Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Man Behind the Name

Aurora

No one moved.

The boutique, which only moments ago had been filled with whispers and accusations, had fallen completely silent.

I stood near the entrance, my wrist still aching from where the guard had grabbed me.

Then I looked at Lucian.

He stood a few feet away, one hand resting casually in his pocket. His expression was calm, almost indifferent.

But I knew better.

There was something dangerous beneath that calmness.

The manager seemed to know it too.

He had gone pale.

"Mr. Moretti," he said carefully. "There was a misunderstanding."

Lucian's eyes remained on me.

"Are you hurt?"

The simple question caught me off guard.

I glanced down at my wrist.

"It's nothing."

His gaze followed mine.

The faint red marks stood out against my skin.

His jaw tightened.

"That's not nothing."

"I'm fine."

He didn't argue.

Instead, he turned toward the guard who had held me.

"Did you put your hands on her?"

The guard swallowed.

"Sir, I was instructed to escort her outside."

"That wasn't my question."

The man's face paled.

"Yes."

Lucian nodded once.

"Step away from her."

The guard immediately obeyed.

I rubbed my wrist as Lucian's attention shifted to Seraphina.

She had gone unusually quiet.

Her confidence seemed to have disappeared the moment he walked through the door.

Still, she recovered quickly.

"Lucian, this isn't what it looks like."

His expression didn't change.

"I haven't said what it looks like."

Seraphina hesitated.

"We were having a disagreement."

"I see."

He glanced at Damian.

"And you?"

Damian's eyes narrowed.

"What about me?"

"You were here."

Lucian's voice remained polite, but there was something about it that made the room feel smaller.

"What happened?"

Damian looked at me.

Then at Seraphina.

"She attacked Seraphina."

My stomach dropped.

Of course.

He had chosen her again.

Lucian's eyes returned to me.

"Is that true?"

I hesitated.

There was no point lying.

"I pushed her."

Seraphina immediately interrupted.

"After attacking me first."

I looked at her.

"You pushed me."

"You hit me!"

"Because you pushed me."

The manager stepped forward.

"Mr. Moretti, we only saw Miss Rossi push Miss De Luca. We assumed—"

"That's your problem."

His words were quiet.

The manager stopped speaking.

"You assumed."

Lucian's gaze moved around the boutique.

"Did anyone bother asking why?"

Nobody answered.

The silence was answer enough.

I looked away.

Part of me hated that Lucian was here.

Not because I didn't want him around.

Because I didn't want him seeing this side of my life.

The humiliation.

The judgment.

The way my family could still make me feel like a child who didn't belong.

Lucian came to stand beside me.

He didn't touch me.

He simply stood there.

Somehow, that was enough.

Then Seraphina spoke again.

"She shouldn't have been here in the first place."

Lucian looked at her.

"Why?"

She gestured toward the boutique.

"This place isn't for everyone."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

There it was.

The same old Seraphina.

The same message I'd heard my entire life.

You don't belong.

Lucian's expression hardened.

"Apparently not."

Seraphina smiled, thinking he'd agreed with her.

Then he continued.

"Because apparently the people who work here have forgotten how to treat guests."

Her smile vanished.

Lucian turned toward the manager.

"Where is the bracelet?"

The manager blinked.

"The Imperatrice?"

"Yes."

"It's being prepared."

"Bring it."

The manager immediately disappeared.

I stared at Lucian.

"You bought it?"

He looked down at me.

"I told you I had something waiting."

"I thought you meant something small."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Perhaps you should stop making assumptions."

I shook my head.

"You are impossible."

"I've heard that before."

Despite everything, I smiled.

For a moment, the tension in the room disappeared.

Then the manager returned carrying a black velvet box.

He placed it carefully on the counter.

Even Seraphina leaned forward.

The manager opened the box.

I stopped breathing.

The bracelet was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

A delicate platinum band held a magnificent emerald at its center, surrounded by tiny diamonds that caught the light with every movement.

It looked less like jewelry and more like something that belonged inside a museum.

I stared at it.

"Lucian..."

"It's yours."

I shook my head.

"I can't accept this."

"You can."

"Do you even know how much this costs?"

"Yes."

"And you're still giving it to me?"

"Yes."

I looked at him incredulously.

"Why?"

His gaze softened.

"Because I wanted to."

That answer somehow made it harder to refuse.

The manager carefully lifted the bracelet from its case.

Before he could put it on me, Seraphina spoke.

"How much is it?"

The manager looked uncomfortable.

"Miss De Luca..."

"I asked how much."

He hesitated.

"Approximately four million."

The room went silent.

My eyes widened.

"Four million?"

Lucian didn't even blink.

"It's not important."

"Not important?"

I stared at him.

"You just spent four million on a bracelet."

"Technically, I spent four million on you."

My face heated.

"That's worse."

His lips curved slightly.

Seraphina looked furious.

She stepped closer.

"You're seriously giving that to her?"

Lucian looked at her.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He didn't answer immediately.

His eyes moved briefly toward me before returning to her.

"Because I wanted to."

Seraphina's expression tightened.

"She doesn't deserve it."

Something inside me flinched.

Lucian noticed.

His expression changed.

"You seem very interested in deciding what Aurora deserves."

Seraphina crossed her arms.

"I'm only being realistic."

"No."

His voice was calm.

"You're being cruel."

She opened her mouth but said nothing.

Damian finally stepped forward.

"Lucian, you don't know her."

Lucian looked at him.

"I know enough."

"You've known her for what? A few days?"

"Long enough to know she doesn't deserve to be humiliated."

Damian's expression hardened.

"You're getting involved in something you don't understand."

Lucian smiled faintly.

"Perhaps."

He glanced at me.

"But at least I'm not pretending otherwise."

The manager approached me with the bracelet.

"May I?"

I nodded.

He fastened it carefully around my wrist.

The emerald rested against my skin, cold at first before slowly warming.

I stared at it.

It was beautiful.

But I couldn't stop thinking about what it represented.

Someone had chosen me.

Not because I was useful.

Not because I was somebody's daughter.

Not because I was someone's wife.

Just me.

I looked at Lucian.

"Thank you."

He nodded.

"You're welcome."

Seraphina scoffed.

"How touching."

I turned toward her.

For once, her words didn't hurt as much.

Maybe because I was beginning to realize that her opinion didn't have the power I'd given it for so long.

Damian looked at the bracelet.

Then at me.

Something unreadable crossed his face.

Regret?

Jealousy?

I didn't care.

He had made his choice.

So had I.

Lucian gestured toward the door.

"Ready?"

I looked around the boutique one last time.

At the employees who had judged me.

At Seraphina, who was still staring at the bracelet.

At Damian, who seemed unable to look away.

Then I walked toward the exit.

As I passed Damian, he called my name.

"Aurora."

I stopped.

For a moment, I considered ignoring him.

Instead, I turned.

"Yes?"

His eyes searched mine.

"Are you really going to get involved with him?"

The question would have frightened me yesterday.

Today, it only made me tired.

"I don't know."

I glanced at Lucian.

He was waiting by the door, giving me the space to answer for myself.

I looked back at Damian.

"But whatever I decide..."

I held his gaze.

"...it won't be based on what you want anymore."

His expression fell.

I turned away before he could respond.

Outside, the afternoon sunlight hit my face.

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

Lucian walked beside me.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he glanced at my wrist.

"Do you like it?"

I looked down at the bracelet.

"It's beautiful."

"Good."

"But I still think you're insane."

A quiet laugh escaped him.

"That's fair."

I smiled.

Then my expression softened.

"Thank you for coming."

"I was always going to."

"You didn't know what happened."

"I knew enough."

I looked at him.

"How?"

His eyes met mine.

"Because when I walked in, you were standing alone."

He paused.

"And everyone else was standing against you."

His voice softened.

"I didn't like that."

Something about those words stayed with me long after we got into the car.

For the first time in years, I wasn't wondering why someone hadn't chosen me.

I was sitting beside someone who had.

And that scared me more than I wanted to admit.