Chapter 2

As they watched their aunt leave, Nana turned towards Aurora. Her gentle demeanor, which she always portrayed in front of her mother, vanished in a second, bringing now her haughty behavior. She looked at Aurora from head to toe, still feeling angry at the fact that the girl was more beautiful than her. She couldn't even take her eyes away from her. She shook her head and glared at the girl, who was of the same height as her. "Go and get me a glass of champagne," she said. Coincidentally, a server was passing by, so Aurora walked towards him, took a glass from him, and gave it directly to Nana.

Nana took the glass with her left hand and folded her right hand over her chest, letting the hand holding the glass rest on it. She looked around the room until her eyes lit up. “Bryan!” she lifted her right hand to wave at the person. Hearing the name, Aurora involuntarily stiffened, her hands clenched at her sides before involuntarily releasing them.

Since Nana didn’t get the reaction of anger or deception she wanted to see, but she still smiled at the approaching man. As he got nearer, his features became harder to pass by: dark brown hair neatly combed, well-defined cheekbones, a pointed nose, and thin lips that arched up as he called, “Nana.” He walked up to her and gave her a warm hug before releasing her. “How are you doing?” Nana, who was blushing from the sudden contact, acted shyly. “Bryan, please behave. There are people around, even Aurora,” she said shyly and affectionately. Only now did the man notice the girl in red standing not far away.That was only when he separated himself from the girl as if she were scalding.

He looked at the girl in red without blinking, as if the girl was a rare beauty that would disappear if he closed his eyes. This prompted a look of disapproval from Nana, who pinched him. As if brought back to reality, he went to hug her too, but she took a step back and bowed slightly. “Greetings, young master Shanks,” this made the smile on the man’s face lessen as he looked at the girl with a complicated expression. Aurora looked at the man as if he were a stranger, then she looked at Nana. “I’m going to the bathroom.” With that said, she left.

Bryan, being held by Nana, rapidly untangled himself from her to rush for the disappearing girl until he reached the hallway. He held the girl by her wrist and looked at the back of the girl with a pleading look. “Please, Aurora, please look at me,” he said. His voice was pleading. Aurora decided to turn towards him and waited for him to talk. The man moved closer to her, but she took a step back to create more space.

“Aurora, please forgive me. I never meant to betray you, but you know at that time the family business was in ruins, and we needed your uncles’ help to pull us out. The only way was to be her boyfriend. Please forgive me,” he said, his voice choked up. Aurora looked at him as if he were a stranger, saying, 'You made me think that you were my partner, my friend. You didn’t hesitate to fool around with my cousin but came and blamed it on the family business. What a pure moron you make.' “Young master, no need to worry. I doesn’t hold grudges".

She said her voice was low but clear enough for him to hear. He smiled instantly and tried to hug her, but she took a step back. He looked at her with a questioning look. “What are you doing?” She looked at him directly in the eyes. As she was shorter, she had to crane her neck to look at him since he was 1.85m and she was 1.79m. “Young master seems to misunderstand something. I forgave you, but I didn’t say things can return to what it was before,” the man looked at her and said, “But I thought you said you love me. Was it a lie?” His tone was indignant, as if she was the betrayer and he the victim.

The man's reaction initially sparked a desire to laugh in her, but soon her eyes turned cold, causing the man to shudder under the weight of her gaze. "Yes, I said it, but the difference is that I didn't lie," she asserted. The man stared at her for a moment before attempting to caress her cheek as if trying to soothe her anger, only to have his hand slapped away. With a pleading look, he implored, "Please trust me again, believe in me just this once." Annoyed, she met his gaze and stated firmly, "Bryan, I trust once, I don't tolerate betrayal".

Upon arriving home, the aunt excused herself due to stomach discomfort and left Nana and Aurora alone.

When Nana confirmed that her mother was no longer present, she took action.