Before Aurora could respond, Dominic had already closed the door and left. The room suddenly fell silent, as if no one had ever been there. Aurora picked up the ornate box and opened it. Inside lay two beautiful and shining diamonds. Without asking, she knew they must have cost a fortune.
Aurora tucked the box into her purse, knowing she'd have to explain it to Heath later. She wasn't sure if Heath would forgive Dominic, but for her part, the anger and resentment she once felt had faded. Watching Dominic's lonely figure retreat, she felt neither sympathy nor antipathy - he was just another face in the crowd now.
The interruption had eased Aurora's nerves. As it was nearly time, Vespera and Cheryl came to fetch her. Aurora opened the door and asked, "Do I look okay?"
Cheryl grabbed her hand, saying, "You look perfect! Come on, bride, Heath will come barging in if you don't hurry!"
Aurora picked u
After the wedding ceremony, the crowd headed to the reception hall for dinner. Aurora changed out of her wedding dress, with Vespera and Cheryl helping her into an evening gown for the toasts. Vespera had originally planned eight outfit changes, but Aurora insisted on cutting it down to three. Otherwise, she'd have spent the whole day just changing clothes!The toast dress was a long, burgundy number. After the stylist fixed Aurora's hair and touched up her makeup, she joined the party. Besides Mrs. Strider and Ms. Luce, there weren't many older relatives around. It was mostly their rowdy friends trying to get everyone drunk. Aurora lucked out - anytime someone tried to get her to drink more, either her bridesmaids blocked them or Heath's death glare scared them off. Heath wasn't so lucky though. Lysander, Alaric, and the guys were ruthlessly plying him with booze. They wouldn't dare on a normal day, but Heath couldn't really refuse at his own wedding. Even Eamon joined in on tormenti
The next day, Aurora slept in until nearly noon. If it weren't for the nanny saying the twin boys were crying their eyes out, she would've stayed dead to the world. Throwing on a robe, she shuffled to the closet to change. One look in the mirror revealed her body covered in hickeys. Aurora gritted her teeth. They were already married, but was it too late for regret? Asking for a friend, ASAP.After getting dressed and freshening up, Aurora headed to the nursery. Heath was perched on one of the tiny cribs, playing with the little ones. The babies were too young to understand him, but Heath didn't seem to care, babbling away regardless.Aurora leaned against the doorframe, watching Heath patiently entertaining their sons. Sunlight streamed in, bathing them in a warm, cozy glow. Feeling a tug at her heartstrings, she snapped a quick pic for her social media. Caption: "After weathering life's storms, I've found my calm harbor."In the photo, Heath held a tiny rattle, smiling. Night sat in
After Heath went back to work, Aurora found herself at home with nothing to do except take care of the babies. She'd spend her days looking after the little ones and waiting for Heath to come home for dinner. On the rare occasions Heath worked late, she'd get upset. Aurora didn't know what was wrong with her until one day when her friend Vespera came to visit."Aurora, you don't think you might have postpartum depression, do you?" Vespera asked.Aurora was taken aback. She thought she was eating and drinking well, without any real worries. How could she have postpartum depression? Vespera accompanied her to see a doctor, who explained that many new mothers experience this after giving birth, especially when their partner had been constantly by their side during pregnancy and suddenly isn't around as much. The doctor suggested Aurora get out more or find a job.So Aurora decided to go back to work at Skyline Media, where her old studio had been merged. It was still her passion project,
Aurora couldn't get over the fact that Night called Heath "Dada" first. Whenever she had a free moment, she'd cuddle up with Loud and try to teach him to talk, hoping he'd say "Mama" before anything else. Poor Night didn't understand why he'd suddenly fallen out of favor - his gorgeous mom was always cooing over his little brother while he got pawned off on dad.But persistence pays off. After Aurora's relentless efforts, Loud finally blurted out "Mama." Aurora was so thrilled and bragged to Heath about it for a solid week.For these new parents, every little milestone felt precious. Whether it was the babies' first smiles or first words, it all made Aurora appreciate how special life is and how lucky they were to have this family.Aurora gave Heath the diamonds Dominic had sent and told him everything about Dominic showing up at their wedding. She spilled all the details of their conversation, worried Heath might get upset. Though Heath didn't say much, Aurora knew he wasn't happy ab
Two years later.Aurora had become quite the celebrity in the capital. The high society ladies envied her for marrying so well. Heath was known in their social circle as an incredibly doting husband and super dad. At work, people praised Aurora's competence. Over the past couple of years, she had mentored several newcomers, all of whom were doing quite well in their careers.Lately, Aurora had been experiencing frequent backaches and fatigue. At night, no matter how much Heath tried to coax her, she wasn't in the mood for intimacy and just wanted to sleep. Heath grew worried that she might be ill and kept urging her to see a doctor, but Aurora felt it was just tiredness and kept putting it off.It wasn't until she nearly fainted on her way to work that Aurora finally allowed her driver to take her to the hospital. She had some blood drawn for tests, but before the results came back, Alaric called asking where she was – there was an urgent meeting at the company. Aurora rushed back to
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