جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

"Welcome home, Aurora."The words rang in Selene's ears as she stood frozen in the hallway.Aurora. She knew that name. She'd spent three years trying not to think about it, and here it was, hanging in the air like it had never left. Slowly, she tightened her grip on her handbag. The tiny baby shoes inside suddenly felt like a cruel joke.She made herself move.The closer she got to the living room, the louder the voices became. A servant hurried past her carrying a tray of drinks. It didn't feel like a family gathering, it felt like a celebration.When she reached the doorway, she stopped.The room was packed. Vance family members filled the sitting area, along with Damien's cousins. And at the center of all of it sat a woman Selene didn't need to be introduced to.Aurora moon.The woman Damien had loved before he married her. The woman who had vanished three years ago without a word. The woman he had never forgotten.She was beautiful. Long silver-blonde hair, bright eyes, an easy

Selene's eyes stayed fixed on the document lying on the desk.DIVORCE AGREEMENT.She stared at it for several seconds, her mind refusing to catch up with what she was seeing. Her ears were ringing. This had to be a mistake.Slowly, she looked up at Damien.He looked completely calm, like he was waiting for her to finish reading a memo so they could move on with the evening."What is this?" she asked quietly."You can read," he said.The words hit her like a closed fist. She swallowed. "You're divorcing me?"He leaned back in his chair. "Aurora is back. And as you know, this marriage only happened because of my grandmother." He said it plainly, like he was explaining something she should have already understood. "There's no reason to keep pretending."Pretending.Three years. Three years of loving him, of learning him, of folding herself around his coldness and telling herself it was temporary. Three years of lying awake after he left her room in the dark, convincing herself that a man

Aurora had not only been Damien's first love — she was the daughter of a longtime family friend of the Vances, a connection that guaranteed her a seamless invitation to a private dinner at the estate. Even so, the mood at the table remained suffocating. Damien sat rigid, a hard crease pressed between his brows, his food untouched. His mind kept circling back to the same image: his wife walking out beside Michael Ashford without a single backward glance. What gnawed at him most was the contradiction of it. She had practically begged him to reconsider the divorce, and then turned around and left with another man. Gerald Vance set down his cutlery and swept a confused look around the table. "Where is she? Why hasn't she come down?" Damien kept his eyes on his plate, his voice flat and clipped. "We've already signed the paperwork. I intend to finalize the divorce as quickly as possible." Gerald went completely still, his expression caving into open shock. "Why would you do that aft

Damien barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same scene: the private café, the birthday display, Michael Ashford standing beside Selene. No, beside his ex-wife. The image irritated him more than he cared to admit, and it made no sense, because none of this should have mattered to him. He had wanted the divorce and signed the papers himself. He had made it clear that their marriage was over. So why couldn't he stop thinking about her?He arrived at his office earlier than usual the next morning. The floor was quiet, most employees still hadn't come in, and he loosened his tie and dropped into his chair before calling his secretary. The line connected at once."Good morning, sir.""I need more information on Michael Ashford."A brief silence followed. "Sir?""You heard me.""Yes, sir."The call ended, and Damien turned toward the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. The city stretched out below, and normally the view helped clear his mind.A soft knock broke his concent

Aurora laughed softly as Damien pulled her closer on the couch. for the first time in years, Damien felt genuinely at peace. Aurora rested comfortably against his shoulder, scrolling through old photos on her phone, until she held the screen up to him."Look at this one."He glanced down. It was a photo from their teenage years. Aurora was grinning at the camera while a younger version of him stood beside her looking thoroughly unamused."You always had terrible timing with cameras," he said.Aurora gasped. "I looked adorable.""You still do."Her cheeks went pink before she could think of a response. Then footsteps approached from the hallway, and Diana Vance walked in carrying her morning coffee. The moment she saw them sitting together, quiet satisfaction crossed her face."Good morning, Aunt Diana," Aurora said, sitting up straighter.Diana smiled and settled into the armchair across from them, her eyes moving between the two of them with something close to approval. "You know, th