CHAPTER FIVE

Aurora

They say you can never run away from your past no matter what. But I was determined to leave mine behind.

Becoming a boss lady in the fashion industry was easier said than done, as I was quickly coming to realize.

The first few years, I had worked nonstop, applying to fashion houses, sending out ideas to other companies for collaboration.

But my maiden name and photos of me that were a far cry from her elegant self, had made it harder to climb to the top. The top I now sat on.

The top that now threatened to fall.

I adjusted my blazer as I walked through the front desk, my heels clicking softly against the floor.

Work had been the only thing keeping me steady. Keeping me from thinking too much.

“Ma’am,” the receptionist called out quickly, standing up.

“You have a visitor waiting for you.”I paused.

“A visitor?” I frowned impatiently. “Did they make an appointment?”

“No, ma’am. But he said it was urgent.”

Urgencies were not good for business and something about that didn’t sit right with me.

“Who is it?”She hesitated, biting her lower lip.“He didn’t give his name.”A quiet sigh left my lips.

I didn’t have time for this.“I’ll handle it.” I said, already walking toward my office.

I caught a glimpse of him and my steps slowed for just a second.

Damien?

He was seated in the waiting area like he belonged there. looking calm and composed. Like he hadn’t destroyed my life and walked away from it, like nothing had happened.

Our eyes almost met, but I didn’t allow it happen. I walked right past him like he didn’t exist.

I got to my office, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.My heart was beating faster now.Why the hell was he here? What did he want?I barely had time to think before the door slammed open behind me.

I stiffened in shock as his presence filled the room before I even turned around. What the actual hell?

!“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly.He stared at me with such guts, it made me want to scream in anger.

I walked toward the door, intending to open it and send him off, ending this before it even started.

But the moment my hand touched the handle, he moved, his body pressing mine against the door, trapping me.

My breath ceased to function and my senses came alive, feeling the hand that pinned me down between us, and his other arm that blocked my movement completely.

“Damien,”

“Sorry.”

I wasn’t ready for the full assault of his voice.

The rough melodic timbre hit me like a punch to the stomach and a shiver ran down my spine at the same time.

I sucked in a breath to stabilize myself against the vibration close to my ear.

It made my body freeze, not because I accepted his goddamn apology but because my body was reacting to him in ways I never thought possible.

Even after five freaking years.

“Let go of me right now,” I said, my voice tight as I gritted my teeth.

He didn’t.

“I was wrong,” he continued, his voice quieter now. “About everything.”My heart clenched.

I hated that it still reacted to him.“I want you back, Aurora.”

I’d thought I would have time to prepare for this, or just avoid meeting him altogether by rounding up the day’s business on time. But life gives us lemons.

Huh?When I turned to face him, it was with the most blank expression I could muster.

His steel grey eyes held mine for the first time in years but I didn’t flinch away from their intensity.

I let out a small, breathless laugh.

“You want me back?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

I turned my head slightly, forcing myself to look at him.

“You divorced me,” I said slowly. “You threw me away like I meant nothing.

”His jaw tightened.

“I know.”

“And now you just show up and say sorry… and expect me to come back?”

My voice shook slightly, but I didn’t care.“I’m not asking,” he said.

That made something in me snap.“Then you’re even more delusional than I thought.”

His eyes darkened slightly.

“Aurora.”

“No.” The word came out sharp. Just like I intended.

“I’m not coming back to you. Never.”

Silence filled the room again and for a moment, neither of us moved.

Then slowly he stepped back and the pressure disappeared as the space between us returned.

But the air still felt heavy.He looked at me for a long second. Like he wanted to say something else, then decided against it and without another word, he turned and left.

The door closed behind him, and just like that, he was gone again.

I stood there, unmoving as my heart raced wildly. My hand trembled slightly as I let out a long breath and sank into my chair.

“What was that?” I whispered.

Later that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I did the one thing I knew I shouldn’t do. I searched for him.

My eyes skimmed through the news results until something caught my attention, It was a familiar name. Genevieve.

But as I read the article, my brows furrowed further and further in confusion.

“What…?”I blinked, thinking I read it wrong. But the words remained unchanged.

“Genevieve Marries Business Tycoon Edmund Cross Amid Health Concerns.”

Edmund Cross.

Damien’ father?

My brain struggled to process it.

“She married his father?!”

The woman he claimed to love was now his stepmother?!

“What the hell?”

I muttered under my breath.