*~Aurora’s POV~*
I found myself standing in front of the altar. My breath hitched in a matter of seconds. I was dressed up, my fingers twisting hard as my stomach felt heavy. My gaze spun as the rain started, like it was pouring inside my head.
I looked around and only a few demons were present. Darius had made it clear he didn’t want many of them around. He didn’t want a crowd. He didn’t want distractions. Not today, not when I was ready to argue, ready to fight.
Then he ca.
Darius and his demons started strolling down the aisle. I took a deep breath, knowing all of this was over. My journey with Leon was over. My journey with my family, with Ezo, with the triplets, with New Orleans... everything was ending because I was getting married today.
Tears burned at the bridge of my eyes, and the mont that monster started closing the distance between us, I swallowed hard. I watched as Darius approached , long white hair falling over pale skin, blue eyes cold and calculating. He looked like hell itself, wrapped up like a promise made on the worst day of my life.
He won.
It was sared across his face so clearly that it made fear curl in my chest. My stomach tightened, and I felt my baby’s heartbeat, steady and real, reminding that I wasn’t alone.
Then the ugly emotions crept back in.
My Leon.
It should have been him. I should have been marrying him, the man whose child I was carrying inside of . But my hope of ever seeing Leon again was crumbling into dust. I couldn’t touch him again, couldn’t feel his hands in mine, couldn’t even run back to my family, to my sister, to my parents, because I knew the truth.
The mont this wedding ended, they would take far.
As far as they could.
And I didn’t know if I would ever be ready for that. The thought of raising my child beside a completely different man, forcing my baby to believe Darius was his father, made sothing twist violently inside . I wondered if I would even live long enough to watch my child grow.
Because I would never make it easy for them to control .
And if they couldn’t control , if the only thing they truly needed from was the child inside my body, then the mont I stopped being useful, they would kill .
Darius climbed onto the altar and took my hand. He kissed it, and I felt a shiver run down my spine as his eyes scanned like I was his next al.
This was the second ti I would stand at an altar, dressed as a bride... except this ti, the groom wasn’t a man. He was a monster.
The first ti, Leon ca to save . And I wondered if he could co this ti too.
But they already had a fake clone of . A perfect copy placed beside them so they could keep living like nothing had happened. Like they had won. And that gave the smallest, most dangerous kind of hope, the kind that could destroy you from the inside out.
Because what if they never even noticed I was gone?
That was the worst part.
My own family, my own people, would think everything was finally fine. They would believe Aurora was safe, that Aurora was back, that Aurora was smiling, breathing, living. Not knowing it wasn’t even .
The real Aurora was here. Trapped. Carrying a child.
And Leon would never know.
Leon would never know I was carrying his baby. He would never know that one day I would give birth to a child with his blood, his eyes, his existence, and he wouldn’t even be there to hold them. He wouldn’t even be there to look at .
Then the ceremony began.
The priest was fast this ti, like even he wanted this over with. Darius said his vows even faster, like the words ant nothing and everything at once.
And when the priest said he could kiss , Darius leaned in.
I closed my eyes.
The kiss was cold. It dragged over my lips like a claim, like a brand. I felt my stomach tighten, felt the baby shift inside , and it made my throat burn.
Even my baby knew this was wrong.
Even my baby didn’t want this.
He broke the kiss, and his blue eyes glittered with lust. Not love. Never love. I would never believe a man like Darius could love anything except power.
I almost crumbled right there, dizzy with disgust and sha, with the feeling of sothing sacred being ripped away from .
"And now you are married," the priest declared.
I nodded, because what else could I do?
My last delusion, that soone would burst in and save , shattered so quietly it almost felt like relief.
No one was coming.
No one ever was.
And even if they did... would they even be able to take ?
Not when I wasn’t officially theirs anymore.
And I was right, once again.
I sat inside the carriage, and they were already preparing to ship away. Even if Leon and my family sohow realized the Aurora with them was fake, even if they ca looking for , even if they managed to find this hidden hideout... I would be long gone by then.
My fingers trembled as I stared at the wedding ring Darius had placed on earlier. Diamond. Flashy. The kind of ring I used to dream about.
"At least it’s the diamond ring of my dreams," I whispered with a shaky smile, trying to convince myself it ant sothing. But the happiness wouldn’t stick. It slipped right through my hands like smoke.
Then Rebecca ca closer to the carriage.
My body stiffened as her fingers slowly pulled the door open.
"Good day, our new bride," she greeted.
I couldn’t even look at her. Not after what they did to Sarah... and Sarah’s husband. Not knowing Sarah was pregnant when they destroyed her life like it ant nothing.
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