Chapter 4: The Fall

Aurora’s POV

The key turned inside the lock of my bedroom door.

I looked up from the biotechnology journal on my lap, knowing immediately it wasn't one of the maids. They always knocked first.

For three long weeks, my father had kept me locked inside this room like a disgraced prisoner.

The door swung open, and Sophie stepped inside.

She looked nothing like the tearful sister who had hidden behind our father two weeks ago. Today, she wore an expensive white designer dress that hugged her curves. Her hair was styled to perfection, and on her left ring finger sat a massive emerald-cut diamond ring.

She closed the door behind her, smiling with pure triumph.

“I thought you might want to see this,” she purred.

My eyes went straight to the glittering rock. A dull ache ripped through my chest.

“Asher proposed,” she said, holding her hand higher so the diamond caught the morning light. “The contracts were signed this morning. Both families agreed to everything. The wedding date will be announced to the press tomorrow.”

I closed my journal with steady fingers, refusing to give her the satisfaction of my tears.

“Congratulations.”

Sophie let out a soft, mocking laugh. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What do you want from me, Sophie? You have Asher. You have Dad. You have this whole house. What else is left?”

Her smile dropped, replaced by cold venom. “I want you to understand that you were never supposed to have any of it.”

She walked toward my desk and picked up a thick white folder.

My stomach dropped.

My scholarship application.

I stood up instantly. “Put that down.”

She flipped through the pages with a lazy smirk. “You worked so hard on this, didn't you? The global biotechnology research fellowship. Two years of lab work. Your dream ticket out of this city.”

“Give it back,” I demanded, stepping forward.

She looked me dead in the eye. “I canceled it.”

I froze. “What?”

“I called the foundation board yesterday using Dad's authority,” she said smoothly. “I withdrew your name. Your spot has already been given to someone else.”

My ears began to ring. “You... you had no right! That was my life!”

“You weren't going anywhere, Aurora.” Sophie stepped closer, her eyes cold and mean. “I took Asher. I took your father. But this was the one thing you built yourself that I couldn't steal, so I made sure it was destroyed.”

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, but I swallowed them down.

“Why do you hate me this much?” I whispered. “When you walked into this house three years ago, I never fought you. I welcomed you. I treated you like a sister.”

“Because you lived my life!” she snapped, her voice full of spite. “You spent over twenty years wearing expensive clothes, having Dad's love, and being Asher's princess while I grew up in dirt and misery. You stole my whole life, Aurora. And now, I'm taking every single piece of it back.”

She dropped the ruined folder onto the floor.

“Just like that night in the forest,” she added quietly.

My breath hitched. “What about the forest?”

Her cruel smile returned. “Did you really think Dad's security found you by accident? I was the one who tracked your phone. I told the guards you went into Blackwood Ridge, and I told them to hunt you down and make sure you came back dirty and ruined so Asher would never look at you again.”

A wave of cold horror washed over my skin.

She hadn't just stolen my fiancé. She had tried to destroy me completely.

If I hadn't run into that bleeding, lethal stranger in the trees... I would have been at the mercy of those men.

“You're sick,” I breathed.

Before she could speak, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Sophie’s eyes darted toward the open door.

In a fraction of a second, her vicious sneer vanished.

She threw herself backward, slamming hard against the floor by my desk.

Thud.

“Dad!” she shrieked, clutching her elbow. “Please, stop! Aurora, don't!”

I stared in shock. “What are you doing?”

My father stormed into the room, his face dark with fury. “What is going on here?”

Sophie sobbed on the carpet, curling into a ball. “Dad! I only came to show her the ring... I wanted to make peace... but she screamed that I stole her life and shoved me!”

“She’s lying!” I yelled, my voice shaking. “I didn't touch her! She just admitted that she canceled my fellowship!”

Nathan didn't look at the folder on the floor. He stepped over it, helped Sophie up with gentle hands, and turned on me with absolute disgust.

“Enough!” Nathan barked. “I have tolerated your bitter, pathetic tantrums for three full weeks. Asher chose Sophie because she is a lady who knows how to honor this family, while you act like a disgraced street girl.”

“Dad, she destroyed my future!” I pleaded.

“You destroyed your own future the night you threw yourself at a random vagrant in the dirt,” he snapped coldly. “I am done covering for your shame.”

He straightened his suit cuffs and pointed toward the door.

“You have until tomorrow morning to pack your bags and get out of my house.”

The words hit like a physical blow.

“You're... kicking me out?”

“You are no longer a Brooks,” Nathan said, his voice flat and dead. “Take your clothes and leave quietly. If you show your face near Asher or this family again, I will have you arrested for trespassing.”

He walked out, wrapping his arm around Sophie's trembling shoulders.

Over his shoulder, Sophie met my gaze and winked.

The heavy door slammed shut.

I stood frozen in the center of the quiet room, completely stripped of my name, my fiancé, my career, and my home.

I took one step toward my bed and suddenly, the room tilted violently.

A wave of terrible, violent nausea hit my stomach like a punch.

My knees gave out, and I fell hard against the floor, gasping for air as my body heaved.