Alexander had been hiding behind the door earlier, unable to hear everything clearly. But when he saw Peyton’s tears, he instinctively assud that Aurora had taken her anger out on her—that was why he had rushed out so quickly.
That urgency stemd from his disappointnt in Aurora. He had only wanted to knock so sense into her, but he never expected... that he had completely misunderstood her.
"Alexander, I know you hate and don’t trust . But tonight, I’m even more disappointed in you! I hope this never happens again. Otherwise... let’s just pretend we never knew each other!" Aurora’s voice trembled. Seven years of love, and she was cutting it off just like that. How could it not hurt?
She grabbed her purse and strode out.
Tears slipped down her face, chilling her already gaunt features.
Watching Aurora’s resolute figure disappear, Alexander felt a suffocating pressure in his chest. He didn’t know if what he had done was right or wrong. He didn’t know... if he would regret it in the future.
Just earlier, when Mrs. Wilson had been targeting Aurora, cursing her relentlessly, his heart had ached for her.
Yet now, Alexander stood there, frozen, feeling an urge to chase after her. But before he could move, Peyton quickly grabbed his arm.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t an for this to happen. I just... I just felt so heartbroken seeing how she betrayed you," Peyton wiped away her tears and added softly, "Don’t bla her, okay?"
What a manipulative act—one mont, she was slandering Aurora, and the next, she was playing the selfless saint, pleading on her behalf.
At her words, Alexander’s mind replayed the image of Everett kissing Aurora in those photos. His expression darkened, and after a brief hesitation, he nodded.
"You did nothing wrong. Let’s go inside."
Peyton was overjoyed inside. She was certain that Aurora would never recover from this. She had seen the disgust in Alexander’s eyes clearly.
She only hoped that Alexander would continue to hate Aurora—because that would be exactly what she wanted.
But that night, Alexander felt restless. Without Aurora there, he felt an inexplicable emptiness.
He knew he was being pathetic. He had been the one to initiate the breakup. So why... why couldn’t he stop thinking about her now?
Before tonight, when he hadn’t seen her, he could suppress the urge to find her. But now, it was as if sothing was constantly tugging at his heart.
Outside, the night stretched endlessly, and a deep lancholy settled over Alexander.
—
After leaving the Wilson family estate, Aurora spotted a car parked nearby.
Dominic saw her and imdiately opened the door, looking at her in surprise.
"You’re out already? Looks like you really weren’t welco."
He smirked playfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Aurora let out a bitter laugh. "I’m used to it. Don’t bring it up—it’s just disgusting and disheartening."
Mrs. Wilson disgusted her. Alexander broke her heart. It was rare to experience both kinds of pain at once.
She consoled herself with that thought as she climbed into the car. Annoyed, she grabbed a bottle of water, twisted it open, and drank half of it in one go.
Dominic gave her a sympathetic look. "Those people were really too much, weren’t they? I an, you’re still their own flesh and blood, their granddaughter. And they just kicked you out like that?"
Aurora pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Sensing her mood, Dominic decided not to say anything more. Her face looked pale and weary—if he kept talking, she might break down.
—
anwhile, Abigail kept glancing at her phone. Half an hour ago, she had called a journalist to leak information, telling them that Aurora would be leaving the Wilson estate soon.
She could already imagine Aurora getting surrounded by reporters, onlookers pointing at her, and even so crazy fans attacking her. Just thinking about it made Abigail so delighted she wanted to laugh out loud.
Just as she was about to walk over and chat with her cousin, her phone rang again. It was from the sa number she had just leaked the information to.
She quickly stood up and rushed to the back garden before answering.
"What’s wrong? Why are you calling ?"
The journalist on the other end wasn’t exactly a friend—this was a business arrangent.
Every ti Abigail gave them valuable intel, if it was useful, she would get paid.
"Sorry, sothing ca up, and I won’t be able to cover the story."
The journalist chuckled lightly.
"Then why not pass the info on to other reporters? It’s late—have they all left already?" Abigail didn’t seem too bothered, quickly pressing for more details.
"I already put the story out earlier. Anyway, I’ve got things to do, so I have to go." The journalist hung up in a hurry.
Abigail felt uneasy. Sothing didn’t seem right.
Making up an excuse, she quickly left.
She needed to see for herself—had Aurora been sward by reporters yet?
It was already 5 PM, and while there weren’t many people getting off work yet, there were plenty of students around.
However, in this district, almost everyone was wealthy or influential, and the younger generation was rare. There were only a handful of pedestrians on the road.
Abigail rushed to the entrance of the neighborhood, only to see Aurora’s car already driving off into the distance.
The sunset was breathtakingly beautiful, but Abigail’s mood was utterly ruined. She stomped her foot angrily.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on? I clearly leaked the news, so why didn’t any reporters show up? Could it be... Aurora’s been blacklisted? But even so, there should still be at least so reporters!"
Her excitent plumted into frustration in an instant.
—
At NC Group, located in the heart of S City, the office was brightly lit. Everett glanced at the docunt in his hand, then irritably tossed it aside.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Aurora’s panicked face when she had run into him a while back.
Just how terrified was she? How much did she fear him?
"Young Master, everything has been taken care of. I believe those reporters won’t dare block Miss Aurora anymore," Tobias reported respectfully as he walked into the office.
Everett leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold as he glanced at Tobias. He was well aware that the Wilson family didn’t treat Aurora well—especially her half-sister, who was full of malicious sches.
That was why he had ordered Tobias to warn any reporters who were close to Abigail.
This was his way of making ands for the harm he had caused Aurora. If they couldn’t be together, then at the very least, he would protect her.
"Got it."
"If anything cos up, I’ll report it to you imdiately," Tobias added, though inwardly, he felt displeased.
He had watched Everett change. The once indifferent and unattached young master had been completely thrown off balance because of Aurora.
Lately, Everett had been distracted in everything he did. Having grown up by Everett’s side, Tobias knew exactly what kind of person he was.
With Everett’s wealth and power, getting a woman should be effortless. Yet, he insisted on respecting her. If it were any other rich heir, they would have used every shaless trick in the book to win her over by now.
After Tobias left, Everett lit a cigarette.
But he didn’t smoke it—he simply watched as the thin curls of smoke rose into the air, spreading and swirling before eventually fading into nothingness.
So feelings, perhaps, were just like that smoke—drifting away until they completely disappeared.
—
Sitting inside the car, Aurora gazed at the blood-red sunset, the sky ablaze with streaks of color. Feeling drained, she slowly closed her eyes.
If not for Jesse, she would have given up her career as a singer a long ti ago. If she were alone, money wouldn’t matter.
She loved singing, but with so many troubles in reality, sotis it felt like it just wasn’t worth it.
Suddenly, the car made a strange noise. Aurora froze for a mont, and then the vehicle ca to a stop.
Dominic imdiately panicked. "What the hell? The car broke down? Damn it, and we just happened to stop in the middle of nowhere... What do we do now?"
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