All Chapters of My Husband's Stepbrother Is My First Love : Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

Aurelia's POVThe outside coordinator turned out to be a woman named Diane, brisk and pleasant, who took one look at my seating charts and vendor contracts and told me within ten minutes that she didn't see anything to change. I thanked her, relieved, and thought that would be the end of it.I should have known better than to think anything involving Vivienne ended that easily.Two days later, she called a small meeting in the drawing room.....herself, me, and two members of the household staff who usually had nothing to do with the gala at all. I found out about it twenty minutes before it started, from Marta, who looked apologetic delivering the message."She said it's just a quick check-in," Marta said. "About the flower arrangements."It wasn't about the flowers.I arrived to find Vivienne already seated, a fresh set of mood boards spread across the coffee table.....the same ones Bianca had brought to the conference room the week before, printed larger now, laminated, like they'd

Aurelia's POVCassian had promised Thursday. Just the two of us, no board members, no calls he couldn't step away from. He'd said it almost sheepishly, like he already knew how rare a promise like that had become in our house.I told Marta to set the small table in the sitting room instead of the long one built for twelve. I picked out the green dress he'd once said he liked, I lit the candles myself, careful with the match, telling myself not to hope too hard and doing it anyway.His text came at six-forty, twenty minutes before he was supposed to walk through the door.*Something came up with the Hendricks deal. Emergency call with London. I'm sorry.*I read it standing in the doorway of the sitting room, the table already set, the candles already lit, and something in my chest folded in on itself, quiet and small.I didn't sit down right away. I blew out one of the candles, then the other, because there didn't seem to be any point in letting them burn for no one, then I ate standin

Aurelia's POVI went to Rosa's the next afternoon, mostly because I needed somewhere that didn't feel like it was watching me.I sat at her small kitchen table, the same table where I used to do my homework as a child. In front of me was the same chipped blue mug that had always been mine.She poured soup into two bowls and sat across from me then she waited, just as she always did, she never asked questions directly. Instead, she let the silence encourage me to open up on my own."There's my girl," she said, wiping her hands on her apron and pulling me into a hug that smelled like flour and lavender. "You look like you haven't eaten a proper meal in a week.""I've eaten.""Standing up, alone, at a kitchen counter doesn't count as a proper meal, Aurelia." She pulled back and studied my face the way she always did, like she was reading something written just beneath the skin. "Sit. I made soup."I sat at her small kitchen table, the same one I'd done homework at as a girl, the same chi

Aurelia's POVI didn't sleep well after the dinner. I lay awake replaying Vivienne's voice at the table.....*these things happen, some women simply take longer than others*.....and Cassian's silence sitting right beside it, just as loud in its own way.By the time I gave up trying to sleep, it was almost eleven. I sat up against the headboard, phone in hand, and called Rosa without really deciding to, she picked up on the second ring, her voice thick with sleep she hadn't bothered pretending she wasn't in."Aurelia? It's nearly eleven. What's wrong?"And that was all it took, the dam I'd been holding up all evening simply gave out."She did it again," I said, my voice breaking halfway through the sentence. "In front of guests this time.....Bianca's mother, the garden committee women....all of them, sitting there while Vivienne asked the whole table why I still haven't given Cassian a child, like it's a factual question anyone's entitled to an answer to.""Oh, sweetheart.""And Cassian

Aurelia's POVCassian came back to us just as Robert Ellison walked away to join another conversation, his laughter still echoing behind him."There you are." Cassian said it to Kael, not to me, his eyes barely touching mine before moving on. "Robert mention the Q3 numbers? He's been cornering half the room about international all night.""He did." Kael's voice stayed even. "Also mentioned he hadn't met Aurelia yet. Took care of that for you."Something flickered across Cassian's face, quick and hard to name. "Should've done that myself.""You usually remember."It wasn't sharp, the way Kael said it....just plain, but plain landed harder than sharp would have, and I watched it land."I've had a lot on my plate this week," Cassian said, jaw tightening slightly."I know. I didn't say otherwise.""Didn't have to." Cassian reached for a glass of wine off a passing tray, took a slow sip, his eyes flicking toward the cluster of investors near the bar before coming back to his brother. "Robe