Chapter 15: The Mockery
1235 Words
Aurora’s POV
Cayden’s laugh filled the air, light and free like a breeze sweeping through the open windows of his infirmary.
He was brewing something again—probably one of his disgusting yet miraculous teas—and humming an old lullaby from our childhood days. The air smelled like crushed herbs, lavender, and just the faintest hint of cinnamon. It felt safe here. Like nothing could touch me.
Like Alexander Thorn didn’t exist.
I sat on the cushioned bench near the far wall, watching the sunlight drape itself across the wooden floors like golden silk. My hands rested over my lap, still bandaged from the rose incident earlier, though the sting had long since faded.
But it wasn’t the wound that brought me here.
It was the emptiness.
Cayden always knew how to fill it, even if just for a while.
“You haven’t eaten,” he said gently, placing a tray beside me. “So I took the liberty of making your favorite—honey-glazed bread and apricot tea. I even pretended to chant over the kettle to bless it with calmness.”
I gave a small, tired smile. “So it’s cursed, then.”
He snorted. “Cursed with sweetness, maybe.”
I let the silence settle between us again. It was never awkward with Cayden. Just peaceful. Gentle.
Like I could breathe.
“Cay,” I said softly, tracing the rim of the porcelain cup. “Do you think it’s possible to love someone and still ruin them?”
His hands stilled, halfway through wiping his glasses. His gaze drifted to me, sharp but kind. “Only if the one doing the loving doesn’t know the difference between possession and devotion.”
I nodded slowly.
“I think… he never learned that difference.”
Cayden sat beside me then, close but not suffocating. “You don’t have to pretend you’re fine with him anymore, you know.”
“I’m not pretending,” I said, voice flat. “I’ve just stopped expecting anything.”
Before he could answer, a loud crash echoed from the front.
Then came the voice.
His voice.
“What the hell is going on here?”
My spine stiffened before I even turned. The air changed. The safety I had wrapped around myself like a blanket was suddenly ripped away.
Alexander Thorn stormed in like a hurricane made of fury and fire, his coat half-buttoned, his eyes wild. His presence devoured the room instantly.
And yet…
I didn’t stand.
I didn’t flinch.
I didn’t care.
“What in the gods’ name are you doing here, Aurora?” he demanded, looking between me and Cayden like he’d caught us in some betrayal. “What the hell are you doing in his infirmary?”
Cayden didn’t move. He just stood there, calm and unaffected, like he’d expected this exact performance.
But me?
I slowly raised my tea to my lips. Took a sip.
And looked right through Alexander as if he were nothing more than a shadow in the light.
“I didn’t know I needed permission to breathe,” I said calmly.
“Don’t twist this into something it’s not,” he snapped. “You disappeared without a word. Your maids refused to speak. And I find you here?”
“And?” I said, still flat. Still ice.
His fists clenched at his sides. “You’re my wife—”
I stood, finally meeting his eyes. “Am I?”
He blinked.
That one question disarmed him more than any scream could have.
I walked past him, brushing against his shoulder like he wasn’t Alpha, wasn’t my husband, wasn’t even real.
He grabbed my wrist. “Aurora.”
I stopped. But I didn’t look back.
“Let go,” I said softly.
“You shouldn’t be with him.”
“I shouldn’t be with a man who brings another woman into my bedchamber,” I whispered coldly. “But here we are.”
His grip faltered. And then, it dropped.
“Do not embarrass me here, Aurora. It is not like we need to publicize whatever is happening inside our home. It is our matter, why would we bring Cayden into this?” His eyes sharpened as he basically asks me to shut my mouth.
“I don’t think you understand.” I gently massaged my hands that he had touched.
“Cay has been my best friend since I was a kid so he’s not some random guy that you should be worried about. He understand me and the situation I have recently found myself in. So… Alexander, I beg of you… let me stay here.”
He looked at me with disdain. I figured, he never see that coming. He never really wanted the idea of me having my own freedom because he wants a woman he can chain beside him.
“And then what? You want the people, my subject, to think that you are having an affair with this man?”
I was dumbfounded. As if all my energy have left my body and my shoulders could only rest by how absurd his words was.
“What do you mean?” I looked at him with anger surging in my body.
“You were the one who embarrassed me in front of your parents a while ago and now, I am the bad guy? I am the one who is having an affair? How bold of you.” I remained looking at him with straight eyes as I could not accept the fact that the tables were turning.
“I cannot believe you would come here and say that. Out of all the people who could have spoke about affairs, coming from you?” I let out a laugh full of mockery.
“Hey,” Cayden interfered. He sounded serious and I could see the anger in his eyes as well. Although, I know, he won’t go against the alpha as he still know his place.
“Do you know how stressed your wife was?” His tone slightly changed.
“Do you know how scared she was when she lost your baby? How stressed she was when she had to give you another when her body hasn’t even recovered yet?”
Alexander remained silent. Like, his tongue was tied and he cannot speak.
“Right.” Cayden sounded disappointed. “You were busy minding another woman’s life.”
Cayden was about to speak when all of a sudden, Alexander’s fist landed into his face.
“Alexander!” My voice echoed all around the place as I went to Cayden. His nose bled and I can see how his eyes darkened.
“What did you just do?!” I shouted at his bare face as I tried to help Cayden get up. There was so much blood that it went to my sleeves.
“Let’s get your nose checked.” I whispered as I tried my best to see if the wound might be inside his skull and if it was a fracture.
I was about to search for some medicine he might have crafted when Alexander grabbed my wrist.
“Let’s go, Aurora.”
I met his eyes. “Let me go.”
But he never listened. If he wanted, he would get it.
“You will come with me… or I will tell everyone that you are having an affair with him?”
- Writer
