Chapter 5 - The Regret and The Ride

Riley arrived at the spot she had sent Damon the location to, the place that held memories of easier times between them. But as she checked her phone, her heart sank. Damon still hadn't seen her message.

She opened the live location she had sent earlier - nothing. She saw that he was offline. Her stomach twisted with a sense of dread. Was he avoiding her?

The realization hit her like a wave: She had made a mistake by not responding sooner. Days had passed without her answering him, and now she regretted every moment she kept him waiting. She had let the weight of everything overwhelm her, and in doing so, she unintentionally hurt him.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, and it was a message from her friend, a mutual acquaintance of Damon's.

She opened it, and the words made her stomach drop even further: "He's in Dubai."

2 hours off.

Without saying anything? She didn't know what to feel - relief, confusion, or even anger. It didn't matter, though; what mattered now was fixing the mess she had created.

She quickly hung up the call, not wanting to linger on the fact that Damon was miles away. She couldn't let this moment pass her by without trying to fix it.

The bike's engine roared to life beneath her as she twisted the throttle. The sound echoed in the air behind her, a sign of her resolve. She wasn't going to wait for things to fix themselves. She was going to find him.

Her hands gripped the handlebars, the familiar rush of the road hitting her as she sped off into the night, not knowing exactly where Damon was, but knowing one thing for sure: She had to get to him, no matter what.