Chapter 12

As Aurora arrived home, she rushed directly into her bedroom and took off her black garments and underwear. She stepped into the bathroom to wash away the filth she accumulated during the day. The cold water gliding down her body felt so refreshing that she let out a comfortable sigh. She looked straight ahead as her mind drifted back to what happened earlier. She thought about those three men from earlier and let out a chuckle before her eyes darkened. (To think that I almost killed them, they must be lucky) she mused.

She stepped out of the bathroom, already dressed, with a towel hanging on her head when her aunt entered her room. She looked at her aunt with an inquisitive look as it was the first time she ever entered her room. She would always send Nana if she had something to say, but her aunt merely glanced around in disgust before speaking, her voice as cold as usual.

"Meet me in the parlor when you're done," she didn't even look at the girl in question before turning around and leaving the shabby room. Aurora looked at the retreating back with a perplexed look. She shrugged and took all her time to get ready. She went to knock on her aunt's room, but no one answered. She then moved downstairs where she found her aunt sitting in the parlor with a leg crossed, reading a magazine, her chair facing the stairs. As her aunt heard the movement, she looked to see her niece coming down the stairs.

She was still dazed by her beauty; even the plain faded-color clothes could not hide her beauty but instead brought out her charm. Her skin was as white as snow, her silky black hair held in a single braid. But the most captivating feature was her blue eyes, mesmerizing and shimmering, holding a depth and clarity that seemed to reflect the very sense of serenity. (She is a beauty.)"Was what she thought when she realized that she was scanning the girl.

She coughed and gestured at the girl to take a seat. Aurora obeyed and sat on a chair facing her aunt, looking at her aunt curiously, waiting for her to speak. After a few minutes of silence, her aunt spoke up, 'Your uncle wants to expand his business and is in need of a large amount of capital. He found an investor...' She trailed off. Aurora, who was listening intently, raised an eyebrow and asked, "And?" Her aunt continued, "He imposed a condition that he wants to have a blind date with my daughter, and I want you to attend in her place." She finished and looked at Aurora.

Aurora smiled and said, "Why must I go? I'm not your daughter but your niece."She stated matter-of-fact her aunt was quite kin in making her understand that reality. Her aunt was quite surprised; the girl she was used to know was always meek and quiet. This change made her smirk, (She is showing her true nature,) but she narrowed her eyes.

"True, but to the world, you’re both my children, and he didn’t specify which one he wanted, which makes things simpler. And you know that my daughter already has a boyfriend, right?" her aunt countered with a broad grin as if she had won.

She was shamelessly happy that her dear daughter dared to steal someone else's boyfriend, who was at the top in terms of looks and wealth, well, at least at their levels. Aurora looked at her and smiled, a reaction that caught her aunt off guard. How could she not know where she was going by mentioning the phrase ‘boyfriend’? Was she intentionally provoking her or testing if she had lingering feelings for him? But did Aurora care? No, she didn’t. The moment she discovered that he cheated and used the excuse of saving the family business, she closed that particular chapter. To her, he is in the past and nothing will change.

"Then if I go as her substitute, what will I gain in return?" Aurora asked, to which her aunt squinted her eyes. "We will provide you with an apartment away from here," she answered, sounding generous, her eyes looking at the girl who maintained a smile from beginning to end.

Aurora got up from her seat and turned to leave before halting at the level of stairs and asked again, "Where and when will the 'blind date' be?" Her voice full of humor as she waited for the response. Her aunt was about to return to her magazine when she looked up at the girl. "Three days from now at Arendall district at 2 in the afternoon. Don’t worry about the accommodation; you will use one of Nana’s dresses to look presentable." With that answer, Aurora retired to her room.

As she reached her room, she plopped down on her bed with a hand on the back of her head. As she gazed at the ceiling, she thought back to what happened in the parlor. There was no way her aunt would fulfill her end of the bargain; she was surely using that to entice her to perform better in front of the investor. However, it feels like there is more to it because she was not asking her if she wanted to or not, but informing her.

As she was lost in thoughts, the sound from her phone startled her. She picked up the phone that was lying near her and opened it, only to find an encoded message with a dark camelia as the background. Her gaze changed after decoding it, and she entered inside to read the message.

There was a picture of a man in his mid-thirties and a deposit of an amount of money in her account sent by the same anonymous person. "They need my services as a black lotus, huh," she thought. She looked at the man's picture for quite a while before closing and deleting the message to leave no trace. As she was about to throw her phone aside, she received a message from Vicky.