Chapter 3 Hit a Dead End
917 Words
When Aurora woke up again, she was lying in a hospital bed.
A young nurse was frowning as she changed her IV, her tone annoyed. "Seriously, what were you thinking? Eating all those persimmons when you're anemic and pregnant? Don't you know that can cause a miscarriage?"
Aurora's mind went blank. 'I've been pregnant? And I lost the baby? Because of the persimmons Zayne has given me?'
She closed her eyes. Her chest felt like it had been crushed by a boulder.
But maybe it was better this way. At least when she left, she wouldn't have any false hopes left to cling to.
Still, she was almost desperate to know how Zayne would react when he found out—the same Zayne who once swore he wanted a lot of kids with her.
Aurora stayed in the hospital for several days. Zayne never once came to see her.
From the texts he sent, she guessed he hadn't even been back to the villa.
But she kept seeing Anya's i********: updates. Those pictures always had a man in the shots somewhere.
He never showed his face. But Aurora knew it was him.
Zayne took Anya to trendy restaurants, to amusement parks, even to hot springs—all things Aurora hadn't experienced with him in a long time.
A week later, Aurora checked herself out of the hospital alone and went back to Zayne's villa.
She didn't stop. She went straight upstairs and started packing—clothes, art supplies, little souvenirs they'd collected...
Aurora packed them all up, planning to slip away without a word.
But she needed to go to Zayne's company and wrap up whatever little work she still had.
She used to be a top art student. Her paintings had real soul.
But she'd given all that up to be closer to Zayne, taking a job as his admin assistant, drowning in boring proposals and contracts.
She was done forcing herself.
Aurora was halfway through clearing her desk when the office door slammed open.
Zayne walked in, frowning, and grabbed her hands. "Aurora, I heard you want to quit. Why?"
Aurora pulled away coldly, her voice flat. "No reason. Just want a different life."
'A life without you in it, Zayne.'
Zayne saw something different in her eyes and opened his mouth to say more.
But Anya's sharp voice cut through the air. The accusation in it was loud and clear—she had Zayne's backing, and she knew it. "Aurora, if you want to quit, fine. But why are you trying to take the company's core clients with you?"
Aurora had never even thought about taking clients. They just trusted her, that was all.
Before she could explain, Anya let out a laugh. Her contempt was obvious. "Look, Aurora, I get that you and Zayne are fighting. But you can't take it out on the company. Do you even realize what you're doing? You're destroying everything he's built. How's he supposed to explain this to his family?"
She stepped closer, her eyes sweeping over Aurora's pale face. "You've been holding onto this 'future Mrs. Palmer' title. You should be thinking about what's best for Zayne. Oh, by the way, I heard your medical report... never quite passed, right? Can't get into the Palmer family? Maybe you should just leave sooner. Let someone who actually deserves the spot have it."
'Someone who deserves it? Is she talking about herself?' Aurora's fists clenched. Her nails dug into her palms.
Zayne frowned slightly. His voice was full of apology. "Aurora, I know I messed up last time. I heard you were in the hospital with acute gastroenteritis. If you're mad about that, I'm sorry, okay? I promise, I won't ever let you go through something like that again."
Then his eyes went cold as he looked at Anya, his tone sharp. "Anya. Don't talk to Aurora like that. No matter what, she's going to be my wife."
"Your wife?" The words hit Anya like a slap. Her eyes instantly welled up.
She gave Zayne one wounded, disbelieving look, then turned and ran out, crying.
"Anya!" Zayne's face flickered with obvious worry. Without thinking, he moved to go after her.
"Zayne." Aurora stood up suddenly, her voice shaking from the effort of holding it together.
She straightened her back, looked him right in the eye, and said each word clearly, "If you walk out that door to chase after her right now, in front of all these people, then we're done."
Zayne stopped. He turned back, his expression complicated—impatience and conflict flickering across his face.
Finally, he just sighed, like he was dealing with a child throwing a tantrum. "Aurora, don't be like this. We've been together for years. Are you really going to throw that away? I already explained what happened that day. Can you just let it go?"
He reached out, about to ruffle her hair the way he always did. "Don't worry. Something like this won't happen again."
'Won't happen again? But right now, he is still giving all of himself to Anya.' Aurora turned her head away, avoiding his hand.
That was the moment the very last flicker of hope for him inside her died.
She'd bet the relationship on one final ultimatum. And he'd brushed it off with a "don't be like this" and a step toward someone else.
Watching him walk away without a second thought, Aurora finally saw the truth.
She and Zayne had finally hit a dead end.
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