"Miss?""Miss?"Aurora's head snapped towards him, their gazes met through the rearview mirror. Calvin had a slight furrow between his brows and his eyes held slight concern."We've arrived, miss," He said softly and she blinked, looking towards the mirror that showcased the front of her house.She released a weary sigh, "Oh, we've gotten home already," Her tone lacked enthusiasm and she shakily picked the strap of her purse.The sight of her house brought a bitter taste to her tongue, she didn't want to get down at all. Her mother was still sick and acting weird, her father constantly tried to strike up conversations with her and Evan was always lurking around the house. So, she'd resorted to staying late in school only returning when it was after dinner. Rosa had been a big help to her, bringing up food and snacks once she retired to her bedroom. It had been successful until today, a quick look at her wristwatch told her that it was still a little to seven."Thank you," She breathe
Aurora dropped down from her car and walked into the building, it was empty. That was a first. A guy who seemed to be setting up, tipped his head in acknowledgement and she returned the gesture, strolling over to the bar area.She slipped onto the bar stool, placing her purse over the counter. Aurora took the time to look around, her eyes caught the boxing ring first and a smile crawled up her lips when she remembered the last time she was here. "Hey, pretty," A voice piped and she shifted to face the newcomer. The brunette bartender that was here the last time greeted chirpily, she was holding what appeared to be a box of drinks.Aurora smiled, "Oh, hi, uhhh-" She scratched her head, trying to remember what her name was.The brunette placed the box down, a rustling noise following her action, "Sandy," She offered, placing two beer bottles atop the counter, "And you're Ryan's girlfriend, right?"She didn't know why but a warm sensation crept to her cheeks and she tried to fight back
Aurora stared at the deep green dress through the mirror with an examining gaze. The bodice was tight fitting and the silk length flowed to the ground seamlessly gathering like a pool around her feet. Her hair was done by her stylist and the lady had chosen an intricate chignon with two curly strands framing her face and finishing the look with decorated sliver pins.She hadn't even heard the door open so she was surprised when she saw her mother standing behind her. Miriam wrapped her arms around Aurora's shoulders and placed her chin on the cervix of her neck."You look ethereal," She whispered, pulling back to place a diamond choker around her neck, "Like a painting."Aurora smiled, her fingers lightly touching the glittering gems that now adorned her collar. She wondered why her mother needed her to be extra preppy tonight, it only Matt's family and by this point, they were literally considered part of them. She would've preferred a simple look but her mother insisted on this."Le
"What?"The word came out as a broken whisper, her fingers shaking tremendously, "Is that true?" The question was directed at Matt who seemed hellbent on avoiding her stare."Well, we've heard of how much dates you two have been going on and the secretive meetings as well," Her father piped up and she shot him a glare. William decided to pitch in, offering her a warm grin, "There's no need to hide it from us, dear, we know that you and Matt have been seeing each other behind our backs. We simply decided to speed up the process."Aunty Clara nodded. Her father laughed and her mother still had a calculative look on her face although it was masked by a grin. She returned her gaze back to Matt whose attention was still fixated on the ground.She shook her head in an annoyed manner and threw the napkin on the table. Aurora shot to her feet and walked away without another word but not before hearing someone say,"I'll talk to her." She didn't stop walking, not even when she headed the foo
Aurora couldn't move an inch, and she meant it quite literally. Her eyes were glazed over, staring at the white ceiling and watching as the fan rotated ever so slowly. She blew out a breath, her finger tapping repeatedly against her stomach. She had been awake for a while now but couldn't find it in herself to walk out the room.An engagement.She huffed, feeling the need to choke someone. Her phone beeped again and when she glanced at it, she saw that it was a text from Ryan. She hadn't been able to respond to his text ever since the announcement last night, for some reason, there was a niggling guiltiness tugging at her heart.Although, she desperately wanted to speak to him, she couldn't find it in herself to."Rory?" There was a light rapping sound against her door and her attention flickered towards that area. She frowned, wondering why her father was here this early.""Rory?"Aurora sat up and sighed, climbing down from the bed, slowly trudging towards the door. She twisted the
"Thank you, miss." The taxi driver hooted, reeving off before she had the chance to respond. Aurora sighed tiredly, her shoes crunching against the gravel as she walked. She'd left her father's office a while back when she realized that he hadn't brought her in for any purpose.He'd just asked her to either stay in the office or look around and then discreetly told the primpy secretary to keep an eye on her, she noticed anyway, and at first it was fun to walk around the building, spying on different departments and marveling at how efficient everything was but then she got bored.So, she video called her friends and they chatted about random things. Coincidentally, Mason was also on a sick leave so Natasha was left by herself, she ranted about how we betrayed her, allowing Eva and her clique to bully her throughout the day.After they were done talking, she asked the secretary if she could go to the cafeteria to get something to eat but the woman had looked her in the eye and said,"
She walked into the bar, skimming the busy area with her eyes. There was nobody here she recognized and it seemed like no one recognized her either. She sauntered towards the bar, tipping her head in greeting at the other man who occupied the other seat.Sandy's gaze widened when she saw her and the brunette quickly served the other guys at the far side before rushing towards her."Hey, pretty," She smiled brightly, throwing the small towel over her shoulder, "When did you get here?"Aurora shrugged, "A few minutes ago," She looked around before asking, "Where's Ryan? He told me to meet him here." "Ah, let me quickly-" She paused, her eyes zoning on something behind Aurora.This made Aurora frown and she slowly looked over her shoulder, the large bear man was standing a few feet from her, a menacing expression on his face."Oh, you're in luck. Babe, you have any idea where Ryan is?"Babe?Her ears made a dull ringing sound at the statement, she looked from one person to the other. Sa
"Welcome back, Miss."Aurora nodded at the young maid, her name was Gwen...or was it Glenn? She couldn't really remember and right now, she didn't want to either. Her legs slowly trudged against the marble tiles, her tired eyes fixed on the stairs ahead."Umm...Miss?" She paused, drawing in a sharp breath, "Mrs Rochester, your mother asked for you to see once you came in."She was tempted to ask why but knowing her mother, it was probably about the engagement ceremony that was fixed to hold tomorrow. She bobbed her head once and swerved in the direction of her mother's room.Another flaw in her parent's marriage, they slept separately."Mom?" She called, knocking lightly on the door. Her mother answered from inside and she pushed the door open, walking inside.Her mother was seated in front of the large vanity, looking at her face. She was dressed in a pink silk robe and her hair was done in a small ponytail, under the low lighting, Miriam Rochester actually looked years younger."Whe
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