Chapter 4: Being Watched

Aurora's POV 

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the beautiful ceiling.

It was high, beautifully decorated with delicate patterns and a crystal chandelier that reflected soft golden light across the room.

For a moment, I just lay there staring at it.

Confused.

This… definitely wasn’t my apartment. I had never woken up in a room like this in my entire life.

Slowly, I pushed myself up.

The room around me looked like something straight out of a luxury magazine. The furniture was elegant, the curtains were thick velvet that fell in heavy, perfect folds from ceiling to floor. And the bed beneath me was so soft it felt like sleeping on clouds.

My eyes widened slightly.

Where… am I?

Is this…heaven?

I tried to remember what happened.

The last thing I recalled was the cold water of the pool swallowing me whole… and the pain in my chest as I sank deeper.

My thoughts were still tangled when I suddenly felt something.

A presence.

I turned my head slightly to the side, and froze.

A little boy was sitting beside the bed. He looked to be around five years old, same age as my son.

He sat quietly on a chair near me, his big dark eyes fixed on my face as if he had been watching me for a long time.

Our eyes met and for a moment, neither of us moved.

Something warm suddenly spread through my chest, the way heat spread from a fire you hadn't realized you were cold enough to need.

It was strange.

I had never seen this child before, yet my heart softened instantly as if I knew him and was supposed to recognize him.

His face was beautiful—almost too beautiful for a child. His delicate features looked carefully carved, and his large eyes carried an unusual calmness.

Without realizing it, I smiled gently.

“Hello…”

My voice was soft, still a little hoarse. “I hope I didn’t scare you.”

The boy blinked slowly, his lips moved slightly, like he wanted to say something.

My heart lifted with curiosity. “Do you want to tell me something?” I asked gently.

Just as he opened his mouth, the door suddenly burst open.

We both startled. The boy's composure cracked for just a second, his shoulders jumping, his eyes going wide, before he smoothed it back down with a speed that broke my heart a little.

“Young Master!”

A man rushed into the room, breathing heavily as if he had been running.

He looked to be in his fifties, dressed neatly in a butler’s uniform.

The moment he spotted the boy, he hurried over.

“Young Master,” he pressed a hand briefly to his chest and exhaled. "I have been looking everywhere for you.” 

He bent down slightly, clearly relieved.

Then his gaze shifted to me.

His eyes widened. “Miss… you’re awake!”

He quickly straightened and bowed his head politely.

“My apologies,” he said sincerely. “Young Master must have disturbed your rest.”

I blinked in surprise before smiling.

“Oh… not at all.”

I glanced at the little boy again. “I actually enjoyed his company. He was about to tell me something before you came in.”

The butler froze.

He looked from me… to the boy… then back to me.

“That… shouldn’t be possible,” he murmured in disbelief.

I frowned slightly.

“What do you mean?”

The butler looked stunned. “Our young master…” he said slowly, “has never spoken to anyone before.”

My brow raised. “Why?”

“Since he was born,” the butler continued gently, “he has never spoken a single word to anyone. He does not usually go near strangers at all." He paused. "He has never once sat with anyone who wasn't his father.”

I stared at him.

Then I looked at the boy.

Was he trying to say this little boy is mute?

The boy held my gaze without flinching. And I thought — no, I could have sworn that right before the butler had burst through the door, his lips had been moving. Just slightly. Like he had been about to say something.

For some reason, my chest tightened painfully, like something in me was reaching out for something in him.

It was an unfamiliar feeling. Deep and strange. I had never even felt this way toward my son Ryan.

The moment Ryan’s name crossed my mind, my heart felt like it was stabbed by ice and everything came rushing back.

The pool. His cold eyes. His cruel words.

Maybe it’s better if you just die.

My fingers tightened slightly in the bedsheets and I forced myself to breathe.

I quickly forced the painful thoughts away. Then a realization suddenly struck me.

I looked at the butler.

“Excuse me… may I ask something?”

“Of course, Miss.”

“Is this… the one who saved me is your master?”

The butler nodded respectfully.

“Yes. Our master was the one who brought you here.”

My eyes widened slightly.

So I really was in the home of the person who saved me.

“Our master personally carried you here,” the butler continued politely, and as he spoke, a wide smile spread across his face. “In fact… you are the first woman to ever step foot in this estate.”

I blinked in shock.

“The first?”

“Yes,” he said calmly. “All the staff here are male.”

My surprise deepened. My eyes drifted to the boy sitting quietly in his chair, still staring at me.

If that was the case…

Then where was this boy’s mother?

The question sat at the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it back down.

It wasn’t my place to pry.

Instead, I said softly, “Could I meet your master? I would like to thank him personally.”

For the briefest moment, the butler hesitated. It was subtle, but I noticed it. Even the smile on his face died down.

“My master is… very busy,” he finally said. “He is currently unavailable.”

“I see…”

“But I will certainly inform him that you have awakened and expressed your gratitude.”

I nodded politely. “Thank you.”

Just then, something caught my eyes at the bedside table and something suddenly occurred to me.

I looked down quickly at myself.

I was no longer wearing my delivery uniform.

Instead, I had on a soft, comfortable dress that looked far too silky to belong to me.

A chill ran down my spine.

The butler had just said the estate was filled with male staff.

Then… Who had changed my clothes?

The question must have been obvious on my face because the butler suddenly smiled knowingly.

“Please don't be alarmed,” he said quickly.

I blinked.

“My master anticipated that concern.” He continued calmly, “Although the estate staff are all male, my master did not wish for you to catch a cold after being soaked in water.”

“So he asked me to arrange for a woman to come here and personally take care of you. Something he’d never done before.”

My tense shoulders immediately relaxed.

Relief flooded through me.

“Oh…”

I let out a quiet breath. “That’s… very thoughtful of him.”

The butler nodded.

“If you feel fully rested, you are free to leave whenever you wish.”

He gestured toward the bedside table, where I had earlier seen my delivery uniform.

“Your clothes are there. They have been washed and ironed. And your bag is on the dresser. Everything has been dried and returned.”

I nodded, staring at my delivery uniform, clean and neatly folded on the table.

“However,” he added politely, “My master had prepared another dress for you that's more suitable to leave with.”

“It's in the wardrobe.”

I smiled gratefully, realizing that the dress I was putting on was more suitable and comfortable for bed. “Thank you very much.”

Then I added softly, “Please also thank your master for me when you see him.”

“Of course. When you are ready, I will arrange a car to take you wherever you need to go." He looked at the boy. "Come, young master.”

The boy didn’t move immediately.

He stayed seated, still watching me, and something in his gaze made my chest tighten again.

Finally, he slowly stood up, but when he reached the door, he stopped.

He turned back.

For a brief moment, his eyes locked with mine again as if silently pleading for me not to leave.

That strange warmth filled my chest once more.

Then he quietly walked out with the butler.

The room fell silent.

I sat there for a moment before suddenly remembering something.

Justin.

The divorce.

My heart hardened instantly.

I couldn’t waste time here.

I quickly got out of bed and walked to the bedside table to grab my clothes and then my bag.

I walked to the wardrobe, and inside was a simple but elegant dress. Probably cost six times my monthly salary.

But something made me pause when I held them up.

They looked… perfectly my size.

Even Justin, who had been married to me for years, didn’t know my exact measurements. He had never once bought me a piece of clothing. Not for my birthday, not for our anniversary, not because he felt like it.

I had always bought my own clothes, always handled myself because there was no one else to do it.

Yet this stranger… My chest warmed slightly, tears welling up …had gotten it right on the first try.

I pressed the dress against my chest and stared at the wardrobe door and did not cry. I had decided, somewhere between the pool and waking up in this room, that I was done crying over people who had never deserved my tears.

I changed quickly. I still had a divorce to deal with.

After making sure everything was in place, I opened the door and stepped out of the room.

The hallway was quiet and beautifully decorated.

As I walked toward the stairs, something made me pause. That feeling of being watched.

I turned my head slightly, and there, at the far end of the corridor…a tall figure stood at the doorway of another room.

Watching me.

My heart skipped.

Before I could focus my eyes—the figure suddenly disappeared.

I blinked.

Did I imagine that?

A strange uneasiness settled in my chest.

I stood at the top of the stairs and stared at the empty space for a long moment.

Then I turned and walked down.

Even as I walked down the grand staircase, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was still watching me.