로그인AURELIA'S POV~I don’t realize how tightly I’m holding onto Zane until my fingers starts to ache and slowly loosen on their own.It takes a few seconds before I finally pull back, my hands still resting lightly against his shirt as I try to steady my breathing. Everything feels slow and heavy at the same time, like my body is only just catching up to what almost happened.Zane doesn’t rush me.He keeps a hand near my arm, not holding me anymore, but close enough in case I lose my balance. When I finally take a small step back, he gently guides me toward the bed.“Sit,” he says, his voice calm, not forcing it, but firm enough that I listen without arguing.I lower myself onto the edge of the bed, my legs feeling weaker than I expected. My hands rest on my lap, but they’re still shaking slightly, and I have to press them together to keep them still.Just then, the lights come back on.The sudden brightness fills the room, and I blink a few times, adjusting. The darkness that made everyt
3RD POINT OF VIEW~The pressure on the door increases suddenly, and the chair Aurelia had pushed against it jerks forward with a harsh scrape against the floor. The movement is no longer tentative. Whoever is on the other side is no longer testing the handle, they are forcing it.Aurelia instinctively steps back, her entire body tensing as her grip tightens around her phone her breathing becomes uneven, and she presses the phone harder against her ear as if that alone can keep her grounded.“Zane…” she says, her voice breaking despite her effort to keep it calm.“I’m almost there,” Zane replies immediately. His tone is no longer just firm, it carries urgency now, the sound of his car engine pushing harder in the background. “Stay where you are Aurelia. Do not open that door, you hear me?”Before she can respond, the intruder’s voice cuts through from the other side of the door.“Open the damn door!!”The shout is loud, aggressive, and close enough to make her flinch violently. It conf
3RD POINT OF VIEW~Aurelia stands still for a second after realizing she is not alone, her grip tightening around the towel wrapped around her body as the sound outside comes again, clearer this time despite the heavy rain hitting against the windows. The darkness inside the house makes everything feel more uncertain, and her mind immediately goes back to the river incident.This time, she is completely alone just like that time.She does not waste time thinking too much. She reaches for her phone immediately, her fingers slightly shaking as she scrolls to Seth’s contact and presses call.The line starts ringing.She holds the phone closer to her ear, her breathing uneven as she listens carefully.The first ring passes…nothing.The second ring follows.Still nothing.By the third ring, just when she is about to pull the phone away, the call connects.“Aurelia?” Seth’s voice comes through, low and controlled, but there is something off about it. It lacks its usual tenderness, like he w
3RD POINT OF VIEW♡Aurelia hopped out of the car with a quick goodbye to Steven, reminding him to pick her up early. She headed briskly for the elevator as she got off the other staff and colleague at the entrance greet her as usual, though there is a slight shift in their expressions, news has already spread, even if no one said anything directly.She keeps her composure and walks in like nothing has changed.Teresa spots her almost immediately.“Aurelia?” she says, walking towards her with clear surprise. “You’re here already?”Aurelia nods as she approaches too. “Just for a few hours. I didn’t want to stay home again.”Teresa studies her briefly, her eyes moving to the hearing aid before returning to her face. “Are you sure you should be here this spoon?”“I’m fine,” Aurelia replies smiling a little. “I’ll take it easy.”Teresa doesn’t look completely convinced, but she lets it go. “Alright, but don’t push yourself too hard. If you feel tired, you leave immediately No arguments.”A
AURELIA POV~The next morning…even before I fully open my eyes, I can already tell I didn’t sleep properly. My body feels rested enough, but my mind never really slowed down through the night. Everything from yesterday is still sitting there, clear and unresolved.I stay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, letting myself get up slowly instead of rushing into the day. At some point, I reach for my phone again, more out of habit than expectation.Still nothing from Seth.No missed calls, no messages , not even something short or indirect. That part shouldn’t affect me this much, but it does. It confirms what last night already showed me. He is choosing to distance himself, I set the phone aside and sit up, pressing my fingers lightly against my temple before getting out of bed there is no point staying here and letting my thoughts run in circles again.By the time I get downstairs, breakfast is already set. Mom is there, going through something on her tablet, while Dad is seated
AURELIA POV I step closer, trying to catch his expression, but he still hasn’t fully turned toward me.“You can’t just leave like this,” I say. “After everything that just happened..”“Yes, I can,” he cuts in sharply.He finally turns facing me, and the look on his face makes me pause. I have seen Seth angry before, frustrated, even cold… but this is different. There is no restraint in it now, no careful control like before.“You’ve said enough tonight,” he continues, his voice rising slightly. “More than enough even.”My chest tightens, but I don’t step back.“I told the truth,” I reply, holding his faze. “Something you clearly weren’t going to do.”That only makes his expression harden further.“This wasn’t your place to say,” he snaps.“And whose place was it?” I shoot back immediately. “Yours? So you could keep pretending everything was fine?”For a second, it feels like the argument inside the house has followed us out here, except now there is no one to interrupt it.Seth lets
AURELIA POV♡I woke up with a dull pain pressing behind my eyes and a heavy feeling in my chest that made my breathing uncomfortable. For a few seconds, I didn’t understand where I was or why my body felt so stiff. The ceiling above me was white and unfamiliar, with bright lights that hurt my eyes
AURELIA POVHow could someone so rude and arrogant be an Ashford?Zane was nothing like Seth. Nothing at all.Seth had always carried warmth in his presence, even when he was tired, even when he was stressed. There was something gentle about him, something that made people feel safe just by standin
AURELIA POV“Yes,” Grandfather said as he continued, his voice steady and final. “Zane has been away from home for too long. We have to put the past behind us and work together again.”“But, Grandfather,” Seth started to say.“No buts,” Grandfather interjected firmly. “Just like you said, you are t
AURELIA POVMy eyes fluttered open slowly, as if they were struggling against something heavy. The first thing I saw was light. Sharp, white, blinding light. It hurt so much that I had to close my eyes again almost immediately. For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming.When I tried to sit up, m







