Chapter 2
1040 Words
Aurelia’s POV
Morning light crept through the curtains, pale and hesitant.
I stared at it, feeling something inside me settle into place.
This time, I would uncover every secret surrounding my past—and the truth behind my death.
And when the reckoning came, I would not be the one falling from that cliff.
I would be the one doing the pushing.
Beside me, Ethan slept peacefully, his arm heavy across my waist, his breathing slow against my shoulder.
I closed my eyes.
The past came rushing back.
Ryan Dravenhart had noticed me during my senior year at Northbridge Academy.
“Noticed” was too gentle a word.
He had pursued me like a predator stalking its prey.
I was the scholarship girl with secondhand textbooks and free cafeteria lunches. Ryan was the golden heir to Hart Entertainment, born into a world where doors opened before he even reached them.
At school, whispers followed me.
Charity case.
She doesn’t belong here.
What does Ryan see in her?
Then Ryan silenced them.
One afternoon, he found me in the library and dropped into the chair across from mine.
His hazel eyes held mine, warm and confident.
“Aurelia Rose,” he said, as though my name belonged on his tongue. “I’ve been watching you.”
My fingers tightened around my pen.
“You’re the most beautiful girl in this school, and I’m tired of pretending I haven’t noticed.”
I had blushed and mumbled something about needing to study.
He only smiled.
“Have dinner with me. One night. Let me show you what it feels like to be adored.”
It took him three weeks to break through my defenses.
Flowers appeared on my desk.
Notes slipped into my locker.
His gaze found me across crowded rooms.
He never gave up.
And I was young, lonely, and desperate to believe someone could choose me.
So I said yes.
For the first time, I thought perhaps I was worthy of being loved.
I was wrong.
My adoptive parents had other plans for me.
The Rose family had taken me in when I was seven—a quiet, dark-haired girl with ocean-blue eyes and a past no one would explain.
They had never been cruel enough to look like villains.
Their cruelty was quieter.
Their affection came with conditions.
Good grades.
Obedience.
Chores.
And when I earned a full scholarship to Northbridge University, they saw an opportunity—not a future.
“You don’t need college,” my adoptive mother said.
I stared at her.
“I and your father have debts. That scholarship money could help this family.”
My acceptance letter trembled in my hands.
“But it’s my future. I earned it.”
My adoptive father slammed his hand against the table.
“You earned nothing. We raised you, fed you, clothed you. You owe us.”
I knew what they really meant.
They wanted my scholarship for their own children.
That night, I cried into my pillow, wondering how long I would remain trapped in a life that never felt like mine.
Ryan found out the next morning.
He always had a way of discovering things.
He arrived at our house without warning.
He didn’t knock.
He walked straight into the cramped living room, and the atmosphere changed instantly.
My adoptive parents went pale.
“You will not touch her scholarship,” Ryan said.
His voice was calm, but there was something dangerous beneath it.
“Aurelia’s future isn’t yours to steal.”
My adoptive father opened his mouth.
Ryan took one step forward.
The words died before they left him.
“Do you know who my father is?” Ryan asked softly. “Do you understand what happens to people who cross my family?”
My adoptive mother trembled.
Then she whispered a word that stayed with me for years.
“Alpha.”
Her eyes widened with fear.
“We didn’t know she was yours, Alpha. We’re sorry.”
I didn’t understand what she meant.
Ryan only smiled.
Then he turned to me, his expression softening.
“Come with me, Aurelia. You don’t have to stay here tonight.”
I went with him.
I was too stunned to question anything.
He took me to the Dravenhart estate—a sprawling mansion of marble floors, towering windows, and chandeliers that glittered like captured stars.
He gave me a room overlooking the ocean.
For the first time, I had everything I had ever dreamed of.
And Ryan made me one promise.
“I’ll protect you.”
His hand cupped my cheek.
“You’re mine now. No one takes what’s mine.”
I believed him.
God, I believed every word.
At Northbridge University, we became the couple everyone watched.
Ryan, the powerful heir.
Me, the scholarship girl who somehow captured his heart.
People envied us.
People whispered about us.
And I mistook their jealousy for proof that our love was real.
I gave him my heart.
I gave him my trust.
And I believed I had finally found the person who would never abandon me.
I didn’t know then that the man promising to protect me would one day become the reason I needed saving.
Our first date felt like a dream.
Candlelight. Red wine. A tiny Italian restaurant tucked away from the city.
A violinist played in the corner, filling the room with a melody that made everything feel perfect.
Ryan held my hand across the table. His thumb traced slow circles over my palm.
“I’m going to marry you someday, Aurelia Rose.”
My heart skipped.
“I’ll give you the world.”
I believed him.
God help me, I believed every word.
After dinner, he walked me to his dorm, his arm firm around my waist.
The night was cool, but his body radiated heat.
When we reached his door, he stopped.
His hazel eyes held mine.
“I want you to come inside,” he whispered. “Only if you want to. I’ll never force you.”
My heart raced.
I nodded.
And stepped inside.
His room was small but tidy. Movie posters covered the walls, and books filled the shelves.
He closed the door.
The click of the lock echoed through the silence.
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