Chapter 4

Aurora arrived home and was surprised to see Adelaide sitting on the couch, enjoying a bag of snacks. She was having the Saturday night that her sister had desired so much.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on a romantic date with the hot doctor, a.k.a. Mr. Arrogant's brother, also known as Griffin?" Aurora sat next to her, stealing the bag of snacks from her hands.

"He had an emergency at the hospital. We decided to reschedule dinner when both of us are free from work commitments."

"Does our family have some kind of karma?" Aurora questioned, and Adelaide furrowed her brow. "Like, the Navarro women are destined to have a terrible love life!" the girl said with a somber voice, and Adelaide laughed.

"That must be it. Now give me back my snacks!" Adelaide took the package back from her sister, who stuck out her tongue at her.

Aurora got up from the couch and headed to the darkroom. She needed to develop the photos she took today.

After finishing everything, Aurora placed the photos on the drying rack and left the room, heading to the kitchen. The girl prepared hot chocolate and poured the liquid into her teddy bear mug. Then, Aurora walked through the living room, where she saw Adelaide with a teary face watching a sad scene from a movie. The redhead ignored her sister since it was normal to see her suffering over romance films.

Aurora reentered the darkroom and placed the mug she was carrying on a table, taking the dried photos off the rack. She sighed and sat in the swivel chair, looking at all those pictures.

Everything seemed normal, children playing, adults chatting and laughing.

Aurora narrowed her vision when she saw the same black, luxurious car she had seen at Starbucks a few days ago. She might have considered it a coincidence, but what intrigued her was the person inside the car, looking directly in her direction, as if observing her.

The redhead couldn't see the person's face clearly due to the lack of light, but she could make out a few features: well-defined lips and, most importantly, their eyes. Aurora immediately felt a strange shiver running through her body.

Those eyes... she thought.

***

On Monday morning, Aurora woke up early and dressed formally for the job interview at Emotion.

She received good luck wishes from Adelaide before leaving the house. As always, Aurora hailed a taxi, which first took her to Starbucks because she couldn't go without her morning coffee. The redhead ordered her usual and got into the waiting taxi with the meter already running, and to make matters worse, the company was a bit far away.

Great, I'll be paying a fortune to the taxi driver! Aurora thought.

It took a while, but she finally arrived at the company. Aurora paid the driver and got out of the taxi, entering the large building. The girl made her way to the receptionist and informed her that she had an appointment for the photographer position. The receptionist asked for Aurora's name and wrote it on a small sticker, which she then affixed to the girl's shirt.

The woman escorted her to the elevator. They went up to the fifth floor. Aurora followed almost running, as the woman walked at a brisk pace, leaving the redhead quite impressed by how fast she moved in very high heels.

The woman stopped at a white door and opened it, giving Aurora space to go ahead. As the girl entered, she saw in one corner against a white background a model sitting on a black sofa, wearing a red dress, high heels, and heavy makeup.

"Wait your turn," the woman said, pointing to the line of men and women. "First, we'll assess your skills, then we'll conduct the interview."

Aurora nodded and went to the back of the line.

She saw a woman sitting at a table, looking at the photos people took on the computer. She seemed slightly older than Aurora, with short, straight hair and an incredibly well-aligned fringe. She had Asian features and was wearing a long black dress, quite casual. Her expression was serious, as if she didn't like what she saw.

"Are you nervous?" the girl in front of Aurora said. She was also Asian, with long blond hair.

"Not really. I believe I'm a good photographer. I think I can at least wipe that disapproving look off that woman's face," Aurora said, and the blonde girl looked at the woman and chuckled softly.

"That's Luna, the company owner."

Now I'm nervous! Aurora thought.

In a few minutes, the blonde girl in front of the redhead was called. Aurora tried to be polite and wished her good luck, to which she responded:

"We're competing for the same position, so we're enemies. I hope you fail."

Aurora was immediately taken aback and started seeing that girl as an enemy.

So be it. May the best one win! she thought.

The blonde girl started taking several photos of the model. Aurora looked at Luna, who remained serious. There was a girl beside her holding a clipboard; she seemed to be her secretary. Her name was written on a badge attached to her shirt, Seraphina.

"That was the best photographer so far," Seraphina commented to Luna, who didn't agree but didn't deny it either. "Let's choose her already. You're very late for the meeting with the suppliers."

She's good, but not good enough," Luna said coldly, unconcerned about the meeting.

"We can hire her and make some changes in Photoshop, problem solved!"

"Photoshop only edits photos, it doesn't work miracles," Aurora commented to herself, but her tone was loud enough for them to hear.

"What did you say?" Luna looked at her, making Aurora a little nervous. "Repeat what you said," she ordered.

The redhead took a deep breath, trying to gather courage.

"It's just that... Everything is wrong! Give me that camera." Aurora walked up to the blonde girl and took the object from her hand.

"I'll call security," Seraphina said, but Luna stopped her by touching her arm.

"Stay here. I want to see what this girl plans to do."

"First of all, to achieve good results in a photo shoot, it doesn't solely depend on the photographer; the model also needs to cooperate," Aurora said, looking at the model. "Fix your posture and stop making that ridiculous pout, because you're not a duck!" Aurora's words made Luna release an almost inaudible laugh behind her. "You need to smile, but not that much."

The model obeyed, and then the redhead kneeled, searching for the best angle and starting to take several photos. The young woman was impressed with that camera; it was professional, and judging by the brand, it cost triple the price of the one Aurora had.

"Who is this girl?" Luna questioned.

"Aurora Navarro. She's twenty years old and studying journalism," Seraphina read from her clipboard.

"Dismiss everyone else. I want this girl," the woman said decisively, and Aurora stopped taking photos, looking at the now-standing brunette.

"Really?" Aurora stood up, smiling, and the brunette nodded.

The redhead turned to the blonde, who was glaring at her. With a shrug, Aurora showed her superiority in getting the position, causing the other girl to huff in frustration.

"I didn't like that girl either," Luna said in a low tone, winking at Aurora. "Hello, my name is Luna. I'm the company owner."

***

"A toast to me, the amazing new photographer at Emotion!" Aurora raised her glass with Adelaide, and both drank their drinks.

The sisters were in a nightclub celebrating Aurora's new job. The redheads planned to party hard, especially the younger sister, who wanted to go to the VIP area. However, she didn't have the money for it but planned to sneak in.

Adelaide is too straight-laced to be my partner in crime, Aurora thought.

"I'm going to the bathroom," the redhead lied to her sister and got up from the high bar stool.

"If you find a dead body in there, come running back," Adelaide warned, and Aurora just laughed.

To divert her sister's attention, Aurora entered the crowd on the dance floor. It was difficult to navigate through all the drunken people rubbing their bodies against each other.

After spending a few minutes in the midst of the crowd, Aurora quickly climbed the stairs and saw three huge security guards right in front of the VIP area. There were many drunk people trying to get in, and the bouncers were preventing intruders.

It was almost impossible to get in there; it was well protected.

Having given up on that idea, Aurora took one last look at the VIP area, seeing all those rich people enjoying the best the nightclub had to offer.

Her eyes stopped on a man sitting at a table with his arms around the necks of two girls. There was a pole dance on the table in front of him, and a stripper was sensually dancing on it.

"So now Mr. Arrogant has a harem?" she asked herself while still looking at Tristan indulging in a moment of luxury.

Aurora took her camera out of her bag and took some photos of him. She had wanted to do this since the day she met him, and she hated to admit that his beauty was becoming irresistible to her eyes.

The girl felt a strange tremor when Tristan looked in her direction with his dark, impassive eyes. It felt familiar, as if she had seen that look somewhere before.

Aurora took one final photo of him looking directly into the camera lens. She pulled the camera away from her face and looked at him, as he held his gaze on her.

The redhead shook her head, turning to leave. She descended the stairs and automatically turned her head to look at Tristan. He got up, leaving those girls behind, and walked past the security guards. He was heading toward Aurora, who continued down the stairs, feeling nervous knowing he was coming right behind her.

Aurora thought about going into the crowd on the dance floor but changed her mind when she saw a corridor illuminated with neon lights. She walked towards it.

Upon entering, the redhead found a few people, mostly couples kissing against the railing that divided the corridor from the club. She didn't care about that because she was amazed by the colorful and illuminated corridor.

Half of the corridor was occupied by couples, but the other half was lonely. At the end was a door with "emergency exit" written above it.

Aurora ran her fingers through the iron bars in the lonely part of the corridor.

She stops when she sees the shadow of the person on the other side of the railing, the person who inexplicably made her so nervous. Her fingers passed through the iron bars and stopped when they met his.

The sensation Aurora felt when her fingers touched his through the bars was very strange. She felt an exciting shiver run through her entire body.

Involuntarily, Aurora raised her head and saw Tristan looking at her with a half mocking, half seductive smile.

Why is my heart racing? the girl questioned herself in her mind. Why does he make me so nervous? Is it because of his impressive appearance? His intimidating gaze? The way he bites his lips? Who was he to make her so restless and uncomfortable like this? What are you doing to me, Tristan Callahan?

"Photography," Tristan saw the camera in the girl's hand. Aurora quickly threw it into her bag upon realizing she still held it. "It didn't cross my mind that you enjoyed following people."

"So you thought of me?" Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"You thought of me," Tristan spoke as if it were a fact, and for some unknown reason, Aurora felt her cheeks heat up.

"I have more important things to do, Mr. Callahan," Aurora said the last part in a mocking tone.

Unconsciously, he bit his lower lip, which the girl found very sexy.

What am I thinking?! Get out of my head, impure thoughts! ― the redhead thought.

"Passionate about photography, yet studying journalism. That's very inconsistent," Tristan said.

"How do you know I'm studying journalism?" Aurora crossed her arms, suspicious.

"It was just a guess," Tristan shrugged. "Photographers aren't in high demand in the job market these days, and considering your current situation, you need money more than a career you enjoy. Journalism and marketing were my guesses."

However, Tristan's argument didn't convince her.

Does he think I'm an idiot? I'm sure he got my full name from Griffin and looked up information about my life. Why would he do that? ― the redhead thought.

"Why did you research about me?" Aurora asked, and he didn't respond, which made her sigh and roll her eyes. "Then I'm the one who's a stalker."

"I have more important things to do, Miss Navarro," Tristan teased her in the same way she had done before, and upon hearing that, Aurora laughed without humor. "You shouldn't be taking pictures of me without permission. You're a future journalist, not a future photographer."

"Anyway, I'm working hard to pursue a profession, unlike some people who aren't competent enough to manage a company but get the position because they're the owner's children," Aurora said seriously.

Tristan remained expressionless, but there seemed to be a slight difference after Aurora's words. His aura changed; it seemed like the redhead had touched a nerve, but he appeared more angry than affected.

"You know nothing about me," Tristan's voice sounded low, calm, and harsh at the same time, sending shivers down Aurora's spine.

How can he be so peaceful while saying such cold words? ― she wondered.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to know me," Tristan added.

"Lucky for both of us, I'm not interested."

Tristan was a stunning and cautious young man, and Aurora was a very curious girl, but in at least one thing, he was right: she didn't know if she would like to know him. If the girl didn't like what she saw on the outside, she doubted she would have a different reaction to what lurked within.

Their eyes shifted away as Aurora's arm was pulled by Adelaide, who gave Tristan a serious look.

"Let's go, this isn't a good place for us to celebrate," Adelaide said to Aurora, but her gaze was directed at him.

"Have a terrible night in your harem, Mr. Arrogant," Aurora smirked and left the club with her sister.