Chapter 2
911 Words
The voice on the other end didn't hesitate for a second.
"It still stands. I'm abroad right now. Give me two weeks to wrap things up, and I'll come back to marry you."
The man's tone carried unmistakable gravity. "Rory, wait for me."
After hanging up, Aurora looked up and met Camilla's worried gaze.
"Rory, don't just pick someone random out of spite..."
"I'm not." Aurora cut in softly. "Mom, I know what I'm doing."
Camilla studied her for a long moment.
She knew her daughter too well. Aurora had always been more composed than others her age and never did anything rash.
Finally, she sighed and patted her daughter's hand.
"Alright, I support you. All I want is for you to be happy from now on. No more suffering."
Camilla's words were like warm water, slowly soothing her cold, hardened heart.
Aurora's nose stung. In this absurd relationship, she had never been alone after all.
After she helped her parents tidy up the wedding mess, it was already pitch dark outside.
Aurora declined their offer to stay with them and went alone to Willowmere Estate, the house she and Sebastian had prepared for their marriage.
Since she had decided to call off the engagement, some things needed to be said in person. Then she would move out for good.
When she pushed open the door, the living room lights were on.
The moment she stepped inside, Aurora froze.
Valentina stood in the kitchen doorway in an apron, carrying a plate of honey-glazed ribs fresh off the stove.
She was still pale, but her eyes held a practiced softness.
"You're back? Come eat. Sebastian said you've had a long day, so he asked me to make your favorites."
She set the plate down at the center of the table, her tone settling into the room like she was its mistress.
Aurora's throat tightened. All the words she wanted to say got stuck in her chest.
She never imagined Sebastian would bring Valentina to Willowmere Estate.
Perhaps noticing the look on her face, Sebastian rose from the sofa and snapped at Valentina.
"What are you standing there for? Can't you see Aurora's back? A maid should know her place. Don't wander around when you're not supposed to!"
Valentina's face went pale. Her lips moved slightly, but she said nothing and retreated to the kitchen.
Aurora's gaze fell on Sebastian's hand resting on the edge of the table.
It clenched tightly and then relaxed, over and over, betraying the panic beneath his feigned calm.
She lowered her eyes and asked coldly, "Why is she here?"
"She said she wants to atone for the past."
Sebastian walked over and tried to take her hand, but Aurora pulled away. He cleared his throat.
"She has nowhere else to go, so I let her stay as a maid. Consider it... her way of making amends."
Before Aurora could respond, Sebastian guided her into a chair at the dining table.
He took the serving fork, lifted a single rib, and laid it carefully on her plate.
"She's decent in the kitchen. Go on, try it." He set the fork down.
"Aurora, from now on, anything you need, just send her. Don't go soft. It's the least she owes."
The last words came through gritted teeth. But Aurora felt only a slow, cold ache spreading through her chest.
She had once believed Sebastian was gentle with her. His smile was measured, his warmth always timed just right.
The distance in him, she'd told herself, was simply who he was.
Now she understood. It wasn't distance. It was a mask.
All his raw emotion, the anger, the fluster, the things he couldn't hide, had always belonged to Valentina alone.
If Aurora had ever truly mattered to him, he would never have let her see so much of himself in someone else's presence.
The rib on her plate was glossy and fragrant. It sat there, untouched.
She set her fork down, and before she could speak of the wedding, Sebastian cut in.
"Don't worry about the ceremony. I'll plan it all over again. This time, I swear, no one will ruin it."
His eyes were earnest, his voice steady. Exactly as they had been the first time. And the second.
But the flutter that used to rise in her chest was gone. She had believed those promises enough. She was done.
She drew a slow breath, lifted her gaze, and met his eyes.
"Sebastian."
His heart gave a single, heavy lurch. He knew, before she said another word, that whatever was coming, he didn't want to hear it.
The house was quiet. Only the faint rush of water from the kitchen faucet drifted through the stillness. He could hear his own pulse beating faster.
"Our engagement... Let's just..."
A sharp crash of breaking ceramic cut through the room from the kitchen, and her words scattered with it.
Sebastian's head whipped toward the sound. He didn't finish the sentence with her. He didn't even offer an explanation.
"I'll check on that."
He was already moving, strides quick toward the kitchen door.
Aurora watched his back disappear and then finished the words alone.
"Let's just call it off."
She looked down at the rib. Cold. The glaze had begun to set, the fat congealing in a thin, pale sheen.
Her eyes stung, but no tears fell.
"Sebastian," she whispered, "I don't want to love you anymore. I'll... give you back to her."
- Writer
