AURORA'S POV And there it was. The bottom line. The big plan we both had for me being here. “Of course. You guys are like family to me.” The Lannisters, but whatever. I whispered under my breath. Herold turned around and went back to his office. I handed Tree and Tinder their gifts, with Morgana standing next to us. I motioned for her to join us. She did. “Thank you, you shouldn’t have.” She bent down. “I know you save every penny.” “I love the boys.” Tinder opened his first gift. It was a chewing necklace, shaped like shark teeth. He yelped in happiness, holding it out to his mother. “C-can you put it on me, Mommy?” She stared at him for a moment, surprised and I could tell she didn’t have many moments like this with her children. “I… of course. Turn around, sweetie.” I watched them as Tree opened his gift which was a bike helmet and started talking excitedly about how he wanted a motorcycle when he grew up. Morgana’s hands shook as she put the necklace on her son’s
AURORA'S POV The last question hit me hard. It hit me hard because deep down, I knew there was at least one other person close to me who was hurt by Herold. Hurt enough to never trust people again. “Look, I know what it looks like…” Herold stepped closer, his voice soft and calming. I pulled Tinder closer to me. I shook my head. “To be honest, I’m not ready to talk about what I saw here before I talk with your wife.” “Ok, What’s going on here?” Morgana’s voice came from the hallway. I turned to face her. The look on my face said it all. The smile she had all afternoon turned into a frown. “Oh, no. What did you do now, Herold?” Now meant there had been many things before. “I just told him to speak clearly.” Herold tried to laugh it off and mess with Tinder’s hair, but Tinder hid his face in my shoulder, sniffing. “He shook him,” I said quietly, not wanting to say more and embarrass Tinder. Kids notice more than adults think. “I’m going to take the boys downstairs to mak
AURORA'S POV Please give me an emotion. Any emotion just to show that you care. I pleaded with him in mind because I was too scared to say the words out loud. “And I shouldn’t have broken the contract,” he said roughly, looking away from me. “I trust you.” “Bullshit,” I said, choking on a dry laugh. He didn’t say anything. I started to realize that nothing I said or did would change his mind about people. About me. He couldn’t feel things, and pushing him to love me would only make him hate me. Even now, he didn’t want me because he cared. Only because I was easy for him. A way to get what he needed. “You’re not leaving". I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder and turning to leave. “I’m sorry.” He walked toward me, growling. “Sorry for what?” “For changing the rules. For breaking the contract. For asking for more. I know I was wrong. I want you to marry someone who gives you what you want. Someone who is okay with what you’re willing to give. I’m not that person.
AURORA'S POV I got back to my apartment, jumped in the shower, and quickly ate some dry rice cakes. That was my dinner for the night. I didn’t even unpack the bag from Aiden’s house. I just collapsed on the couch and flipped through the TV channels, trying to fight off a headache. All the news stations were talking about the same thing: Aiden and Herold going head to head in an upcoming trial. One of the reports showed a video of the oil rig in the Arctic, standing out in the middle of the ocean. It looked wrong, like a big dark thing sticking out in the blue water. Broken ice was scattered around it. I felt bad for the environment, destroyed by Aiden’s greed. I grabbed my phone and messaged my husband. Me: Stop the Arctic drilling. Me: You want kids so badly, but have you thought about what kind of world you’ll leave them? Aiden replied right away. Aiden: Yes. A world where they’ll be rich. Me: Does being rich make you happy? Aiden: Happiness is a feeling, so… Me: You can
AURORA'S POV “What the fuck are you doing here?” The F bomb wasn’t something I used often, but I had to say it for this moment. My body shook so much, I had to grab the door handle to stop myself from falling. My ex husband stood in front of me, looking way too healthy, tan, muscled, and seemed to still have all his teeth for someone who had been running for the past year. And even his blond hair was curly, and his soulful eyes blinked at me. “Sweet heart, Fuck, you look just as gorgeous as I remember. Holy shit, Aurora. Look at you.”.” His lips curved into a smile, and he sighed. He took my hands, bringing them to his mouth, laughing. Tears filled his sparkling eyes. I was too shocked to push him away. Thomas was here. In person. After hundreds of missed calls, emails, and sleepless nights. My head was full of questions. Where had he been? When did he come back? How did he get into my building? There was a doorman downstairs. Mostly, I wanted to know why. Why did he leave me
AURORA'S POV The lie was so bad that I almost started laughing. Thomas kept talking like he didn’t notice."Our goodbye was never meant to be forever. I always planned to come back. You were smart, careful, and strong. I just needed you to help me out a little. When I saw the news about you marrying Aiden King, I wanted to kiss you. I thought, ‘that’s my girl.’ I was starting to worry that Peter Vory would really try to sell and pimp you out and I was about to step in."He put a hand on his chest. He looked like a terrible actor in a bad soap opera. The kind who wins a worst-actor award every year and still shows up happy to get it.My whole body vibrated with anger. I wanted to punch him in the nose, and I had never hurt anyone before."You knew they were following me?" I asked, trying hard to stay calm.He nodded. "I was watching you the whole time. I made sure you were safe. I worried about you so much, Aurora.""I wasn't safe," I said."You should give yourself more credit, babe.
AURORA'S POV My ex husband wasn’t just crazy, he was also as stupid as a string. I tried to remember what I saw in him at first, beyond his Instagram model looks. The answer was simple and embarrassing, he was the rebound. The fix for Aiden’s refusal and the thing I tried that almost ruined me. “We’re happily divorced. I married someone else.” I showed him my wedding finger, with an engagement ring with a diamond the size of his face shining back at him. I never took it off. Even when I knew I should. Thomas jumped up and rushed over to me. Maybe it was because he wasn’t like Aideny not as tall, broad, or powerful or maybe it was just because he wasn’t Aiden, but his presence bothered me. “I get it, babe. You’re angry and hurt. You have every right to be but you’re not fooling anyone. Your marriage isn’t real.” He stood in front of me, holding my arms, wanting to shake me. “Ours wasn’t real, either. Honestly, I have something to confess too.” I broke free from his grip, stepping
AIDEN'S POV "You dumb piece of cock sucking shit." I punched Daniel Sterling in the face the second he walked through my door, hitting his nose that had already been broken three times. I had texted Sterling at five in the morning, telling him if he didn’t show up at my house in fifteen minutes, I would buy every building in Southie, both government and private and tear down every place he loved growing up, just to ruin his day. He got to my house in nine minutes and didn’t even look tired. I, on the other hand, went from saying no bad words to saying only bad words. "Good morning to you, too," he said calmly, pushing his nose back into place without even flinching, even as blood poured out. The crack of the bone was enough to make anyone but the two of us want to throw up. "Why the warm welcome?" "Because you’re a bullshit private investigator and a terrible fucking friend. You messed up. Guess how my wife spent her night yesterday?" I pushed him against the front door and
AIDEN'S POV Please don’t let it be Grinder or Nature Valley. The smile on his face was so big it looked like it might break. “Tanya” I drove to Herold Landon’s house as soon as I kissed my new niece, Tanya, hello. She was a little pink ball with a head full of red hair, just like her mom, and blue eyes, just like her dad. The loud crying, she probably got from Michael Phelps. The kid could scream so loud, it felt like it would blow the roof off. All in all, Tanya was one of the cutest babies I had ever seen and a great addition to the family. I really appreciated how Sandy didn’t call me out for being a terrible person for what I did to her best friend. She took my congratulations with a smile that wasn’t very warm, even though it was clear I was the reason her husband had come back to her hospital room all beaten up with two black eyes. A few hours later, I saw Herold, in dirty sweatpants and messy hair, walking from his front door to a truck with a cardboard box in his hand.
AIDEN'S POV He ignored me and knelt down to pick up more manure. A childish idea of revenge popped into my head. I crouched down to grab as much manure as I could. “She never loved your fake personality, idiot.” Hunter swung his arm back like he was throwing a baseball, hitting me in the chest. I threw my manure ball at his face, hitting his neck and chin. Now we were both in deep trouble. Literally. “Stalin had a better personality than you, moron. She was always stupidly and I’ll add, unreasonably in love with you!” He threw another ball at me. I threw one back at him. “She owed a lot of money,” I shouted. “I paid it. That’s why she married me.” “I know!” Henry laughed loudly, leaving the manure and jumping on me. He pushed me to the ground, grabbing my blazer’s collar as he pinned me down. “I know, because after the night Aurora agreed to your offer in the snowstorm, I went to her door. I knew I had to fix things. Not for her, or for you, but for my wife. I didn’t w
AIDEN'S POV I let go of the empty vodka bottle, watching it roll to Henry's stall. That asshole almost cost me a wife. What a jerk. The car stopped, the engine turned off, and the person stepped out, the sound of boots on leaves really annoying me. “Aiden? Are you there?” Henry’s deep voice called. When did my brother start acting all serious? “No,” I growled, knowing he was coming in anyway. He did, stopping at the door with his hands on his hips. “Sandy had the baby. I have a daughter.” I thought I’d feel relief that it wasn’t a son, someone to take over Royal Pipelines, but I just felt nothing. Normal people would be happy for their brother, but I wasn’t normal. “Congrats,” I said with a bored tone. “Are they both okay?” “Yeah.” “Good. I set up a trust for your daughter. Three thousand dollars each month until college.” “That’s not why I’m here but thanks for the gift” Then he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Daniel found out Herold put Thomas Reynolds on t
AIDEN'S POV Aurora raised an eyebrow, looking at me with eyes so intense, if I had a heart, it would have broken for her. She clearly wanted me to care. “And you, what would you have done if Herold did something to me?” she asked softly. A cold shiver ran through me as I remembered the torture, burns , beatings and being locked in a dark church for hours, only with my demons to keep me company. Coming back to him, asking him for more. To pay for my father’s sins. To mourn our friendship. To numb my feelings and just like that, I remembered who I was. Who Herold Landon had made me. Who my father, my whole family wanted me to be. A sad smile twisted my face. I leaned down, my lips near my wife’s ear, my hot breath in her pale hair. “And I wish he’d finished what he started, Aurora, so I could finally marry someone better than you. You were a mistake. A stupid, careless mistake. I can’t wait for the divorce.” I felt, but didn’t see, her step back and that’s when I realized I
AIDEN'S POV She walked quickly toward me. “I kicked him out the night he came. You would’ve known that if you had answered any of my calls. Or if you had let me see you when I came to your house.” Your house. Of course, it was mine. Why would it be ours? I had taken her from the plain apartment I put her in, moved her into a guest room, and thought she would…what? Feel anything for the place? “Do you want a prize for staying loyal?. " She stopped right in front of me and her smell filled the room, making it hard to think. I wanted to grab her, shake her, push her out, kiss her, sleep with her, yell at her. All those things showed feelings and no control. “Daniel told you, didn’t he?” She tilted her head, watching me. She meant Herold Landon’s laptop. She must have seen the videos. “He works for me.” “So does the rest of the city.” “You too. So stop digging into my business before I cut you off.” “We both know I’m not here for the money. I want to talk about what I f
AURORA'S POV The third time I ran to the bathroom to throw up, I gave up. I shut my laptop and hid it under my bed, like the videos could still hurt me. I couldn’t watch my husband back when he was just a teenager being hurt, beaten, stuttering, crying, laughing, losing control and getting it back anymore. I wanted to hurt Herold Landon with my own hands and I knew, deep down, that I really could do it if I ever got the chance. Herold’s face wasn’t in the videos. But his voice was. You could hear why he did what he did. At six thirty in the morning, I got up and went to the shower. My eyes were swollen from crying all night. I knew two things for sure: One, I was going to make sure Landon paid for what he did, even if it was the last thing I ever did. Two, Aiden didn’t know how to feel anything after all he’d been through. But even someone who doesn’t feel love still deserves love. He still deserved peace, a place to belong, and a real home. From now on, I was going to give my
AIDEN'S POV After weeks of not seeing or hearing from Herold at Evon, I finally saw him at the main chapel. I felt both happy and scared. I waved at him from across the chapel. There were lots of students between us, and we all wore the same uniform. Herold saw me and looked away. A sharp pain hit my chest. That scared me. I couldn’t feel anything. Feelings would cause more nerve attacks, and nerve attacks would make Father kick me out. I did like baby Henry, but I didn’t want him to take the oldest son’s spot as heir to King Royal Pipelines and Father, Mother, and Henry were the only family I had left now. Herold probably hated me. After Sunday Mass, I walked across the lawn with my hands behind my back, looking at the grass and frowning. I didn’t care much that I had Tourette’s. It was annoying, yes but after reading a few books and medical papers about it, I had made a decision. I would beat it before I finished school and went to college. And when I make a decision, I always
AIDEN'S POV "Well,I guess it's because I have something called Tourette's syndrome." I leaned back in the chair, looking at all the white around me. It felt calm, and that made me feel better. There was a long silence from the other side of the window. "How long have you known?" "About a week." I heard pages turning on a clipboard from the other side. I smiled sadly. Usually, it's the patient who doesn’t know. "How can that be? It says here your tic attack happened two days ago," another voice said. It was a middle aged woman's voice. Both doctors had accents. One sounded Italian, and the other probably Swiss from the French side. "Yes," I said slowly, giving them time to write. "But I felt the attack coming in the days before, so I looked it up." "So you knew it was going to happen?" the Swiss doctor asked, surprised. "The attack." I nodded. She gasped. "Poor thing," she said. It wasn’t very doctor-like. "Well that's a new one. I’ve never been called that before,"
AIDEN'S POV THE PAST The first time I went to a juvenile treatment clinic was when I was fourteen. Earlier that week, I hurt myself so badly that I was still bleeding and had lost some teeth. My face was so swollen that it took three people to recognize me when they found me on the library floor. My mother went with me to the clinic in Switzerland. She didn’t want to go. I wore a coat, hat, and sunglasses to hide my bruises, like a celebrity trying to stay unnoticed. My mother didn’t say much on the flight from England to Zurich, except for one quiet sentence after the flight attendants had passed by. “Your father can’t know.” That was the first thing she said. Not asking how I was. Not asking how it happened. “Your father can’t know.” I didn’t say anything. She was right. Father couldn’t find out. And honestly, there was no way to explain what happened. One moment, I was sitting in the library studying hard to be first in my class like always, feeling a strange pressure i