Chapter 149 Chapter 149

Chapter 149 Chapter 149

Mia had the suitcase open on the bed and half of her clothes already stacked in uneven piles when the bedroom door swung open without a knock.

Sophia stood there with two bags of her own one duffel over her shoulder and a smaller tote in her hand grinning like she had just won something.

“Surprise,” she said. “You’re not going without me.”

Mia straightened, a folded sweater still in her hands. “How did you even…”

“Victoria mentioned you were taking a few days at your parents’. I called your mom to confirm. Then I packed and I came.” Sophia dropped both bags on the floor and kicked the door shut behind her. “You’re welcome.”

Mia stared at her for a second before the smile broke through. “You’re serious.”

“Dead serious. Three days of normal life? I’m not letting you do that alone. Besides, your mom already said the guest room is made up for me.”

Mia laughed, the first real, light sound she had made in days. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I’m the best friend you’ve got. Now move over. I’m helping you pack so you don’t take three of the same black top and forget actual pajamas.”

Sophia crossed to the bed and started going through the piles without waiting for permission.

She held up a dress Mia had already set aside. “Too formal you’re going home, not to a sponsor dinner.”

“I know. I was still deciding.”

“Decide less and pack comfortable.” Sophia tossed the dress back toward the closet and reached for a soft hoodie instead. “This and these jeans. And that oversized shirt you always steal from Kai’s side of the wardrobe.”

Mia sat on the edge of the bed, watching her friend take over. “I still can’t believe you just showed up with bags.”

“I heard ‘parents’ house’ and ‘three days’ and my brain immediately said road trip energy. Even if it’s just a drive across town.”

Sophia looked up, eyes bright. “We’re going to cook with your mom. We’re going to let your dad talk about old engines for too long. We’re going to stay up too late on the back porch and not think about contracts or Veronica or any of it. Tell me that doesn’t sound perfect.”

“It does,” Mia admitted. “It really does.”

They packed together after that, the conversation moving easily. Sophia asked about the guest room windows and whether Mia’s mom still made the same cinnamon bread on weekends. Mia told her about the uneven step on the back porch and how her dad would probably try to show them some new tool he had bought and not used yet. They laughed about old high-school stories that still lived in that house. For a while the bedroom felt nothing like the rest of the mansion no tension, no careful wording, just two friends getting ready to leave.

Sophia held up a pair of sneakers. “You’re taking these, right? Please don’t pack those heels you wore to the last event.”

“I’m not packing heels.”

“Great because if I show up at your parents’ house in anything that looks like a public appearance outfit, your mom will know something’s wrong with me.”

Mia grinned and added the sneakers to the suitcase. “She’s going to be so happy you’re coming. She asks about you every time we talk.”

“As she should.” Sophia zipped one side of the suitcase, then paused. “You okay, though? For real. Not just the packing version of okay.”

Mia’s hands stilled on a stack of shirts. “I will be, I need the quiet. I need to sit at their table and not feel like every word is being measured. That’s all.”

Sophia nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do, nothing serious, Just home.”

They were almost finished when the door opened again. Kai stepped in, eyes moving from the open suitcase to Sophia’s bags on the floor, then to the two of them.

“So this is a group trip now,” he said.

Sophia didn’t miss a beat. “It is. Hope that’s not a problem.”

“It’s not.” He walked further in and looked at Mia. “Are you almost ready?”

“Almost.” She closed the lid of the suitcase and locked the zipper. “Sophia’s coming with me. My parents already know.”

Kai gave a small nod, then reached for the suitcase handle. “I’ll take this down.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I know.” He lifted it easily. “I’m still taking it.”

He carried the suitcase out of the room and down the stairs. Sophia raised her eyebrows at Mia once he was gone.

“He’s being very cooperative about this whole leaving thing.”

“He said he was fine with it,” Mia answered. “I think he actually means it.”

“That’s good, because I would have fought him if he tried to look sad about it.”

They gathered the last of the smaller bags and followed him downstairs. The driver already had the car waiting in the front drive. Kai loaded Mia’s suitcase into the trunk, then stepped back as Sophia put her own bags in. Sophia climbed into the back seat first, leaving the door open. She looked between the two of them and gave Mia a pointed little smile.

“I’ll just… check the playlist,” she said, and deliberately turned her attention to her phone, giving them the moment.

Kai waited until Sophia was settled, then turned to Mia. For a second he only looked at her. Then his hand settled at her waist and pulled her in with a sudden, firm tug until she was against him.

Mia’s hands came up automatically to his chest. “Kai….”

“Don’t miss me too much,” he said, voice low enough that it stayed between them.

She tried to keep her expression even. “I won’t have time to miss you. Sophia talks enough for three people.”

“Liar.” His thumb pressed once against her side. “Three days, that’s all. Then you’re back here.”

“I know.”

He held her there a moment longer, the quiet of the driveway settling around them. Then he leaned in and kissed her short, warm, and deliberate before letting go.

“Go,” he said. “Before I change my mind about being mature about this.”

Mia stepped back, the corner of her mouth lifting. “You’re doing fine.”

“I’m doing acceptable. There’s a difference.”

She walked around to the open door and slid into the car beside Sophia. Kai closed the door for her, then rested one hand on the roof of the car and looked in through the window.

“Text me when you get there.”

“I will.”

Sophia leaned forward enough to be seen. “I’ll make sure she eats and sleeps and doesn’t check racing news. You’re welcome.”

Kai’s mouth twitched. “Appreciated.”

He stepped back. The driver started the engine. As the car pulled away from the front of the house, Mia glanced through the rear window. Kai was still standing in the driveway, hands in his pockets, watching them go. Sophia waited until they had cleared the gate before she spoke again.

“He pulled you in like he was about to ask you to stay.”

Mia kept her eyes on the road ahead. “He told me not to miss him too much.”

“And you believed that was the whole message?”

“I believed he was trying to make leaving easier.”

Sophia smiled and settled back into the seat. “Three days with your mom’s cooking with no cameras and the witch, This is going to be good for you.”

Mia let her head rest against the seat. The mansion was already behind them. Ahead of her was the familiar route toward her parents’ house, a suitcase in the trunk, her best friend beside her, and the first real stretch of quiet she had been allowed in weeks.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “It’s going to be good.”