AURORA’S POV
"I can't believe you'd stoop so low. Cheating on me with my own cousin is disgusting and gambling our savings away is just cruel" my heart breaking with each word. Sign these divorce papers now." I said flinging the divorce papers in his face then walked out the room with tears streaming down my face. Those were the last words I told my ex husband eight months ago when I found him in bed with my cousin.
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
The stones on the sidewalk hurt my feet as I parked my bike in the park . It was dark outside and the weather looked like it was about to rain. I hoped it wouldn't start until I got home . I just got back from my babysitting job because I needed the money.
After my divorce from that scumbag, I moved in with my sister, Annabelle. I’ve been working overtime for months, trying to save enough money to get my own place. My ex husband gambled away our savings. I know I was stupid to trust him, but I was young and thought I was in love. I ran to my door and felt relief when I got inside
"Annabelle, are you home? I brought lunch," I called out as I walked into the house, but there was no answer. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and shoved me against the door
"Mrs Reynolds. It’s a pleasure to meet you," said a man’s voice. "I’m Peter Vory. Your husband told us so much about you. He also said that I could get my money from you." He tightened his grip on my neck. My heart stopped. Everyone in the city knew who Peter Vory was. He’s part of the Mafia and runs a club that’s really a front to launder money. Thomas swore that he was a bouncer for him and promised to find a decent job but that was just one of his many lies. Unfortunately Thomas owed Peter money and I've been stalked for weeks now by his henchmen. At first I just thought that maybe it was because they were watching me to see if Thomas would try to contact me so they could get their money back but I guess I thought wrong.
"It’s Miss Knight now, because I divorced him months ago." I replied .
"Well, I asked for a threesome with Blake Riley and Julia Roberts, but I’m not getting that, am I?" Peter sneered. "Here’s the dealy Thomas Reynolds owes me a lot of money, and he said you have it. He claims you stole it."
I stared at him in shock. "That’s a lie! I didn’t steal anything! Thomas cheated on me and wasted your money gambling. The rest he spent on his mistress."
Peter smirked. "It’s your word against his, and I really don’t care. I just want my money. Call him and tell him to pay up."
I looked to my left and noticed the man who’d been following me for months standing nearby. Annabelle had told me to go to the police, but the process seemed overwhelming, so I ignored him.
Peter caught my reaction and grinned. "Ah, I see you’ve already met Kenneth, my right hand man. I needed to make sure you wouldn’t run like you ran away from your husband. Thomas has left the country, and you won’t tell me where he is, will you?"
"His ex wife doesn’t know where he is," I snapped, trying to pull my hand away. He held on tightly. "And she knows how to use pepper spray, so stay back." I didn’t want Annabelle to hear and get involved. She had already done so much for me.
"Use your skills to find him," Peter said mockingly. "You found him once, so you can do it again."
"I haven’t spoken to him in months, and I don’t care to. I have nothing to do with him," I said, trying to push him away, but his grip tightened.
"Then his debt is now yours. What happened to ‘for better or worse’? How does the vow go?" Peter asked with a smirk.
"Beats me, Boss. Never been married," Kenneth replied.
"Smart man," Peter said with an evil smirk on his lips.
Peter kissed the back of my hand, then slid his tongue between my fingers, showing me what he wanted to do to the rest of my body. I swallowed and breathed through my nose. He was scaring me, and he knew it. Peter was a loan shark who always made sure he got his money, and Thomas owed him over three million dollars. He held my wet hand to his cheek, rubbing it against his face.
"Sorry, Aurora. Nothing personal. I need to collect a debt. If I don't soon, people will think it's okay to take money from me without paying. If you're interested in paying a different way, I can make a deal. I'm not unreasonable. But no matter what, you'll pay your husband's debt, and you better hurry because the interest keeps growing."
"What do you mean?" My heart was pounding, and I felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. This was the first time Peter and Kenneth had hinted at this kind of thing. I was a preschool teacher, how could I possibly come up with three million?. Even my kidneys weren't worth that much. And yes, I actually googled it.
"I'm saying if you can't pay, you'll have to work for it."
"Just say it, Peter "I snapped, ready to grab my purse and spray pepper spray into both their faces. As sleazy as he was, I doubted he would give up that amount of money just to have sex with me.
"Serving men who aren't very clean or good looking." Peter smiled like he was sorry. "You're a very beautiful woman, Aurora, even in those cheap clothes." He tugged at my dirty dress. "Work six months in my strip club, doing double shifts every day, and we can call it even."
I slapped him, my whole body shaking with anger.
"How dare you? I'd rather die than be a stripper!," He moved back, but I scratched his cheek. Kenneth stepped forward to stop me, but Peter waved him away and laughed.
"You won't be dancing," he said. "You'll be on your back in the VIP room. Though I can't promise you won't be on your knees too, if they're willing to pay extra." Peter wanted to sell me if I couldn't pay the money Thomas owed him. In the eight months since Thomas left, I had hoped he would come back and fix the mess he left behind, but he hadn't. I thought he might finally give me the divorce I had asked for before he disappeared. I held onto my anger, not wanting to accept that this was now my problem. But now, I realized Peter had known the truth all along, Thomas wasn't coming back. His problems were mine now. And I had to find a way to fix this, fast.
"What if I don't pay?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Then I'll have to make an example out of you. It will hurt me more than you, I promise. It's always sad when the wife has to deal with her husband's mess." He stopped by the door, shaking his head. "But if I let this slide, I'll lose my street credit. You will pay. Either in money, with your body, or with your blood. See you later, Aurora and next time we meet I expect to be paid fully unless you will find out why they call me a monster”. With that, he walked out leaving me devastated with tears rolling down my cheeks.
AURORA'S POV The door clicked shut behind the two men. They hurried to a black car parked across the street, jumped in, and sped away, heading back to wherever they belonged. I climbed the stairs to my sister’s apartment slowly. I had been living with Annabelle ever since Thomas disappeared seven months ago. My hands trembled as I slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open. I didn’t pay rent. Annabelle thought Thomas had taken the money we saved for a house and run off. She was right about that. What she didn’t know was that he had also gambled away all of my savings at an illegal casino, leaving me drowning in debt. “Aurora? Seriously? It’s pouring out there,” Annabelle said, rubbing her eyes and stretching out on the couch. She was wearing an oversized T shirt, watching a Korean drama on TV. A bag of peanut butter pretzels rested on her stomach. She looked so calm and relaxed, and for a moment, I felt jealous. She didn’t have to scrape by every week, working a humiliat
AURORA'S POV "With what money?" I sighed. "And don't even think about offering me another loan. I'm just going to say no." Annabelle worked as a club promoter at one of Boston's most popular club. She was incredible at her job, bringing in high-paying clients that made the owners ecstatic, but she wasn’t rich. Plus, she was saving up to help fund the club's upcoming renovation project so she could become a partner. "If you’re too proud to take money from mey your own sister, no less you should ask Sandy for a loan," Annabelle said, her voice filled with frustration. "The Kings have more money than they know what to do with. Sandy wouldn’t even notice it missing. She’d lend it to you without interest, and she knows you’d pay it back eventually." "I can’t," I said, shaking my head. "Why not?" Annabelle placed a slice of pizza on a paper plate and walked back to the couch, setting it in my lap. "Eat, Aurora. You’re so thin, Mom thinks you have an eating disorder." "I don’
AIDEN'S POVHenry made the announcement at the dinner table. "We’re having a baby.”His grin was smug, and I wanted to smack it off his face maybe with a punch, or worse. Breathe, Aiden. Just breathe. I try to calm myself. Sandy, his wife, touched her stomach. She didn’t seem like the motherly type. Honestly, none of them seemed fit to take care of anything, not even a goldfish. “We’re eight weeks in. Still early, but we wanted you to know.”I kept my face calm, cracking my knuckles under the table. Their timing was terrible. Mother jumped from her chair, squealing as she hugged and kissed them both. Ariella, my younger sister, couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was to be an aunt. She was about to finish med school, so it made me question her life goals for a moment. Alex, our father, shook Henry’s hand like he’d just closed a big deal. In a way, he had. Our father had always said he expected us to have kids. The family name, the company, and the fortune had to stay i
AURORA'S POV Days passed slowly. I was anxious, restless, and barely able to take a deep breath. Ever since I walked out of Aiden’s office with nothing, I hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. Even looking at myself in the mirror made me feel sick. My mind kept replaying two things: Aiden turning me down and the terrifying thought of Peter and his sidekick throwing my body into a river. At work, I was a mess. I forgot the words to songs during circle time and almost gave mac and cheese to a lactose intolerant student. I spilled an entire can of paint on the floor and had to stay late to clean it up. By the time I got home, the sky was dark and heavy with rain. Holding my bag tightly, I jogged from my bike to the door. I reminded myself I had pepper spray and a Taser, and that there was no way Peter would find me here. But the fear wouldn’t leave. As I entered the building, I reached for the light switch but froze. The lights were already on. Before I could react, someone grabbed
AURORA'S POVHe smiled, looking impatient. "You knew that when you gave yourself to me so willingly all those years ago.He remembered our last kiss,and for some reason, that took the fight out of me. "Listen." I shook my head, trying to think clearly. "How about we start dating, and I"“No,” Aiden interrupted. “It's either marriage or nothing.” “You don’t even like me!” .He checked his expensive watch, clearly bored. “What does liking you have to do with marriage?” “Everything! It means everything! How do you expect us to make this work?” “I don’t,” he said bluntly. “You’ll have your house, I’ll have mine. You’ll be ridiculously wealthy, live in the most exclusive neighborhood, and be admired by high society. You’ll have complete freedom as long as you give me children, remain loyal during that time, and avoid public scandals. We’ll barely cross paths after the first few years. But no divorce,” he added, lifting a finger. “It’s messy, bad for business, and makes people look weak
AURORA'S POV."Sure. Take all the time you need. It’s not like the mafia is after you,” Aiden said, his rich boy tone mocking me. I knew exactly how bad my situation was. But if I was going to officially sign my life away to the man who broke me, I at least needed a few days to think about it. “Give me a week.” “Twenty four hours,” he replied “Four days. You’re asking me to give up my entire future.” “If you don’t agree, you won’t have a future. Forty eight hours. That’s my final offer, and I’m being generous. You know where to find me.” He turned and walked to the door. “Wait,” I blurted. He stopped but didn’t turn around. A memory of me watching him walk away at Sandy and Henry’s wedding hit me like a punch. I realized something then if I agreed to his offer, this would be our pattern. I would always reach for him, and he would always pull away. A shadow of a man who was close enough to touch but never truly mine. “Give me your home address. I don’t want to meet at your of
AURORA’S POV The sky was clear and I decided I Knew I had to make a decision quickly. Our apartment was silent. Annabelle hadn’t come home last night. She was probably in some handsome man’s bed, showing off her curves like a painting for him to admire.I hurried out of bed and walked barefoot to the small kitchen. I turned on the coffee machine and Annabelle’s old radio. The same ’80s station that always cheered me up was playing the last few lines of “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. Then, a weather report warned about a coming storm.A vase of fresh roses sat on the counter, a gift from one of the many men who visited her nightclub hoping to win my sister’s heart.Aiden called me Flower Girl in the beginning of what some would call a one sided relationship due to the fact that I was hopelessly in love with him. I picked up one of the white roses. A thorn pierced my thumb. A tiny drop of blood, shaped like a heart, rested on the petals.“To marry or not to marry Boston’
AIDEN'S POV Being on time and keeping promises were two of the few things I respected in people and she had neither. I opened my glove compartment and pulled out the sticky note Devon had given me with names of possible brides. Next on my list was Nina Pierce. A former model who now worked as a child psychologist. Long legs, a good family, and a perfect smile (though Devon warned me she had fake teeth). She was thirty five, wanted kids badly, and was traditional enough to want a big church wedding. She had already signed an NDA before I even spoke to her. I made Devon do that with all my possible brides, except for Aurora, who was: My first choice, so I wasn’t careful enough. And too good to tell anyone. I typed her address into the GPS and drove out of my private ranch. I had spent the last few hours riding my horses, avoiding my work, and trying not to be angry that Aurora Knight needed time to decide if she would marry me when her other choice was a brutal death at the hand
AIDEN'S POV. The sweet smell of her skin reached my nose, even with the strong barn stench around us. "Washington." I lifted the hoof pick, pointing at the stalls behind him. "The others are Hamilton, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Jay." "The Founding Fathers." She walked smoothly to the barn, leaning against the wall with her hands behind her back, watching me. "Good job, you just passed a third grade history test." I tapped Washington’s leg so he’d lift the other one. "Fifth," she corrected with a smile. She liked arguing with me. "I studied in another country," I mumbled. All my American history lessons came from tutors. "I know," she said softly. "Unlike our kids, who will stay close to us until they’re old enough to decide where they want to study." Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that. "Over your dead body, huh?" I groaned, digging deeper into the hoof with the tool. "No," she said calmly. "Over yours." I quickly looked up at her, then went back
AIDEN'S POV I stayed away from my wife for the rest of the week. That didn’t stop her from sending me daily messages about her dead aunt hiding in clouds every time the sky was clear. Her texts, like my prayers for a normal wife, stayed unanswered. She asked to meet a few times, even though I never replied. The idea of seeing her made me sick, so I ignored it until I felt calmer. But after seven days, my body still refused to settle down. At night, I couldn’t stop thinking about her under me. Realistically speaking , meeting her only once a week could still get her pregnant in a few months. To be safe, I made a chart of her possible ovulating days and decided to change the days I saw her each week to make sure I didn’t miss any chance but next time we met, I had to do a better job of controlling myself. I never meant to lose control the first time we had sex. But when I saw her naked breasts moving with each thrust and her lips open in pleasure, I lost all control like a
AURORA'S POV Henry: I hope you know that your husband is a jerk. Me: Trust me, You don't need to tell me because I already know. Henry: All polar bears are left-handed. Bet you didn’t know that. Henry: Also, related to that, your husband is a jerk who looks at his phone every five seconds. Are you two texting? Me: No. Henry: Weird. He always logs off during poker nights. Me: Can you do me a favor? Henry: What kind? I’m a married man. I know Kill is far from my perfection, so you missed out. Me: A: delusional. And B: not even if you were the last man alive. Henry: What’s the favor? Me: Watch him. Make sure he’s okay. Henry: And you care because? Me: He’s my husband. Henry: I thought it was just for show. Me: You’re wrong. Henry: Other than the phone thing, he seems like the same old Aiden to me. Smoking, drinking guy who just needs a hug and some good sex. Me: Night. Henry: Of course, silly. Aiden seemed fine in less than an hour. That was strange and worrying. But
AURORA'S POV Feeling completely Embarrassed, I tied the back of my dress, put on my jacket and underwear, and left the kitchen to find my husband. During my tour, I observed that his house was really big, with curved halls, many doors, and stairs leading to the second floor. This was only my second time inside, and I had never gotten a real tour. I saw Peter by the door, talking to a man in khaki pants and a blue hoodie with a company name on it. They were going to the kitchen. Feeling like I was sneaking around, I quietly walked up the curved stairs before Peter saw me. The second floor was big and tall, like a church. Aiden’s house, like his parents’, was more old-fashioned and fancy than the modern homes you see on TV shows. I walked through the rooms, opening each door a little until I reached a pair of double doors, probably his room. I put my hand on the wood, not wanting to go in, but not wanting to leave without knowing what had just happened. This was important. We just
AURORA’S POVHe moved closer, standing between my legs, still fully dressed and suddenly, the air felt tense, and I could feel the hair on my arms stand up with excitement.I leaned back on my arms, biting my lip. He pulled down his sweatpants, his eyes focused on something behind my head. He was trying not to be involved when it happened, avoiding touching or looking at me. He took his cock out of his underwear and I saw that he was hard, with a drop of cum on the tip.At least now I knew the problem wasn't that he wasn’t attracted to me. He positioned his cock toward my pussy, his face looking like someone about to face a hard fate, then slid all the way in at once, filling me completely. His eyes rolled, and he looked up at the ceiling as he tried not to make a sound.I wasn’t just wet, I was dripping because I was so aroused that I grabbed his face, turning it so he'd look at me. His nose flared, and his lips pressed tightly together. He didn’t move inside me. We both knew it felt
AURORA'S POV "I wasn’t. I wanted to impress you." "Maybe I wanted to poison you," I said, narrowing my eyes. Aiden's lips twitched, almost smiling. "The only person you could poison is yourself, like you did a few years ago. And even then, you messed it up." "Hey, I did a good job. It’s not my fault you saved me." "I still regret it." He playfully shoved me. I stepped back, keeping my eyes on him. "Listen, you tried cooking, and it was a disaster. I have a poker game soon, so we’ll have to skip the first course and go straight to the main event." "You planned a poker game tonight?" My eyes widened. He stepped closer, and I instinctively moved back. He was cornering me, trapping me while I struggled to think straight. "You weren’t hoping we’d cuddle and watch a romantic movie, were you, Flower Girl?" He gave me a mocking smile. I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but before I could, my back hit the kitchen island. Aiden grabbed my waist, lifted me, and placed me on the cold
AURORA'S POV My first problem? I didn’t know how to cook. My second problem? I actually believed making Aiden a homemade meal (which would probably taste awful) might change something between us. But my biggest and most urgent problem? I was pretty sure I was setting my husband’s kitchen on fire. Maybe this was karma punishing me for playing dirty. Once it was clear that Dear Husband wasn’t going to make the first move to see me, I decided to show up at his office and get a dinner date out of him. I was desperate to build a connection, while he was determined to keep his distance. It felt like having a sugar daddy who didn’t want to sleep with me. I got all the gifts, but not the man. The problem was, I wanted the man. The fancy shoes were nice, but not nice enough to make me scream their names in bed. I’d asked that it would be at his place because I wanted to be in his world, break down his walls, and force my way into his life. Plus , being married to someone who di
AIDEN'S POV She made sense. That worried me because I was usually the logical one in every conversation. "You’re here now," I said. I wasn’t in the mood for sex,but I supposed we have to get it over with at some point.She smiled, licking her lollipop. Her lips were soft and tempting. "We’re not having sex in your bathroom. I respect myself more than that." "Are you sure?" I asked, half teasing, half serious. "So far, you’ve acted like a bride I ordered online. Bending over the sink wouldn’t be surprising." She laughed. She actually laughed then flipped her hair over one shoulder, turned around and said. "Goodbye, husband." She walked to the door seductively. Her walk was full of confidence and she knew exactly what she was doing. Nothing was shy or innocent about her now. I wasn’t used to women leaving before I told them they could. It annoyed me. Usually, my money and power kept them around. Watching her leave felt like she was taking something from me. "Aurora," I growl
AIDEN'S POV I stared at her impatiently the whole time she talked, then sent her back where she came from. Even though I didn’t like either of my sisters in law, they clearly had no idea what was really going on in my marriage. That was good. It meant Aurora had kept quiet. Sure, Henry, Daniel, and Devon knew the truth. I told them during poker night but they were on my side. Aurora jumped off Henry’s desk and put the red lollipop back in her mouth. “All right, hubby. Make it quick.” I took her to my office, then walked into the private room where the walls weren’t glass, so no one could see us and shut the door behind us then gave her a stern look. “What are you doing here?” “Having lunch with friends.” She pulled the lollipop from her mouth. The smell of watermelon filled the air, making my dick twitch. “Having a good day, hubs?” “Not really.” “Yeah, I saw the protest on the news.” She scrunched her little nose, the one I hoped our future kids would get. “That bill