Chapter 3

After a week, the doctor whom Aurora and her sister found very attractive, Griffin, said that the girl could be discharged from the hospital.

"You need to rest completely for a while," Griffin warned when Aurora got out of bed and stretched.

"Alright, doctor!" the girl replied.

Griffin said a few more things to Adelaide, who was paying close attention. In the past few days, Aurora had noticed that there was a strange tension between them. She also noticed that Griffin was very dedicated to his work. The girl's hunch was that he was more focused on his career than his love life, just like her sister.

"They're interested in each other, I'm sure of it, but they don't know how to act," Aurora thought.

As they talked, they would occasionally smile awkwardly at each other, while Adelaide's younger sister watched everything.

"They're not even going to exchange phone numbers?!! Seriously, do I have to play matchmaker?" the girl thought.

Aurora took the pen that was in Griffin's lab coat pocket, then took the doctor's hand and wrote down Adelaide's cell phone number. Both of them looked surprised at the girl and then lowered their heads, blushing.

"Don't be shy, call Adelaide. She works during the week but is available on Fridays after noon and all day on Saturdays and Sundays," Aurora said, putting the pen back in the doctor's lab coat pocket.

"We should be going! Goodbye, Dr. Callahan," Adelaide pulled her sister's arm and waved politely to the doctor.

"You can call me Griffin," he smiled kindly.

"Oh... Before I forget. If you could tell Mr. Arrogant that I sincerely wish for him to go to hell, I would be grateful," the girl smiled, and Adelaide immediately scolded her with her eyes, while Griffin burst into laughter.

"Tell Mr. Tristan Callahan that she thanked him for everything he did," Adelaide replied.

"What?!" Aurora said indignantly, as it was enough the last time she saw Tristan and was forced to thank him, even though she was proud, especially since he already knew that about her. Therefore, Aurora didn't want to give him the satisfaction of victory again. "Don't tell him that!" she said to Griffin.

"Don't worry, and I think if I told him that... he wouldn't believe it," the doctor shrugged.

***

"What do you think you did?" Adelaide crossed her arms when they arrived home.

"I helped you find a boyfriend!" Aurora retorted, lying on her bed and scrolling through her phone. "Honestly, I don't think you would've gotten anywhere with Nicholas. It was clear that you liked him, but he didn't reciprocate your feelings. Now, let's show him that you'll bounce back!"

The younger sister looked up from her phone to see Adelaide still standing with her arms crossed. She remained silent, unable to deny that she felt something for the doctor, but she was too proud to even admit it.

Adelaide's phone made a sound indicating a new message. She picked up the device and a nervous expression formed on her face.

"Is it Griffin?" Aurora jumped off the bed and went to her sister, who immediately hid the phone.

"H-He invited me on a date!" Adelaide replied, and her sister joyfully celebrated.

“Finally, you've found a man, and...” Aurora quickly undoes her smile after thinking it through. “Wait... if you become Griffin's girlfriend, I'll have to put up with Mr. Arrogant for the rest of my life!”

Adelaide smiled as if it were amusing. Her phone started ringing, and when she saw who was calling, her smile grew even bigger. It's Griffin!

“Don't answer that call!” Aurora ordered.

“Hello? H-Hi, Griffin!” Adelaide answered, and a slight expression of anger appeared on Aurora's face. However, it was exactly what Adelaide's younger sister wanted. The girl wanted to bring her sister together with the doctor. “Of course, I'd love to go out with you... Okay, let's meet on Friday. Bye.” She ended the call. "There you go! We're going to meet on Friday and..." She interrupted herself, realizing that her sister now had a huge smile on her face. “You manipulated me, didn't you?”

It was true that Aurora didn't like the idea of having Tristan as part of her family, but she wanted her sister to be happy with a nice guy like Griffin, based on what she had learned during her time at the hospital.

“How could you let yourself be manipulated by your younger sister, Adelaide?” Aurora said sarcastically, making her sister roll her eyes and turn away to leave the room.

***

In a few days, Aurora was back to her routine. In the morning, Adelaide went to the restaurant, and Aurora went to have coffee at Starbucks since she wasn't very skilled in the kitchen.

When the young girl entered the establishment, the attendant saw her and immediately turned to make an American cappuccino, as it was her usual order. Aurora was already considered a regular customer at the café.

The red-haired girl sat at a table by the window and started reading a newspaper. Aurora was a girl who, despite knowing that many people no longer read newspapers, always kept herself updated with the internet. She needed to pay attention to job listings that offered a good profit.

A waitress delivered a cappuccino to the girl, who promptly thanked her. Aurora grabbed her cell phone and earphones and tuned in to the radio where Alexander works. He makes some really good remixes, and sometimes they get released. He has a great future in the music industry.

The redhead continued looking at the listings until she found a very interesting advertisement. They were looking for a photographer in a fashion company called "Emotion."

The girl quickly jotted down the number in a notebook. She would call later to schedule a job interview. Aurora continued noting down other numbers and setting up more interviews. She spent a few minutes there, and when she finally finished, she got up from the table, leaving the money for the coffee on it, and adjusted her bag on her shoulder, leaving the establishment. But something made her stop.

She saw a black, luxurious car parked across the street.

How strange... I've seen that car before. ― Thought Aurora.

Nevertheless, she shrugged it off and resumed walking toward her home.

***

Aurora got out of the taxi and paid the driver who had taken her on the journey. The girl turned around and started walking along the stone path of the small park surrounded by trees.

At the end of the path, Aurora saw the four buildings of the college. She headed towards hers and as soon as she entered, she realized she was running a little late because all the students from her course were heading to their respective classrooms. So, she didn't act differently and hurried to the classroom, not wanting to miss the beginning of the class. The professor observed her attentively, as Aurora had been late several times before, but being a good university professor, he didn't mind.

The redhead sat in the front row and took her notebook out of her bag, placing it on the desk. Meanwhile, she heard an unpleasant female voice near her. Unfortunately, Aurora had to listen to it most mornings.

The young girl lifted her gaze slightly, seeing that snake entering the room, Violet Delgado. Aurora had many reasons not to like this girl, but the main ones were that she was a hypocritical narcissist who thought she had all the guys wrapped around her finger, including Alexander, which made Aurora even more furious.

Alex liked cute and delicate girls, two things the red-haired girl was not, but when she was near him, she seemed like a wingless angel who didn't speak dirty words.

The professor, who had already entered the room, mentioned the festival that would take place on Saturday night for all the college students. It was just an event to entertain the students and teachers, with games, raffles, and most importantly, food. The money raised would be donated to a charity organization that partnered with the college.

Aurora didn't feel like going; she preferred to stay at home, specifically on the couch, watching TV and eating pizza. But the professor would give points to the students who attended, and furthermore, the next assignment he would have the class do would be about this event, so Aurora was obligated to go.

***

The week passed, and soon Saturday night, when the college festival would take place, arrived. Aurora was already at the venue, seeing many booths set up, students accompanied by their relatives, and lively music playing. The redhead intended to stay there for just a few minutes so that her professor would notice her presence.

Aurora took some photos of people and the scenery, capturing familiar scenes. She ended up running into her professor and didn't hesitate to approach him and greet him. He smiled at her and noted her presence on his clipboard.

"Can you believe I had some students show up here just to mark their presence and then leave in a hurry?" he asked, and the redhead forced a smile.

"Well, the youth is lost!" Aurora said, and the professor nodded in agreement.

The girl moved away from him, using the excuse that she was going to buy a hot dog, which was true, but then she would go home. She tried to leave without being seen by the professor; otherwise, he would deduct points for knowing she was among the group of people who only came to mark their presence.

Aurora handed the money to the hot dog vendor, and he handed her the bun with various toppings. She smiled openly, as the redhead was starving. And just as Aurora was about to bring the food to her mouth and take a bite, the person behind her in the line pushed her, causing the hot dog to fall to the ground and stain her shirt.

"Oops, my bad!" the girl said sarcastically.

Aurora turned around, seeing Violet Delgado, the girl she considered a snake. The young redhead clenched her fists, feeling her blood boil with anger. Aurora desired to teach that girl a lesson, but she hated stooping so low. However, she was going to get even.

"Excuse me, sir," Aurora stopped a passing student, taking the hot dog from his hand. He was about to complain, but he shut his mouth when the redhead gave him money to buy another one.

Without thinking twice, Aurora threw the bun onto Violet, hitting her face and hair, with the food landing on her collarbone.

"Oops, my bad!" Aurora taunted, and Violet screamed, stomping her feet on the ground.

"I went to the beauty salon today!" Violet said.

"Oh, really? Fuck off," Aurora replied, and Violet glared at her. "The fact that you spent money on your hair doesn't affect me, so suffer in silence. I'm not obliged to put up with your complaints."

The redhead turned her back on Violet, who screamed in anger. As she walked away, Aurora couldn't help but let out a low laugh, which quickly subsided when her heart started beating faster upon seeing Alex with his friends. He watched the whole scene in astonishment, perhaps due to Aurora's rudeness.

Alex always liked fragile and sweet girls, and Aurora wasn't like that. If someone humiliated her, she wouldn't lower her head, waiting for someone to come to her aid.

Why did my heart start beating faster just because of him?! ― Aurora thought.