Chapter 7

Aurora didn't want to open her door. She knew what was on the other side and she chanted in her head the opposite. Being as silent as possible she carpet towards it and then opened it. And there, leaning on the opposite wall was Caden, dressed in a sweater and jeans but he had his hair down. Aurora would have shamelessly checked it out if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want him there.

As soon as they made eye contact, she went to close her door but it was stopped by and hand and Caden opened it fully. She rolled her eyes and groaned as she tried to close the door.

"Don't you have answers for me?"

"I don't have to tell you anything." she struggled against his strength.

"Where were you after the fight?"

"You seriously don't listen to anything I say." Aurora gave up and stepped out of her room. What he asked was not something she wanted to keep a secret so she told him.

"I tailed some people from Delta, found their hideout."

"Then you have to tell your parents. That's good information."

"They should know and if they don't then that's not my fault. Probably just forgot to mark it down. My parents aren't fools. The fools were the people who led me right to their front door."

"I'm sure they would have done something if they knew. You just want to keep your secret." he looked down at her and Aurora sighed.

"Of course it would reveal everything. And of course, I don't want that to happen."

Aurora reached up for his shoulders and pulled him down to eye level. She put on her most serious face. "Listen. Just bare me. All you have to do is your job. Don't stick your nose in business that has nothing to do with you."

"But that's my job. To monitor you and your business."

"Your job is to be a guard dog and follows its master. No one asked it to bark."

She walks away after that and she heard Caden click his tongue.

In the kitchen, she cuts up some apples and pears. There were people that cooked their meals and did other stuff but Aurora found a small sense of independence when she did this. It was a small task but held a lot of meaning to her.

With the plate in hand, she goes to her father's study where her parents are discussing work. She situates herself on the couch and eats as she listens to them. Her body was a little sore from her activities yesterday and she shifts on the couch before finding a comfortable position.

"Since you're here, it's time to tell you that we think you should be improving your fighting. As we said, it's becoming increasingly more dangerous with the different activities of the other groups and so it would be a good idea for you to move on from the fundamentals." Aurora's mom said.

Aurora only smiled and nodded, she knew much more than the fundamentals but kept her mouth shut.

"Caden will be in charge of your training. So don't give him such a hard time," she added on.

"What. No," she sat up. "I don't want him to train me. He's so mean and never lets me do what I want. If you bring back Carson then I'll for sure do it. He is the one that taught me all that time ago."

"Not a chance Princess." her dad said.

She knew it was coming but pouted anyway. They continued talking about business and after a while, she leaves. Since they did such important business, they also ad to run the numbers and do all the math and accounting by themselves. It was foolish to trust anyone else. When all that started flowing in her ears she left the room quickly.

That was something she wasn't looking forward to doing. Aurora would want to hire someone to do it for her but she would not. She had been taught how to do all of the accounting but it was so hard and boring that Aurora had once just left the teaching session and hide in her room for days. Math was hard but accounting was another thing.

When she left, Caden came up to her. "I'm sure you've heard what is being done. I have to help you improve on your fighting. But I'm guessing you won't need it since I saw that you can clearly handle yourself."

"Is all you do talk." she rolled her eyes. "Well since you know all that then shut up leave."

"But I still have to do it."

Aurora stopped. She dug for her phone and when she pulled it out she popped the case off. It was where she stashed some money.

"You know what. You're doing all of this for money right? Take it. And then leave me alone."

Aurora took out all the money and shoved it in his direction. He stared at the money and then at her.

"What are you waiting for. You clearly need it." she waved the money in his face.

They stayed like that for another while and Aurora's patience was running out.

"You know what. Here."

She threw the money on him and Caden simply watched it fall to the ground. Aurora scoffed and turned to walk away but before she could, he reached out and grabbed her neck.

"What the heck!" Aurora snapped.

He backed her up and until she was pressed against the wall of the hallway. He looked at her with a small sneer on his face. Aurora calmed down from the initial shock of the situation and adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. She coils still breath so that was fine. It got too rough she would just smash the empty plate she had over his head.

"I'm not really into this kind of stuff," she said with a small smile on her face.

He squeezed tighter, "Who do you think you are. Looking down on people just because they don't have money. Stop acting all high and mighty Princess."

Aurora coughed a bit and relaxed her throat to get the most air in. "Listen, pretty boy, I was just trying to help. You don't need to get all worked up. Did I hurt your fragile man feelings or something?"

He looked at her for a couple more seconds before he released her. Aurora gave him a mocking smile and she rubbed her throat a bit.

Caden took a deep breath. "I have to train you. It is required. So don't put up a huge fight."

"And I say it's waste of time," Aurora said back.

"Then, I propose that we fight. If I win you get trained by me and if you win then I'll drop it."

Aurora hummed as she thought of the suggestion. She leaned forwards and stood on her toes as she moved her face closer to Caden's. "Not a chance, pretty boy. We both know that I'll win. So it's waste of time. I trained with some of the best in the country."

With that, she leaves him and goes to her room. For the remainder of the day, it was silent and she watched movies ad lounged around but it was only later that it became quite the opposite.

It was around eight and Aurora was doing her hair. She was braiding it up to that she could go to sleep. But she heard a soft knock on the door. When it opened, Alice, one of the maids, stuck her head in.

"Hey," Aurora said.

"Your mom wants you in the living room urgently."

"Oh," she paid what she was doing and got up. Aurora tied her hair up into a quick bun and went to the living room.

Her parents were sitting on one of the couches and they had serious expressions on their faces. The room was clear, except for Caden who stood against the wall on the other side of the room, opposite her parents.

"What's going on guys?" she asked as she sat down.

Her mother cleared her throat, "Now, Aurora, I want to keep an open mind about this and want you to tell me the truth. Caden says that you have been going out late at night and have been doing illegal fights for money. Is that true?"

She almost swore. Aurora glanced at Caden and he looked at her with a blank expression. Trying to keep her cool, she swallows down all the things she wanted to shout at him.

For years she had been planning in her head what she was going to say to them when they found out. There were many scenarios she created in her head but this one was easy. She had said it to him. Aurora almost cracked a smile. He basically set himself up to fail.

So with years of practice in her hands, she busted out the waterworks and gave the performance of a lifetime.