Her eyes were fixed on the marble floor, watching how it reflected the bright lights overhead. She blinked dazedly, a small exhale leaving her nostrils. She could hear the chatter that was going around the room but it sounded muted in her ears.For some reason, she couldn't get what bear Man said to her the other night out of her head. It had kept her awake and even bothered when Ryan didn't message her after that night. Asides asking if she got to the hotel well, there was no other word from his end.Aurora hadn't wanted to admit it but she was beginning to worry. Ryan was the only stable thing in her wrecking life, if she lost him then she would truly lose herself again and she didn't want to go back to that robotic dark hole."AURORA!" A cutting voice from above her jolted her from her thoughts and she snapped her head up, meeting the glare of her mother.Miriam Rochester narrowed her steely grey eyes at Aurora, ruby-red lips puckered in dissatisfaction. "What in the world are you

"How long will she be asleep?""Probably for another two hours.""I think we should let her rest.""Look! She's waking."Aurora moaned softly, her eyelids fluttering as they struggled to open. She tried to raise a hand to wipe her face but her limbs felt weak and immobile. She cracked open an eye, wincing at the bright light shining from above."Miss Rochester?" She heard a monotonous voice echo, "Are you okay?" Aurora muttered something even she didn't quite understand what she had said. She tried to twist but felt cold hands clamp her down, the icy touch was enough for her eyes to fly wide open.Her gaze finally settled on the older-looking doctor with large glasses perched on his nose. "Miss Rochester?" He called again, pointing a flashlight to her eye and holding her lid still. He did that for the first and then the other eye before dropping his hands. "She's alright."Aurora frowned, following the strange doctor's line of sight. Her gaze landed on her family, her mother was the

"No, No, No!"She tried to nudge him with her elbow but he caught on quick, dodging her assault with a sly grin as he resumed playing. Aurora chuckled, her focus intent on the game pad in her hands, her fingers working rapidly to press the buttons.She wasn't sure how he managed to convince the hospital staff but they allowed him give her the respite she didn't know she needed. All through the week, Ryan had introduced her to painting, playing bingo with the elderly, throwing darts and now they were currently battling each other in a car race.Aurora couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard or ate as much. She stretched forward, popping another pizza slice into her mouth even as she kept hitting the buttons of the game pad. Somehow, he'd been able to convince her to eat anything she wanted. She was sure to gain some pounds after this but it was worth it.The game ended with him taking the upper hand again but she smiled. Ryan turned to face her, grinning cheekily,"You

Aurora woke up with a long yawn, stretching her limbs with a pop. She gave a satisfied smack of her lips and threw her legs over the edge of the bed. A quick glance at the clock on her table told her it was still a little after five which meant that she had a lot of time to prepare.Her goal was simple; avoid breakfast with the family. And in order to do that, she had to leave the house before six because that was when her mother woke up. She paged Rosa first, asking her to prepare a fruit shake and then headed to the bathroom.After a hot shower, she shrugged on a black leggings over plaid mini skirt with a white button-up. Aurora paired it with a gold and black cravat that hung loosely yet stylishly around the collar. She let her fiery locks down and placed a beret that matched her hair colour. She completed her outfit with a pair of black doc martens with heels that made her appear several inches tall. She took one accessing glance at the mirror and a sassy grin crawled up her lips

"Aurora!""Aurora!""Rory!"She nearly jumped out of the chair when she felt cold hands on her skin. Natasha peered at her in concern, her lips pursed slightly,"Where's your head at?"Aurora blinked stupidly, shaking her head and muttering, "Nowhere."That was a lie. A big fat one. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink ever since last night, her mind racing with thoughts of what Evan's intentions were.He wouldn't possibly share the photo...right?She would not have been so distraught if it weren't for the fact that the angle which the photo was taken perfectly captured her face, luckily, Ryan's own was a bit blurred but it was more than enough to ruin her, forever.After Evan's threat, she'd begun to re-evaluate her plans. But then she let out a curse knowing that she wouldn't be able to stand still while he went on with his plans to wreck her family even if she were not a part of the supposed wrecking."Are you alright?" It was Mason who asked this time, placing a comforting hand on