1. ~Aurora~

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"Rory, do you even hear her?" Sonya yelled as she came down the stairs, stomping her thigh-high boots.

I looked up from my laptop and lifted my hands, shrugging.

"I didn't. What's going on?" I asked as I closed my laptop and got up from the living room couch.

"She's being disgusting. That's what! I am sixteen years old. What does she take me for?" Sonya came to a stop in front of me and pointed at the stairs where I saw no glimpse of her mother.

I knew better than to listen to a sixteen-year-old's one side story so I waited for her mother and my mother-in-law, Elizabeth Keller, to come down the stairs.

"What's going on, Beth?" I asked her, a small smile playing on my lips. Teens and their mothers made up for some fascinating drama, and I missed that experience with my mother because I was in a boarding school on another continent, but watching Elizabeth and Sonya fight over the smallest things was very endearing.

"You need to come upstairs and see the dress she has picked out for her date today." Elizabeth pointed upward, shaking her head. "I asked her if she is going to a hotel room afterward."

I gave her a flat look. "She's sixteen."

"Exactly. Do you have no shame, Mother?" Sonya glowered at her mother, who looked anything but ashamed of the inquiry she had made. I have learned that mothers were usually immune to any sort of embarrassment when it came to asking their daughters the most inappropriate of questions.

I shook my head and turned around to face my sister-in-law. "That being said, I would like to see what exactly have you come up with that has your mother's panties in a twist."

Sonya nodded confidently.

I personally knew that Elizabeth could be a bit extreme when it came to Sonya's sense of style. I knew it was just her maternal love but Sonya was not at the age to understand that right now. So I usually found myself being the referee in their spats.

"If Rory gives me the go, I am wearing the dress." Sonya turned to her mother.

"If Rory thinks it's okay, then I will allow it." Elizabeth huffed. She too seemed confident that I would not allow the dress. Oh boy!

I wondered what she would think of all the dresses I walk around wearing at clubs and casual parties.

"Beth!" The three of us were immediately alerted by the angry shout of Simon, my father-in-law. He was not the kind of person to ever raise his voice, no matter what the situation; he always had such a good temper. What happened?

"Honey Bun, what's wrong?" Elizabeth quickly made her way to the front door.

"Any idea what might have happened?" Sonya asked me.

I shrugged. "No idea. Let's go find out."

Simon was violently tapping away at his phone as Elizabeth approached him. He shoved it in her face, not registering Sonya and my presence in the room yet.

"Talk to your son! Tell him that if his infidelity ruins his beautiful marriage to that sweet girl, I will bring his company down to bankruptcy."

Elizabeth stared at the phone and then looked over at me, panic evident in her features.

"Rory..." Simon finally saw me there and he too was tongue-tied.

I took out my own phone and typed in my husband's name – Rowan Keller. And I was not surprised to see that there were articles about him and his girlfriend Ophelia Mathewson. They were snapped exchanging saliva on a beach in France. My lips twitched and I had to fight my face to suppress the scowl threatening to make an appearance and I barely managed to swallow back the bundle of vocabulary I had for occasions like this.

I gulped down the bile that rose in my throat and smiled weakly at Elizabeth and Simon.

Sonya swore next to me and I looked over to see that she too had her phone out.

"I have some work at the office." I hated how shaky my voice was.

Why the hell was I the one suffering? Why should I control myself?

"I will come visit another day."

I could hear them calling out my name but I dashed out of the house as fast as I could, getting into my grey convertible and driving off.

I took deep breaths to calm myself and then speed-dialed the asshole.

The phone was picked up after a good few exasperating moments.

"Hello?" I heard the raspy voice of the woman I currently hated with a passion.

"Where's Rowan, Ophelia?" I asked, my voice thick with venom. I really did not have the time for the shit that I knew she was going to start spewing.

"Babe is right here, but he really doesn't want his perfect day to be interrupted by your annoying yapping." She said. And I knew that it was the great Rowan himself who had put such words in her mouth.

I rolled my eyes.

Did I care about what she or he had to say? Hmm, let me think... Absolutely not.

"Hand the phone over to Rowan unless you want me to interrupt the whole of your Europe trip."

There was silence for a moment and finally, she huffed and after a few shuffling, I heard the voice of my husband. "What is it, Aurora?"

He must be the only person I was related to who called me by my full name. That's how distant we were.

I let out a sigh.

"I don't have time to waste on you so make it quick." He added before I could utter a word.

I closed my eyes, feeling my anger rise to another level.

I don't know what happened, because I was always pretty collected about the relationship. We were married only for business benefits. We even had a contract. And I had to bury my feelings deep down when I signed it. But right now, to me, it was more trouble than it was worth.

The sand in the hourglass had finally run out.

"I want a divorce."