They Bet On My Flight, So I Booked One To Iceland Chapter 04

They Bet On My Flight, So I Booked One To Iceland Chapter 04

His gaze flickered.

“The cancellation hadn’t fully processed yet, so your coffee purchase still triggered an alert on my account.”

“So you were tracking my purchases?”

“That’s called worrying about you.” Mason frowned. “Don’t make caring about you sound like something sinister.”

Chloe reached for my backpack.

“Come on. I’ll carry it for you. It’s so stuffed. Don’t tell me it’s full of winter clothes.”

I held down the strap.

“Don’t touch it.”

She paused, and the ingratiating smile disappeared from her face.

“Why are you being so mean today? It’s not like I’m some stranger.”

Mason lowered his voice.

“Avery, there are people everywhere. Don’t make a scene.”

I looked up at him.

“I’m the one making a scene?”

Chloe suddenly grabbed the strap of my backpack.

“I’m looking anyway. Mason and I made another bet on the way here. I said your bag was empty and just for show.”

She yanked hard.

I instinctively pulled it back.

The strap dug into the web of my hand, and the zipper burst open under the strain.

A second later, the backpack crashed onto the floor.

The padded laptop sleeve slid out, and the computer inside struck the marble with a dull thud.

The screen shattered, and one corner of the casing bent upward.

Every sound around me seemed to disappear.

I crouched down and touched the broken screen. Tiny shards of glass pierced my fingertip.

A sharp ringing filled my ears as my heart began pounding out of control. The familiar feeling of suffocation came in waves.

I instinctively reached into my pocket, but the two emergency anti-anxiety pills I kept there must have fallen out during the struggle.

Chloe stepped back, her voice trembling.

“I didn’t mean to do it. You were the one pulling so hard. Besides, if the laptop was that important, why didn’t you secure it properly?”

Mason crouched beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Avery, don’t panic. It can be repaired. There are plenty of data recovery services, and worst case, I’ll buy you a new laptop.”

I forced myself to look up despite the discomfort.

“Do you even know what was on it?”

He hesitated.

“Your artwork. I know it was important.”

“No, you don’t.”

There was more than artwork on it.

It contained the original layered files I had not yet synced to the cloud, the working drafts I could still use to rebuild my portfolio after my Northstar submission was ruined, and the first set of proposals I needed to submit to my mentor for the residency in Iceland.

Chloe burst into tears.

“Avery, can you stop looking at me like that? You’re scaring me.”

Mason pulled her behind him, his expression darkening.

“The laptop is already broken. Frightening her won’t change that. Chloe scares easily. Are you really going to push her into a breakdown right here?”

An announcement came over the speakers, informing passengers that check-in for the delayed flight had resumed.

I picked up the warped laptop, steadied myself, and stood.

My arms were shaking, but my voice remained level.

“Move.”

When Mason saw me heading toward the rebooking counter, his expression changed.

“You’re still planning to leave? Your laptop is destroyed. You need to go home and deal with the files.”

“I’m going home to get my backup drive.”

Chloe immediately raised her head.

“Then we’ll go with you.”

I looked at her.

“You don’t get to set foot in my home.”

Her face went pale, and she began crying even harder.

Mason’s eyes turned cold.

“Avery, the way you’ve been talking today is really hurtful.”

I did not answer.

Clutching the broken laptop against me, I slowly made my way toward the counter.

A message from my mentor appeared on my phone.

My mentor: [Would you like me to contact the curator in Reykjavík and ask him to meet you? His last name is Lindberg, and he’s near the airport.]

I stared at the message before finally replying.

Me: [No. My laptop is broken. I’m going home to get my backup drive first.]

After sending it, I slipped my phone into my pocket.

Behind me, Mason spoke in a low voice.

“She won’t go through with it.”

I couldn’t tell whether he was saying it to Chloe or trying to convince himself.

I took a rideshare back to the apartment alone.

Leaning back against the seat, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths until the sense of suffocation and the ringing in my ears gradually eased.

When we arrived, the driver took my suitcase out of the trunk and asked whether I wanted him to carry it to the elevator.

I declined. Holding the broken laptop in my left arm and pulling the suitcase with my right hand, I entered the building.

Once inside the apartment, I went to the study and searched for my backup drive.

It was still at the very back of the drawer.

I let out a breath of relief, then went to the nightstand for my medication.

I had just picked up the pill bottle when I heard the lock turn.

Mason stood in the doorway, his expression grim.

“You really did come back.”

I slipped the backup drive into an inner pocket of my suitcase.

“Get out.”

He did not move. His eyes dropped to the pill bottle in my hand.

The next second, he stepped forward and snatched it away.

“Avery, are you done yet? I told you I’d buy you a new laptop and make Chloe apologize. How much longer are you going to punish us with this silent treatment?”

I reached for the bottle.

“Give it back.”

Mason raised his hand out of reach, anger burning in his eyes.

“Chloe is downstairs crying so hard she can barely breathe, and you haven’t shown one ounce of concern. When did you become so heartless?”

“When the two of you started treating my life like something to bet on.”

“Stop making this bigger than it is.” He clenched his teeth. “One competition, one laptop, one trip, and you’re really going to throw away everything we’ve had all these years?”

I looked at him.

“Mason, I’m breaking up with you.”