Chapter 2: Signed with Tears

The rain had not stopped.

Aurora stepped out of Blackwood Manor with nothing but a small handbag and the clothes she wore. The massive iron gates slowly closed behind her, their metallic clang echoing through the storm.

It was over.

Three years of marriage had ended with a single signature.

She stood motionless on the empty road, staring at the mansion where she had once dreamed of growing old with the man she loved. Every window glowed warmly, but none of that warmth belonged to her anymore.

Her phone vibrated.

She looked at the screen.

Dad ❤️

Aurora's fingers hovered over the answer button before she rejected the call. She couldn't bear to let her father hear her crying.

Another message appeared.

> "Sweetheart, your mother and I are waiting for you tomorrow. Don't forget your hospital appointment. We love you."

Hospital appointment.

Aurora's hand instinctively rested on her stomach.

Only two days ago, the doctor had smiled as he handed her the test results.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Blackwood. You're six weeks pregnant."

She had spent the entire journey home imagining Damian's reaction. She pictured him smiling for the first time in months, lifting her into his arms, promising they would be a family.

Instead...

She had signed divorce papers.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips before turning into sobs.

"Our baby..." she whispered.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

---

Inside Blackwood Manor...

Vanessa poured two glasses of expensive champagne.

"To new beginnings."

Damian didn't touch the glass.

His eyes remained fixed on the rain outside.

Something felt wrong.

He couldn't explain it.

He had planned this divorce for weeks. He had convinced himself it was necessary after receiving evidence that Aurora had betrayed him.

So why did victory feel so empty?

Vanessa noticed his silence.

"You did the right thing."

He finally looked at her.

"Did I?"

She forced a smile.

"You saw the photographs."

"You saw the bank transfers."

"You saw the messages."

"She betrayed you."

Damian clenched his jaw.

He had seen everything.

Evidence that seemed impossible to deny.

Yet...

Aurora's final words echoed inside his mind.

"I never betrayed you."

---

Miles away, Aurora finally hailed a taxi.

The elderly driver looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"Miss... are you alright?"

She quickly wiped her tears.

"I'm fine."

He knew she wasn't.

Instead of asking questions, he quietly handed her a packet of tissues.

"Sometimes," he said gently, "the road that hurts the most leads to the place we're meant to be."

Aurora managed a weak smile.

"Thank you."

As the taxi disappeared into the city, she made herself a promise.

She would never beg Damian Blackwood to love her again.

Never.

---

Back at the mansion, Damian returned to his office.

The signed divorce papers still lay on his desk.

He reached for them absentmindedly.

As he lifted the documents, a sealed brown envelope slid onto the floor.

He frowned.

He hadn't noticed it before.

The envelope had Aurora's handwriting.

For Damian.

His heartbeat quickened.

"What is this?"

Just as he reached down to pick it up, Vanessa entered the office.

"What are you looking at?"

Without waiting for an answer, she noticed the envelope.

A flicker of panic crossed her face.

She recognized it immediately.

Before Damian could open it, she stepped forward and forced a smile.

"Oh, that?"

"It's probably another one of Aurora's tricks."

Damian looked at the envelope, then at Vanessa.

Something about her reaction felt... strange.

For the first time in weeks...

He began to question everything.

End of Chapter 2

Cliffhanger: Damian tears open the envelope—but before he can read its contents, Vanessa makes a desperate move to stop him. What secret is she so afraid he'll discover?