"Why the fuck are you smiling like that?"Aurora's head snapped up at the sound of the brusque voice, her eyes narrowing on that of Evan's. He tried to peek at her phone but she quickly hid it away from his view, tucking it into the front of her overly large large. It was a pink fluffy material that she was regretting wearing since it was almost sixty degrees out here, even with the air conditioning she could still feel sweat rolling down her back."Your lover boy, huh?" Evan perused, grinning mischievously.She scoffed and rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore him and facing forward. Her aunt stepped out of the dressing room then, clad in what looked like a black bottega that she was sure just came out this season,Aunt Christy twirled left and right, the light material flowing with the motion, "What do you think? Fabulous, isn't it?"The clerk that had followed her in nodded enthusiastically, "You look wonderful, ma'am!" she clapped, "It's almost like the dress was made for you." Whi
Her legs moved in accordance with the haunting tone, she pushed herself with her feet off of the ground and did a wide twirl. The music was like a soothing balm to her soul and the steps came easily to her. This was why she liked dancing The Swan, it felt similar to her own life. Trapped, unable to live life freely, to love freely and under a spell, most possibly for the rest of her life. She prepared to do the final quadruple arabesque when the music cut off suddenly, causing her eyes to fly open. "I can't imagine why people enjoy shitty dances like this," Ryan said gruffly, his hands were tucked in his pockets and he was leaning against the entrance doorframe. She cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on her hip, "When did you come in?" "That doesn't really matter," He answered, walking further into the room, "I brought food." He raised the lunch pack in his hand, the corner of his lips quirking up. She frowned when he settled beside where she stood, folding his legs as
Breakfast was usually an excruciating task for her, she had to sit through minutes of long talk and watching other eat the interesting food while she got the bland ones.Aurora had never gotten the chance to eat sweets or any of those meals advertised on TV, from the moment she clocked ten when her mother decided that her only child was going to become a ballet prodigy, those privileges were taken away from her.Her diet was watched strictly, she wasn't allowed to gain even an inch nor was she supposed to get thinner. Her mother's expectations was that she maintained that perfect weight or the supermodel weight as she called it.Aurora thought everything was bullshit though but she'd never complained. She ate what she was given and rejected was she was not supposed to eat.At least, that was how her life had gone until him.She blinked at the small piece of steak sitting on her plate, it looked juicy and smelled even juicer. She was practically salivating by now and her stomach begged
Knock Thrice."Who's there?""Scarface."Door opens, walks into the dark room, door shuts. Apprehension slithers in as she walked blindly through the narrow passage. Her vision slowly adjusted and she was able to see that they were heading towards the light area at the end of the passage.She was going to regret this. A warning voice at the back of her head was screaming for her to go back, that this was reckless and stupid.Her parents were going to arrive tomorrow and if she didn't come back tonight or if she was caught then her mother would throw another fit. Maybe ground her for a whole year.But she kept moving forward."Enjoy the party," The bouncer told her, pulling open the curtain that served as a entryway. Her eyes widened when she saw what was happening. It was a full house, quite similar to the one she saw back in Ontario. Everyone was cheering and she was pretty sure they were drunk as well.Aurora released a frustrated exhale. How in the world was she supposed to find hi
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
The wedding procession went smoothly as planned, she kept watching him with hawk-eyed focus but nothing happened. They moved on to the reception hall, watching as the bride and groom danced to a popular Taylor Swift's number. "You look fidgety," Her mother's voice startled her and she jumped when she felt her presence behind her.Aurora looked over her shoulder, before hesitantly grabbing a flute from the table. She gingerly took a sip from the liquid, reveling in the way it cooled her throat."Watch it," Her mother warned, eyeing her, "You don't want to get drunk now, do you?"Aurora let out a sigh, turning to face her mother with a goofy grin on her face, "I won't," She threw her another fake large grin before sauntering off.She looked around the hall, her eyes widening when she couldn't find Evan amongst the crowd. He was just sitting on the table across from her and now, he was gone."Shit," She cursed softly, running her fingers through her hair. Her eyes darted around the larg
"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
Aurora sighed when the IV was removed from her wrist, she watched as the nurse place wool on top and the bandaged the area."Leave it like that for some minutes so the bleeding would stop, okay?" The nurse cooed gently and she forced a smile in return, nodding in understanding.The nurse winked before packing up the tray and walking away. Aurora sighed again, relaxing her back against the headstand. It'd been almost a week since she'd been in the hospital and since that time, both her parents had flown back to Toronto due to their businesses. Evan has stopped coming to visit so she guessed he had gone back too, not that she was keen on seeing his face.It was her aunt Christy and Chandler who were been doing most of the checking up. The doctor had advised that she remained in the hospital for another week so that the stitches would heal up a bit. At least, now she was able to sit and walk around.Her gaze was focused on the device in her hand, Aunt Christy had brought it in for her ye
Evan slurped noisily from the smoothie cup in his hold, the young mother sitting her her two kids in the table adjacent his kept throwing him dirty glances but he didn't pay her any attention.His focus primarily on the trio walking along the sidewalk, there were about to cross the road and he just knew that they were coming here. After all, this was their usual spot, every Saturday they always assembled here and ordered the same thing.Just as he predicted, seconds later, the three friends bursted through the front door and stealing the attention of most people who were either mid-bite or swallow. Evan watched with hawk eyed focus as the three of them sauntered to the counter, making gestures with their hands as they placed their order.His gaze was fixed on the girl in their middle, the one who seemed much more quiet, allowing her friends to do the talking."Sorry, did you order for a cheese hamburger?" His attention was momentarily stolen by the smiling waitress who held a plate of
Ryan killed the engine of the motorcycle and pulled off the helmet from his head, raking his fingers through the curly strands of his hair. He always hated having to wear the goddamn helmet but the precinct officers were getting serious about road regulation rules so he always had his helmet plus an extra.His long legs crossed the entryway, walking casually into the dimly lit building. A merry tone slipped into his mind and he began whistling, he knocked the usual way on the door and it was pulled open for him to enter."Hey, man," Nate, the large bouncer who usually stood at the gate greeted with a gruff nod and stretched his hand.Ryan accepted it for a shake, patting his back in response. "Rossi has been waiting for you," Nate told him as they both walked through the dark hallway. Since they were already used to the passage, it wasn't hard to find their way past.Ryan grunted in a sign that showed that he had heard, "How mad is he?"From this point, he could hear the loud bass an
Ryan could list off his head a thousand and one reasons why he shouldn't be here just before a fight but he would ignore them anyway. He knew Theo would blow his shit if the big guy found him sitting her but Ryan honestly couldn't help it.Today was a shifty day fof him and he needed some booze to calm his system. He downed the entire glass in one gulp and poured himself another shot. As he swiveled the whiskey around in the ice, Ryan took the opportunity to really look at the bar. It wasn't his usually setting, the place was too bright and it looked expensive as well, obviously for the hotshots but he didn't have any choice. It was the only place close to the ring and if he chose to drive to his usual spot, he was likely to miss the fight which would give Theo even more reason to bash his face in.Ryan looked towards the left, catching the eye of a busty brunette smiling his way. She was surrounded by two other girls and they looked like they were discussing something, although her
She placed the foiled turkey into the oven and closed it shut before proceeding to pull off the mittens covering her arm. Aurora took long strides towards the counter, taking another long look at the recipe book sitting on the counter.It was pure luck that she was able to get Rosa's cook book just before the older woman left for her hometown in Spain. Aurora was leafing through the Christmas recipes on the book and she sighted this particular dish and of course, come gingerbread. Christmas wasn't complete without one.She went on with mixing the batter whilst putting the necessary ingredients. The noise from the living room and overwhelming and she cast a dubious glance at the doorway.Would Ryan be okay with the kids? He wasn't really the best of a role model for the children and most of the times, he joined in on their shenanigans rather than stopping them."Hey, babe!"Speaking of the devil. Aurora smiled warmly at him, giggling when he wrapped his arms around her waist and presse
|FIVE YEARS LATER|"Thanks."She dropped down from the cabby, pulling her shades to the top of her head. The driver came down and helped pull out her luggages, dragging them towards where she stood. She gave him a grateful smile and he tipped his head in response.She watched the house in front of her with a nostalgic smile before moving to wrap her fingers around the luggage handle. Her steps were slow, the clicking of her booted heels resounding against the pavement.Finally, she got to the front door. She took in a sharp inhale before rapping her knuckles against the glass frame. No response came and she knocked again, hearing a high-pitched 'I'm coming' echo from inside.Aurora took a step back and waiting, listening to the rustling on the other side. She blinked and the door pulled open, revealing a disheveled Rosa. "Diós mio!" Rosa gasped, wide-eyed and mouth parted in astonishment, "Aurora!" She squealed in excitement, pulling her into her arms and squeezing her tightly. Auro
"Have you taken everything?"She pushed the suitcase out the door and kicked it close with her booted foot. Aurora blew out the stray strand of hair that had escaped from her messy bun and was now dangling in front of her face. Her father took one of the heavier bags from her hand and she rested the other smaller one on top the suitcase before leaning against it,"Yeah but I packed light, I didn't want to exceed the airport's luggage limit," She answered, pushing away from the suitcase and strolling after her father.Harry scoffed but it was more of an amused one, "This is you packing light?"She threw him a look and chuckled as they meandered downstairs, there was a clanging noise coming from the kitchen area and she cocked a brown"Rosa has been at it since early this morning, claims you need to have good food when you leave," Harry shrugged, "I told her not to bother, the airplane gives good service meals but she wouldn't have it."Aurora laughed softly, nodding her head, "Tell he
Dinner ended after the entire fiasco but she was stunned to see her father laughing proudly, even Matt seemed more livelier than when he first arrived. They walked out of the restaurant together and waited out front for the valets to bring in their respective cars."I wish we could have more nights like this," Matt confessed, a relaxed expression shining in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Louisa, pulling her closer into him.Her father nodded in agreement, "Me too."Louisa stalked forward, taking her palms and smiling, "I know you're leaving tomorrow and I might not get the chance to see you off but I wish you all the best," She wrapped her arm around Aurora in a comforting hug and she reciprocated the gesture.Matt hugged her after that, reminding her that she would always have a place in their hearts and bade her goodbye too.Their cars soon came and they waited for each one of them to go in and drive off, waving them goodnight."Don't stay out long!" Her father had yelled much
"How do I look?" Aurora peeped over her shoulder at him, fluffing her hair one last time before swiveling to completely face. She smiled, sauntering towards where he nervously stood and reached up to arrange the bow tie around his collar,"I think you look splendid," He cocked his head to the side and she chuckled, "What?" Ryan shook his head, the curls bouncing with the effect, "Nothing, it's just that I wasn't quite looking for that word. What's splendid supposed to mean?"She knew he was joking with her because a devious smile had begun crawling up his lips. Aurora smacked his chest and rolled her eyes, moving to grab her purse from the counter,"Let's go now or else we'll be late."Ryan breathed out but nodded and linked his fingers with hers as they walked out the door. The night's air was quite chilly, she was grateful that she'd decided to wear the cashmere overcoat like Rosa advised."Why do you think your dad wants dinner with me?" He asked as they slipped into the car with
Aurora walked hand in arm with her father, the weather was fairly gloomy with the sun glowing dimly from between the clouds. She was thankful that it wasn't going to rain today, or at least that was what the forecaster announced earlier this morning. The wedding was a open event, set up in one of the finest gardens she'd ever seen."I think it's going to rain," Natasha muttered from beside her, frowning at the darkening clouds.Mason hissed, jabbing his arm into her side, "Don't jinx it." Aurora smiled at their banter, shaking her head softly. After the entire rollercoaster, she'd signed off from the school to the dismay of the Chancellor. Louisa has gotten the role, thank goodness, and she was in the process of preparing for the main competition which was weeks away."Don't fret," Her father told them warmly as they settled on the last row of chairs, "It's not going to rain, my feet always tingles whenever it's about to and so far, I haven't felt anything."They both gave his open m