Aurora was living like a total invalid at home, with Heath practically waiting on her hand and foot. If it weren't for Lysander insisting that pregnant women should still take daily walks to keep up their strength, Heath probably wouldn't have let Aurora set foot outside the house. Rumors were flying around the city that Heath had become completely whipped - apparently, his wife's pregnancy had him more on edge than signing multi-million dollar contracts.Heath seemed to have come to terms with not being able to get too close to Aurora physically. Every night, he'd cuddle up to her carefully, terrified of doing anything to upset her. Vespera teased Aurora, saying she'd hit the jackpot - no one could be more attentive than Heath.Those nine months of pregnancy were actually pretty exhausting for Heath. He was constantly running between work and home. Anytime Aurora went out shopping, Heath insisted on tagging along, paranoid someone might bump into her. During every checkup with Dr. Ly
(The remaining part of the book will be mainly about the story of Alaric and Vespera.)It seemed like every time Alaric ran into Vespera, he was always in some sort of mess.When did Alaric first meet Vespera? Oh right, it was at Aurora’s first birthday party. Alaric had drunk too much and was making a scene, insisting Heath confess his love to Aurora so Elowen could finally move on. Drunk and sprawled out on the garden steps, he mumbled, "Heath, what’s so wrong with me?"He didn’t get a reply from Heath, but instead, a soft, almost delicate voice beside him said, "Who said there’s anything wrong with you?"Alaric forced his eyes open and saw a girl in a fancy dress standing under the moonlight. She was thin, with heavy makeup, but somehow still looked pretty, almost as pretty as his Elowen. He vaguely remembered she was one of Aurora's close friends—Vespera Thornfield.But he was too exhausted; the alcohol had given him a pounding headache. Closing his eyes again, he asked, "If I’m s
Vespera picked herself up off the ground and walked away. Compared to Yvonne, she had no standing at all. Yvonne wasn't wrong - she was just a bastard child. And years of blood transfusions and malnutrition had really taken a toll on her health. If it came to a real fight, she was no match for Yvonne. No point in asking for trouble.As Vespera passed by the kitchen, she grabbed an ice pack from the fridge and took it back to her room to put on her face. Yvonne had really slapped her hard - if she didn't ice it now, her face would probably swell up like a balloon by morning.The next day, Vespera woke up and looked in the mirror to see angry red finger marks on her cheek, which was slightly puffy. Sure enough, it had swollen up. She called in sick - no way was she going out looking like this today.Alaric finally managed to shake off his hangover with a bowl of soup. He casually asked who had brought him home last night, and the maid said it was Vespera. Alaric froze - Vespera had brou
Vespera kept her head down, saying nothing. Alaric had invited her out for dinner, and she figured they could just eat and go their separate ways. There was no need to air her dirty laundry and let him know how difficult her situation was in the Thornfield family.As Vespera remained silent, Alaric's expression darkened. "Was it Yvonne?" he asked.Vespera hesitated. "You know about Yvonne and me..."She trailed off. Of course Alaric would know. As Heath's close friend, and the big boss of the entire entertainment industry, how could he not know about Yvonne's background?Vespera looked up at Alaric. "Please don't tell Aurora. I don't want her to know about this.""Why not? She's got Heath backing her up. He could easily help you get out of this mess," Alaric said, puzzled. How could someone willingly suffer without asking friends for help?Vespera shook her head. "I don't need help. Don't tell Aurora. She's already stressed enough dealing with Cheryl's situation. She doesn't need to r
Alaric was seriously ticked off by Vespera's transfer. He'd never met a woman like her before. All the socialites in the city were usually dying for him to take them out to dinner and then invite them back to his place. That's how the game was played. But Vespera? Alaric treats her to a meal, and she turns around and pays him back for half of it? Was she that desperate to keep her distance from him?Alaric felt like his ego had taken a major hit. He started questioning his own charm. Had he lost his touch? Was he no longer the heartthrob everyone used to fawn over? He couldn't accept that!He knew he had to turn this situation around somehow. Otherwise, Lysander would never let him hear the end of it.Before he could come up with a plan, his secretary called. "Mr. Strider, the actresses for the commercial audition have arrived.""Got it, I'll be right there," Alaric said, hanging up and heading out to his car.Skyline had recently landed an ad deal that needed a female celebrity as th
Yvonne stormed home, fuming from the unexpected run-in with Alaric that left her humiliated. The last thing she needed was to hear the maids gossiping about Vespera being picked up by a sports car. Furious and looking for someone to take it out on, Yvonne burst into Vespera’s room.Vespera looked up, confused. “What’s going on?”“Who were you with today, Vespera?” Yvonne demanded, her voice sharp.Vespera blinked, caught off guard. “Just a friend.”“A friend? Since when do you have friends with sports cars? Are you sneaking around behind our backs?” Yvonne’s glare intensified.Vespera recognized Yvonne’s bad mood immediately and decided to ignore her tantrum. She kept her eyes on her book, hoping Yvonne would lose interest.But Yvonne wasn’t done. She snatched the book from Vespera’s hands and ripped out a page. “Vespera, have you no shame? Flirting with guys while holding onto the book Quinn gave you?”Vespera froze at the mention of Quinn’s name. She finally looked up at Yvonne. “I
But Vespera was determined to keep her distance from Alaric. As they struggled, Vespera's bag fell to the ground, spilling its contents. Before she could pick them up, a gust of wind blew one of the pages away. Vespera quickly gathered her things and was about to chase after the loose page when Alaric grabbed her arm. "Are you crazy? Don't run into the street!"Vespera lost her balance and fell against Alaric's chest. She tried to push him away and go after the page, but he held her tight. They watched helplessly as several cars ran over the paper before the wind carried it away again. Vespera realized she'd never find that page now.Furious, Vespera shoved Alaric away. "Mr. Strider! Don't you have anything better to do? If you're so bored, go bother someone else! Leave me alone!""I'm bothering you?" Alaric laughed in disbelief. He was trying to help, and this was the thanks he got? Talk about no good deed going unpunished.Vespera's eyes welled up with angry tears as she watched the
Early the next morning, Alaric made sure to check if Vespera was at school before driving over.He pulled up to the dorms in his flashy sports car, phone in hand, calling Vespera. It was rush hour, with students coming and going, and many girls whispered among themselves, eyeing the expensive car and the handsome man who stepped out, wondering who he was here for.In his car were three pink boxes with pretty bows on top—obviously gifts for a girl. Some speculated whether they were packed with clothes or handbags, given their size.After waiting for a while with no answer, Alaric was about to head inside when he spotted Vespera in the distance. She was wearing a long coat that made her petite frame look even smaller, with her long hair flowing down her back, carrying a stack of books.Alaric waved, calling out, "Miss Thornfield!"Vespera stopped, visibly startled. She looked up and saw Alaric with his over-the-top sports car and the gathering crowd. Embarrassed, she tried to duck away,