Chapter 4
855 Words
Aurora pressed a hand to her forehead and went to the hospital alone.
The gash at her temple ran deep. She sat through more than a dozen stitches, fighting the pain.
She had just stepped out of the emergency room when she saw Sebastian helping Valentina toward a ward.
Valentina's face was pale, half her weight leaning against Sebastian. He was frowning, but he didn't push her away.
Aurora ducked behind a pillar on instinct and watched them disappear into the room.
She didn't know why she followed. She simply found herself standing outside the door, which hadn't been shut properly. The voices inside came through clearly.
Valentina sat on the bed and suddenly grabbed Sebastian by the collar. Her eyes were red.
"You care about me this much. Does that mean you still love me?"
"How could I..."
Before Sebastian could finish, Valentina tilted her head up and kissed him.
Aurora's breath stopped.
She saw Sebastian give a small struggle at first. Then his hand moved to the back of Valentina's head, and he kissed her back even harder.
Aurora's stomach lurched. She clamped a hand over her mouth and rushed into the nearby restroom. She heaved over the sink for a long while, but nothing came up. Only a few involuntary tears prickled at the corners of her eyes.
She suddenly remembered. After the first two weddings fell apart, Sebastian always said he needed to "deal with things" concerning Valentina. Now she understood. That so-called dealing had probably just been an excuse to rekindle what they once had.
A bitter laugh escaped her.
If you haven't cleaned out your heart, don't invite someone else in. How could Sebastian not understand something so simple? Yet he got engaged to her while still tangled up with Valentina. What did he take her for?
After picking up her medication, Aurora didn't want to stay another second. She went straight back to Willowmere Estate.
She had to finish packing and get as far away from Sebastian as possible.
She had just sealed the last box when her phone buzzed. A message from her best friend Daphne.
Daphne: Rory, check what's trending!
Aurora's heart sank. She opened the app. Right there at the top:
#ValentinasBetrayalWasALie
She tapped in. The first thing that loaded was a video.
In the footage, Valentina knelt before her parents, crying and begging them to help Sebastian. Her parents said they would help, but only if she married someone else within a month.
The comments had already exploded.
Netizen: So Valentina was the one who begged for the money that saved Sebastian? She suffered so much!
Netizen: My ship is sailing! This is true love. Sebastian, get back together with Valentina!
Netizen: Then what does that make Aurora? A b***h who swooped in and stole Valentina's credit?
Netizen: Down with the b***h! Sebastian and Valentina belong together!
Aurora's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Back when Sebastian was at his lowest, that emergency money had come from her. She had secretly transferred her own funds. Sebastian himself knew that. How had it turned into something Valentina begged for?
She was about to scroll further when another message from Daphne came in.
Daphne: Rory, the whole internet is attacking you. Don't go outside. If you can, hide somewhere. I'm scared someone might come after you!
Aurora hadn't even typed a reply when the doorbell rang.
She thought it was the movers. Without much thought, she went and opened the door.
The moment it cracked open, someone on the other side slammed it hard. Aurora stumbled backward several steps and nearly fell.
Before she could react, a woman stormed in and slapped her across the face. The blow sent a burning sting across her cheek, and her mind went blank.
"You b***h! You destroyed what Sebastian and Valentina had!"
The woman grabbed her by the hair, voice vicious. "And you dared take credit for what Valentina did! I'll rip your clothes off and humiliate you in the street!"
Several others closed in and started tearing at her clothes.
Only then did Aurora understand. These people had been whipped up by the rumors online.
She struggled and shouted, "I'm not a homewrecker! I got together with Sebastian after he and Valentina broke up! He proposed to me! And that money came from me!"
No one listened. They grabbed her arms, their grip so hard it hurt.
Panic surged. Fumbling, she pulled out her phone and dialed Sebastian's number with shaking fingers.
The call connected quickly. Aurora put it on speaker immediately and yelled into the phone.
"Sebastian! Tell them! Who gave you that emergency money back then?!"
A few seconds of silence passed on the other end. Then Sebastian's voice came through, thick with guilt. But the guilt was not for her.
"Aurora, I just found out how much Valentina did for me. I misunderstood her all this time. I hated her for so many years. I was the one who wronged her. She helped me back then, and now I have to make it up to her. Aurora, you're so understanding. Surely you can see that, right?"
- Writer
