Chapter Two - Aurora

My world has shattered like glass. My chest locks with pain and I grip the door frame to avoid falling over. Dorian and his cousin, Bianca. They stare at me in horror but nothing else, like I’ve interrupted something I shouldn’t have. 

My mouth opens and closes without words. Pain lances through my head and I can’t tell if it’s from my sickness or the ache in my heart. 

“Aurora, what are you doing back so early?” Dorian gets off his knees and his cousin slips off the kitchen counter and adjusts her dress—my dress. She’s in my clothes. 

“You’re cheating on me with your cousin?” my voice come flat and hollow. There’s an offbeat to the rhythm of my racing heart.  

From beside him, Bianca scoffs. “Do you really believe that?” 

I stare at her in disbelief and she throws her head back and laughs. “Oh you stupid fool.” Her face twists into a wicked sneer. She turns to Dorian, “No wonder she’s such an easy target.” 

Target? 

Before I can ask what she means by that, my body seizes up again. The cough that rips through my throat brings up a terrifying amount of blood. 

I stagger in pain, stretching out a hand for Dorian. But he steps back like I’m infested with a disease. His hazel eyes narrow on my face and I find no warmth. 

The man I’ve loved for four years, stares at me like I’m a stranger. 

“Help me,” I manage. 

He puts an arm around Bianca’s waist, pulling her close. 

“Babe, I think she’s dying,” Bianca says mockingly. 

Dorian laughs like it’s the funniest thing. “It’s about time. I was starting to think the poison was ineefective.” 

“Poison?” I breathe. 

He pulls a sad face. “Yes, my darling. You didn’t think anyone can love you, did you? You stuck up bi—” 

I push off the door frame. The hallway tilts but I can still walk and get away. 

“Where are you going?” He calls out, pulling me back into the kitchen by my hair. A scream tears through me as pain explodes in my back. My body slides on the marble helplessly and hits the counter with a thud. 

Black spots fill my vision but I see them clearly. Together they watch me writhe on the floor. The love of my life and the woman he called cousin. I accepted him into my life. I brought her into our lives to make him happy, because I would do anything for his happiness. 

How stupid I am. 

How foolish. 

As if on cue, memories flip behind my eyes. Things I missed, things I didn’t think much of. LIke how the subtle glances and touches when I was in the room. The way he always had work to do whenever she left a room. 

“Are you just getting it now?” Dorian observes the frozen expression on my face. “Is your slow brain catching up?” 

Hot tears of pain leak from my eyes. “You’re…” 

“My husband-to-be actually,” Bianca chimes, her eyes gleaming with malice. “And you fell right into his lap. Did the warm smile pull you in? Did your stomach flutter from how he made you laugh? You stupid gullible fool.” 

Dorian shakes his head pitifully. “It really amazed me how easy you fell for every one of my tricks. You wanted to be loved so badly and I wanted your money. I guess in the end we both got what we wanted.” 

I’m trying to find the man that promised to keep me safe, that vowed to be with me in sickness and in health. All I find is a stranger. He has the face, the same body but everything about him has changed. 

“Why? I loved you.” 

He laughs heartily at my words. “Why? Because you were easy. I mean the sight of you disgusts me, Aurora. I’ve never loved you. Ever since I started giving you the poison I’d hoped you would die faster. But you stubbornly refused.” 

His words are daggers stabbing my heart on every side. It’s clear then. His deceit and betrayal breaks me. 

“I didn’t expect you to die today but I’m very lucky.” He turns to Bianca and kisses her on the lips. For a moment they forget I lay dying and are lost in each other. “I’m already a very rich man,” he says after he pulls away from Bianca. 

“I’ll go get the car,” Bianca sings. She throws a dirty look at me before she leaves. 

Blood spills out of my mouth as Dorian bends to meet my gaze, hazel eyes twinkling with hate. “Rot in hell,” he whispers, planting a parting kiss on my forehead. 

I try to grab his arm but my arm refuses to work. My body is sinking into the floor. Dorian walks away without looking back. 

Minutes feel like hours as I lie in a pool of my blood, choking on it. Pain. So much pain. The realization that I’m dying and the man I call husband did this to me. 

My tears mix with blood. My heart slows down, struggling through it’s final moment. 

I think about my life, then remember Sylas. 

With the last strength my bones could muster, I pull out my phone. The screen wobbles but I find his name. 

He picks on the first ring. “Still at the doctor’s? Is everything okay?” 

Blood gurgles in my throat as I try to speak. 

“Aurora? What’s wrong?” 

I try again, fighting through the embrace of death. “...Help…me.” 

“Aurora?” He screams. “Where are you?” 

“Home,” is the last word that leaves my lips. 

The world begins to fade. Sylas’s scream echo but don’t reach me. Nothing reaches me, not even time. 

My eyes drift close and when they crack open, Sylas is there with a grief stricken face. 

He’s cradling my head, crying silently. “Help is on the way. Stay with me, Aurora.” 

I can feel myself fading away. He feels it too because he shakes me hard. “Don’t! Please! Just a little longer. I love you, Aurora.” His voice cracks. “Don’t leave me.” 

Despite the cold blanket of death settling around me, his words offer warmth. 

“I love you, Aurora. Don’t leave me,” he repeats, beautiful emerald breaking with emotion. 

My heart breaks all over again for Sylas. I’ve known him for most of my life and a part of me have always loved him. Why couldn’t it have been him? 

Sylas who has always been there. A silent protector, a comforting friend, a relentless partner. 

Why did I receive such a cruel fate? 

A sudden anger fills me at the thought. I don’t deserve to die like this. Dorian and Bianca don’t deserve to get away with what they’ve done. 

A final thought rings in my head as I succumb to the darkness—I wish I could do it all again.