(Michelle Lui's POV)
The sunlight in Country A was cruel.
Not warm.
Not gentle.
Not hopeful.
Cruel.
Because the moment it hit my face, everything from last night came crashing back like a piano dropped from the top floor of Andy's expensive building.
I groaned into my pillow.
Kate laughed softly from the vanity.
"You look like a deflated croissant."
"I feel like a deflated croissant."
"Well, lucky for you," Kate said, brushing her hair, "we're meeting the boys for breakfast."
I shot upright. "WHAT—WHY?! NO."
She shrugged. "Because it's vacation. Because we're civilized. Because avoiding them would make everything worse."
I dropped back down. "Everything CAN get worse."
Kate sat beside me and patted my head like a dead pet hamster.
"You survived yesterday. You'll survive breakfast."
"Barely."
"True," she admitted. "But at least you won't be alone."
I exhaled.
Right.
I wasn't alone.
And that helped.
A little.
--
