Chapter 19

The silence in the car, broken only by the hum of the engine and the soft thrum of the tires on the asphalt, felt heavy and charged. Hilary, lost in her own thoughts, was surprised by the sharp ring of a phone, the sound cutting through the quiet like a jarring note.

Aaron, his eyes fixed on the road, didn't react. The phone continued to ring, a persistent, insistent sound that seemed to grow louder with each passing second. Hilary, intrigued, watched him. His usual calm demeanor seemed to have shifted, a subtle tension replacing his usual composure.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Hilary asked, her voice laced with a touch of curiosity. It wasn’t unusual for Aaron to receive calls while driving, but he never ignored them for this long.

Aaron glanced at the phone, then back at the road, his expression unreadable. “It can wait,” he said, his voice firm, his tone dismissive. “I’m driving.”

Hilary's eyebrows shot up, her gaze fixed on the phone. There was something about Aaro