Aurora frowned. Why was Mrs. Lewis suddenly here? She must’ve known Aurora would visit today and deliberately ca to wait for her.
Otherwise, on any normal day, Mrs. Lewis wouldn’t even know how to find her—she had no idea where Aurora lived.
"You finally ca down, Aurora. I just have one question for you!"
Mrs. Lewis stord over, with Kennedy trailing behind, her face equally cold.
This mother-daughter pair showing up could only an trouble.
Aurora’s face darkened. Today was her mother’s death anniversary, and yet these people ca to stir up drama.
"Go ahead, Mrs. Lewis," Aurora said calmly. Her grandfather, standing beside her, shot Mrs. Lewis a cold glare, clearly displeased.
He was lean and dignified, the kind of man who didn’t need to raise his voice to show authority. He didn’t know all the details about Aurora’s breakup with Alexander—only what he’d read in the papers. But he believed in his granddaughter.
"Are you refusing to get back together with Alexander? Do you know he’s been drinking day and night because of you? He’s completely falling apart!" Mrs. Lewis snapped, full of rage.
Jesse couldn’t hold back a laugh. "Lady, you’re sothing else. My sister doesn’t want to take your son back, and that’s her fault? What’s next, if they can’t have kids, that’ll be her fault too?"
"Jesse, that’s enough," Aurora said coolly. "Mrs. Lewis, what happened between Alexander and isn’t sothing that can be sumd up in a few words. He was the one who dumped for Peyton, and I’d already made up my mind to move on. When he ca back asking to reconcile, I said no—because I knew we couldn’t go back to what we had. If he’s drinking now, please keep an eye on him. He’ll get over eventually. Isn’t that what you wanted all along?"
Aurora’s words were calm, but each one left Mrs. Lewis without a coback.
Kennedy jumped in, grasping at straws. "You make it sound so noble. But co on, you’re clearly after Everett, right? He’s one of the top ten richest n in Y Country. Of course you’d go for soone like that—how could families like ours compare to that kind of wealth?"
Aurora shot her a frosty look. "Grandpa, let’s go."
"You’re not going anywhere, bitch! Not until you explain yourself!" Kennedy shouted.
Aurora’s grandfather turned even colder. He raised his gaze and stared down Kennedy. "And who do you think you are, screaming like that? Breakups and reconciliations are between two people. When Alexander dumped Aurora, did she complain? Did she co cause trouble for you? Now that he’s spiraling, you want to bla her? Your whole family—either useless or just plain rude!"
Every word hit Mrs. Lewis where it hurt. She glared at the sharp-tongued old man in front of her. Compared to him, she was just the junior.
"And let be clear," he went on. "It was Alexander who went on record announcing the breakup. That was him being stupid. He didn’t cherish my granddaughter then, and now he regrets it—and it’s suddenly all Aurora’s fault? You say she’s going after money—wasn’t it Alexander who picked Peyton because she ca from money?"
Despite his age, Aurora’s grandfather hadn’t forgotten a word of what the dia reported.
Mrs. Lewis was speechless.
Just then, a car pulled up in a hurry—it was Alexander’s.
He jumped out, rushing toward them. "Mom, what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing? I ca to see the woman you still can’t get over! Look at her—acting all high and mighty, saying you dumped her for a rich girl! And if it weren’t for those disgusting rumors between her and that so-called young master—"
"Mom! Stop it!" Alexander’s face flushed with sha. He turned to Aurora and bowed slightly. "Aurora, Grandpa—I’m sorry. My mom doesn’t know the full story. Please don’t take her words to heart."
Kennedy was fuming but kept quiet under the glare of Aurora’s grandfather.
"Alexander, we’re not right for each other," Aurora said softly. "So please stop trying to contact . I work in the entertainnt industry—there will always be false rumors about . Your family has never been able to accept that. We’re from different worlds."
She lowered her head. Jesse scoffed. "Sis, why are you even apologizing?"
"You know who my sister is, Alexander. You know her character. If you still couldn’t trust her, how could your relationship ever work? And with a mom like yours—so nasty and aggressive—my sister would be miserable if she married into your family. She’d probably go crazy from dealing with the two of you!"
Jesse didn’t sugarcoat anything. He said what he ant, no matter who was listening.
Alexander’s face went pale.
"I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of my mom and sister," he said, pulling Mrs. Lewis by the arm. "Mom, let’s go."
"I’m not going! Why should it look like this is all our fault?!"
Mrs. Lewis snapped, her voice seething with anger.
Aurora looked at Alexander. He had stubble all over his face, ssy hair, and a haggard expression. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty, and he reeked of alcohol.
Alexander, who used to barely touch alcohol, had turned into a full-blown drunk.
"Both of you, go ho!" he exploded, cutting off Kennedy just as she tried to speak again.
The two won exchanged a nervous glance—when Alexander was truly angry, he could be terrifying.
"Fine. We’ll let it slide this ti," Mrs. Lewis said coldly. Kennedy shot Aurora a glare and silently mouthed, "Bitch, just wait."
The rude mother and daughter climbed back into the car.
Alexander stood there, breathing heavily, guilt written all over his face. "Aurora, I’m sorry. I tried to get here as fast as I could when I found out they were causing trouble... I’m sorry. I just hope we can talk soti. Just the two of us."
"That won’t be necessary. Thank you, Alexander," Aurora said, calm and clear. "You’re a good man, but you’re not the right one for . Let’s just stay friends."
She took her grandfather’s arm and started walking back toward the car.
Alexander stood frozen in place, pain flooding his chest. It felt hard to breathe. He stared blankly as Aurora’s car sped off into the distance, his lips dry, his heart ice cold.
The wind was bitter. It felt like it was freezing him from the inside out.
"Aurora, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for you..."
His voice was lost in the cold wind.
Inside the car, Aurora quickly pulled out her phone. She and Jesse had spent the whole morning preparing offerings for her mom’s morial—they hadn’t had ti to check the news.
The mont she turned her phone on, a flood of ssages ca pouring in from Eleanor and other friends.
"Aurora, what’s going on?! I just saw a statent from Everett saying he’s getting engaged to his childhood friend Delilah. Weren’t you two dating?"
"Aurora! Please pick up your phone—what’s happening?!"
"Aurora, you’re not dating Everett?"
Her phone was practically exploding with ssages and notifications. Aurora stared at the screen, stunned.
Then Eleanor’s na flashed on an incoming call. Aurora quietly picked up.
"Aurora, Dominic said you left the villa early this morning—where did you go? Did you see Everett’s statent? Dominic told you two had been going out back when you were in Y Country..."
Aurora felt like a mountain had collapsed onto her chest. Everything felt heavy.
"I don’t know what’s going on either..." Her voice was lost and confused. "I haven’t been able to reach him these past few days... He hasn’t contacted at all..."
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