Chapter 128

Aria's POV I was still hiding my face in my hands when Aiden promised he wouldn't laugh. His tone turned so serious that it felt like we were suddenly in a boardroom negotiation. Under his intense stare, I surrendered after just five seconds. I placed my phone on the table in front of him. But the moment he reached for it, I panicked and covered the phone with my hand. "Mr. Carter, you have to promise not to laugh after reading this." As soon as I spoke, I felt a warmth spread across my hand. Looking down, I realized his hand was covering mine. My ears instantly burned red, and I jerked my hand away reflexively. Aiden gave me a sidelong glance. "I won't laugh." His promise somehow made everything more embarrassing. But since he already had my phone, I couldn't exactly snatch it back. I reluctantly reached over to unlock it with my fingerprint and scrolled up to show the conversation. "You'll understand once you read it," I mumbled. Aiden scanned through my chat with Claire in about ten