Chapter 3

Aurora's POV 

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. My eyes burned painfully from crying all night. For a few seconds, I stared blankly at the ceiling, silently hoping everything that happened yesterday had only been another terrible dream. But reality settled in quickly.

Damien cheated on me. And worse… He didn’t even care that I knew. I slowly sat up in bed and glanced toward the other side of the room. It was empty as usual. He never came back to sleep beside me. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly as that familiar ache spread through my chest again. I felt so heartbroken and alone. In that moment, I missed my parents so much. I wished they were still herewith me. I missed being in my mother's embrace, I missed my dad's warm hugs.

I silently wondered how things would be if they were still alive. They would definitely not let me stay in a marriage that hurt me so much like this. "Mom.. Dad.. I miss you" I mumbled to myself, feeling as lonely as ever.

I decided that I couldn't spend my whole day crying because of Damien. I couldn’t stay in this room. Not when every corner reminded me of him.

After washing my face, I quietly made my way toward the art room. It was the only place in this mansion that truly felt like mine.

The room was filled with unfinished paintings, art supplies, and soft sunlight pouring through the large windows. My parents had always encouraged my love for painting growing up. Back then, whenever I was upset, my mother would tell me:

“Paint your feelings, Aurora. Art heals the heart.” she would always say to me. I smiled bitterly at the memory wishing she was here to paint with me again.

Picking up a brush, I forced myself to focus on the blank canvas in front of me instead of Damien. Instead of Vanessa.

I dipped my brush into blue paint and slowly dragged it across the canvas. Then another stroke...and another. Hours passed quietly. For the first time since yesterday, my mind finally began calming down.

Buzz.

My phone suddenly vibrated loudly beside me. I ignored it at first but it kept buzzing. Frowning slightly, I finally reached for my phone. The moment I unlocked it, my chest tightened painfully. Every notification was the same.

They were news, articles and pictures of my husband, with that woman I had just caught him with. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

'Damien Sinclair spotted at the Sinclair Foundation Gala with his secretary Vanessa Cole.'

My fingers trembled slightly as I clicked on one of the articles. Then I saw the photos. Damien stood beside Vanessa in a perfectly tailored black suit while Vanessa wore a breathtaking silver dress that hugged every curve of her body. She looked stunning and confident, I couldn't deny it. She looked like everything I wasn’t. The cameras adored them. And Damien, he looked so comfortable beside her. There was even a photo of him placing his hand against her lower back while leading her through the crowd.

I stared at the picture until my vision blurred with tears. The comments underneath only made things worse.

“They look perfect together.”

“Vanessa looks more suited for him than his wife.”

“Finally, Damien Sinclair brought someone classy to an event.”

I quickly locked my phone and tossed it onto the table like it burned me. My throat tightened painfully. I looked down at myself. I was in an old oversized sweater with paint stains on my fingers, messy hair, no makeup and no confidence. I suddenly understood why Damien preferred Vanessa. Of course he would take her to such an event and not me, his own wife.

A tear rolled down my cheek quietly. I wiped it away angrily. No. I wasn’t going to cry again. Not today. I forced myself to continue painting but my hands no longer felt steady. Every brushstroke looked wrong and ugly. By evening, I was mentally exhausted.

I cleaned up the art room slowly before heading back toward my bedroom. Just as I reached the hallway upstairs, I heard laughter coming from downstairs. It sounded like a woman's laughter and I froze. My heartbeat quickened instantly. Slowly, I walked toward the staircase and looked down.

Then my entire body went stiff. I saw Vanessa, she was standing in the living room... Inside my house, inside my home.

Eleanor held Vanessa’s hands warmly while smiling brightly at her. “Oh darling, you look absolutely beautiful tonight,” Eleanor gushed happily.

“Thank you Mrs. Sinclair.” Vanessa blushed shyly.

“No wonder Damien enjoys bringing you around,” Eleanor continued with a laugh. “The two of you would make such beautiful babies.”

My breath caught painfully in my throat. Vanessa lowered her gaze bashfully while Damien stood nearby loosening his tie. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t stop his mother. He didn’t even look uncomfortable. It was like.... Like they were already one happy family.

I gripped the staircase railing tightly to steady myself. All this time, I had desperately tried to gain Eleanor’s approval. No matter how hard I worked, she never once hugged me like that. Never smiled at me that warmly. Never called me beautiful. But Vanessa received everything so easily. As if she already belonged here more than I did.

Damien finally started walking upstairs and froze slightly when he saw me standing there.Our eyes met briefly and I quickly looked away. Vanessa noticed me too and a small victorious smile appeared on her lips before she turned back toward Eleanor sweetly. My chest burned painfully.

Damien walked past me silently and entered our bedroom. I stood there for several seconds before forcing my legs to move.

The moment I entered the room, Damien was already unbuttoning his shirt calmly, like nothing was wrong, like he hadn’t humiliated me again.

I stared at his back quietly, then finally asked the question that had been destroying me inside. “Did you ever love me at all?”

Damien’s hands paused briefly against his shirt buttons.