to ’pajama’ status, a blanket draped over me like armor against the outside world. Laptop open but I was mostly scrolling through my phone with the enthusiasm of a cat sunbathing—utterly content and completely useless.
The house was quiet—Dad had left early for the clinic, and Leo was off somewhere, probably buried in lectures—or skipping them entirely. Either way, he wasn’t here to witness the chaos that just walked in.
"You look comfortable," Aria said flatly, setting one of the coffees on the table in front of me like a bribe.
"I am," I replied, feeling like a professional couch potato pretending to be a remote-working guru. "Tried to tell myself I was working." I gestured vaguely at the laptop.
Aria snorted—a sound loaded with disbelief. Aria dumped her large, overflowing tote bag onto the armchair opposite me.
"Well, congratulations on failing spectacularly," she said, already digging through her bag without even sitting down. "Good thing you have a friend who arrived precisely at the moment you needed saving from yourself."
"Saving or kidnapping?" I mumbled into my tea cup, taking a blessed sip. The sharp, bitter taste cut through the morning haze like a lifeline.
She ignored the question, which was typical. "Okay, brace yourself. Disaster has struck."