Chapter 15

AURORA

I went to sit down on my bed as I opened the letter. Damian’s handwriting scrawled across the page, his words unsettling:

‘Aurora, I know you think I’m desperate, but this isn’t about me wanting you back. I am sorry about how I left things with us when you came. I wasn’t angry and hurt, even though it did not justify the way I acted. I know I cannot erase the past four years, but there is really something I need to tell you. It’s about something much more important than me wanting you back. You need to know the truth. Ethan isn’t who he says he is. I’ll explain everything if you give me a chance. Please, Aurora, for your own safety. You can come to meet me whenever it suits you.’

I shook my head, letting out a small, frustrated laugh. For my safety? Damian was reaching, trying to twist things to make me doubt Ethan. I knew he wanted me back, not because he cared, but because he needed my help to reclaim his power in the pack. I knew his brothers, and that they were just waiting by for him to fuck up so they can reclaim the pack. I was so glad that it was going to happen. He had it coming for him after all the torture he put me through.

I could not believe that he had the effrontery to tell me something along the lines of the events that happened for the last four years in a letter. It was like he had lost his damn mind. I’d finally built a new life, and here he was, trying to tear it down again by putting doubt in my mind. To fucking hell with him. For a moment, I contemplated burning the letter, watching it disappear in flames along with any last memories of our past. But as I stood, the sound of a knock on my door broke my thoughts.

I opened it to find a bouquet of fresh flowers waiting for me, placed in delicate wrapping. I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips as I reached for them. My heart was beating fast as I thought of who must send me the letters, and I smiled realizing who it could be that sent it. I have been thinking of Damian and the latter so much that I forgot about what Ethan had done to me. Attached is a simple note.

‘Aurora, I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly for an important meeting, and I hope you are not already mad at me and this isn’t too late. I’ll be home as soon as I can. – E.’

A warmth spread through me as I read the words again. There was something genuine, almost vulnerable, about the note that made me feel both grateful and relieved. It was a reminder that he hadn’t left me behind without a thought, that maybe he truly cared more than I’d dared to believe. Even if this whole thing was just for the contract, he cared about my heart. I hated that I was this vulnerable.

I could not keep things official between the both of us. He is not supposed to care about all of this. My heart was not his to mend. He is only supposed to put his seeds in my womb to grow and he had already done it. He is not obligated to do all of this, and yes he did. Does that mean he cared? The mere thought of that made me smile so widely.

I glanced down at Damian’s letter still clutched in my other hand. The manipulation in his words felt worlds apart from the kindness of Ethan’s note. Damian’s words were laced with fear, regret, and control, trying to pull me back into a past I was ready to leave behind. A past that had traumatized me to the point of no return. Ethan’s note, however simple, felt sincere, free of any hidden agenda.

After a moment, I tucked Damian’s letter away in my drawer, deciding that whatever he thought I needed to know could wait. I wasn’t about to let him spoil the contentment I felt here, the growing sense of belonging I was finding at Blackwater Pack. Even with another part of me trying to convince me that I should at least hear him out since Ethan had once lied to me, I could not help but think that the voice was simply irrelevant.

He did not really lie to me. He just hid the truth simply because he did not think it was worth telling. It would just have induced doubt in my mind when there was nothing to worry about. I was married to him now, and I was not dead. With a small smile, I sniffed the flowers, savoring their sweet, fresh scent. Ethan’s note was just a few words, but it was enough to tell me that I hadn’t been abandoned.

I placed the bouquet carefully on my bedside table, my fingers lingering over the petals. The scent filled my room, relaxing me in a way I hadn’t felt since I’d left for the studio earlier. I reread Ethan’s note, allowing myself to enjoy the small comfort it brought. I pictured him thinking of me while he wrote it. Was the way he took me last night in his arms still flashing in his mind like it does in mine?

It was a good way to have my virginity taken. I thought of the feeling of safety I have in Blackwater, the warmth I’d felt during the wedding, and the peace of yesterday night with Ethan. Despite everything that still seemed uncertain, here I felt a hint of belonging, even contentment.

‘Damian doesn’t get to ruin this,’ I reminded myself, resolving to hold onto the new life I was building.

As I sat there, my mind wandered to Ethan once again about what he was doing right now. Part of me had been afraid he’d regretted it, that maybe he’d left so early because he needed distance. But the note in my hand said otherwise. Ethan wanted me to know that I mattered, even if he couldn’t be here now.

With a sigh, I tucked the note away in the drawer beside my bed next to the one that Damian had sent. I did not know if I wanted to burn it at the moment. One of the letters was from a past I was choosing to leave behind, and the other, maybe was the present I wanted. For the first time in a long time, I felt that I had the power to decide which parts of my past I’d carry forward and which I’d let go.

As I lay back on the bed, I felt my eyes grow heavy, the day’s events catching up to me. I fell asleep with a small smile on my face, the scent of Ethan’s flowers surrounding me, reassuring me. The thought of his hands on mine was the last thing I thought about before I went to sleep.