The CEO's Fake Wife

The Next Morning.

From the moment Aurora stepped into her shared room, to when she lay on the bed, time went by in a blur and morning came by quicker than she expected. Unlike Indigo who was deep asleep, Aurora couldn't sleep well and kept waking up every few minutes. Each time she closed her eyes, what she could see was the image of her father’s bloodied face on Asher’s phone.

Whenever she manages to fall asleep, she gets startled awake with her heart palpitating. At 8am, Aurora looked as if she had worked overtime for five days straight with barely any rest.

When she stood before the full-length mirror, she could barely recognize herself. Her face was pale and her eyes dull and empty, like a lifeless doll. Aurora lets out a sigh before returning to the bed to wake her sister who was sprawled on most of it. “Indigo, it's time to get up,” She gently shook her awake.

Indigo simply turned and mumbled in her sleep state. “Five more minutes, Dad.”

Aurora shook her head lightly. “We don't have five minutes, you have to get up.”

Indigo groaned in slight annoyance but still sat up and opened her groggy eyes. “Why? Are you sure it's dawn-” Indigo took a good look at Aurora and stopped her words halfway and her expression changed to one of shock, all the sleep in her eyes disappeared. “Oh, no.”

Aurora looked away quickly as if she was trying to hide but her sister had already seen it all. “What is wrong?”

“No, don't even try to do that.” Indigo folded her arms under her breasts and frowned.

“What do you mean? Do what?” She tried to sound indifferent about what Indigo meant.

“Do you think that I’m blind or stupid. Spill, what is wrong with you?”

Aurora forced out a weak smile “I’m fine.”

Indigo simply stared at her with compassion on her face. “You look awful, is the thought of the memorial getting to you?”

Aurora forced out another smile, the last thing she wanted was getting her sister involved. “Thank you.”

“I’m serious this time”

“I know.”

“What happened?”

Aurora looked away from her sister and stood up, worried that if she pressed harder, she would be forced to spill. “Nothing happened, don't worry your pretty mind over it.”

Indigo said nothing for a while, only staring at her sister. “Aurora,” She called out softly. “You know you can tell me anything, we can deal with it together so you don't have to deal with it all by yourself.”

That nearly forced her to speak but she decided against it at the last second. “It’s just because of today.” She forced her voice to remain steady so Indigo could not suspect her.

“Today?”

“The memorial service.”

Indigo stared at her for a long time, searching Aurora's face. “You are nervous about it.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not all.” Indigo declared firmly

For a moment, Aurora thought that her sister would keep pressing her with questions so she had to make something up. “I couldn't sleep last night,” she said quietly. “That’s all.”

It wasn’t a convincing lie but it was passable at that moment and they both knew it.

Both of them were locked in a heated gaze at one another, Indigo was trying to pressure her sister to spill more but Aurora was determined to keep her mouth shut.

“Fine,” Indigo said at last, though there was the hint that she wasn't buying her sister's story but she was willing not to ask further at that moment. “But if anyone else in this house makes you cry one more time, I’m setting something on fire.”

Aurora lets out a small laugh at her threat. “Noted.”

A firm knock came from the door, followed by a familiar voice. “Aurora, are you up yet?”

“Yes, come in,” Aurora responded

Before any of the young women could say anything more, the door was opened and a group of women stepped into the room. Three women and Mrs Melanie who stood at the very front, leading them in.

The three unfamiliar women were dressed in quiet uniforms, carrying garment bags, makeup cases, shoe boxes and various other items that were boxed. “Good morning, Mrs. Lucretia.” One of the women said with a polite nod.

Aurora felt her stomach churning greatly at the title but she made no move to refute the woman's words, earning Melanie's admiration in the process “Good morning, what brings you here?” she replied with a small voice.

The women moved in with professionalism, immediately setting the things they had down and beginning to arrange the room as if they had done this a number of times. They didn't mess with the previous arrangements in the process but just made slight changes.

“They would assist you and Miss Indigo for the memorial, this is a very important event so nothing can go wrong,” Melanie explained in one breath.

Indigo mumbled underneath her breath, “Of course, everything will be perfect.” After the dinner they shared with Astrid, Indigo did not have a good view of the madam of the Lucretia mansion but the only reason she stayed was for her sister.

Aurora didn’t say anything, she only entered the bathroom to take a quick shower, because she couldn't afford to keep anyone waiting. The moment she came out, clad in a white, spotless bathrobe, Melanie smiled and nodded in approval. “I would be expecting you.” She dropped and turned around to leave.

Aurora didn't say a word or even send her off, she simply stood in the center of the room and let the women take over in getting her dressed up.

The gowns were revealed to the sisters first, It was black, of course. But the fabric used was a soft silk that was heavy enough to drape to the ground beautifully without clinging to the body. It looked simple but was refined with long sleeves, and it fitted around the waist before falling to the ground like the simplest ball gown. There was no sparkle, bright stone attached to it or embellishment. The sleeves were narrow and ended at the wrists

with tiny buttons inlaid with diamonds.