Chapter 4
The days turned into weeks, and slowly, I started to feel like a different person. I wasn’t healed yet—no, the pain didn’t just vanish—but I had stopped letting it control me.
I got a job at a small design studio. It wasn’t fancy, but it was a start. I worked with fabric and sketches again, and the feeling of creating something beautiful with my own hands gave me a spark I hadn’t felt in years. My boss, Mia, was tough but kind. She pushed me to do better, to believe in myself again.
One afternoon, I stayed late to finish a design and accidentally cut my finger on the edge of a scissor blade. As I grabbed a tissue, Mia walked over and frowned.
“You okay?” she asked.
I nodded. “Just a small cut.”
She looked at me for a moment, then leaned against the table. “You’ve been quiet since you started here. Focused. But sad.”
I forced a small smile. “Let’s just say I’ve had a rough few years.”
She didn’t press. She just nodded and patted my shoulder. “Well, whatever happened, you’re doing great now. Don’t let anyone pull you back into the past.”
That night, I sat on my apartment balcony with a cup of tea, watching the city lights. Mia’s words stayed in my mind. Don’t let anyone pull you back. She was right.
But fate wasn’t done testing me.
The very next morning, as I stepped into the office building, I froze.
Standing by the elevator was Lucien.
He looked exactly the same—sharp suit, cold expression, confident stance—but his eyes looked different. Tired. Lost.
“Aurora,” he said softly when he saw me.
I turned away and pressed the elevator button without speaking. I wasn’t ready for this. Not here. Not now.
“Can we talk?” he asked as he stepped beside me.
“There’s nothing left to talk about,” I replied, keeping my voice steady.
“I made a mistake.”
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped in. He followed me.
I pressed the button for my floor and stared straight ahead. “You made a choice, Lucien. And I made mine. Let’s not do this.”
He sighed. “You don’t understand what really happened—”
“No,” I interrupted sharply. “You don’t get to twist things now. You brought Carla back. She’s pregnant. And you stood there like none of it mattered. You destroyed me, Lucien. And you didn’t even blink.”
He looked at the floor. For the first time, he didn’t have anything to say.
The elevator stopped, and I walked out without looking back.
But later that evening, as I locked up the office, I saw him waiting outside.
“Aurora, please,” he said again. “Let me explain everything.”
I crossed my arms. “Explain what? That you tossed me aside for the woman I once called my sister? That you let me suffer for three years, then showed up with a baby in her belly?”
His jaw clenched. “It’s not my child.”
My heart skipped. “What?”
“That baby isn’t mine,” he said quietly. “She lied.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You’re saying… you didn’t cheat?”
He ran a hand through his hair, looking more exhausted than ever. “I don’t know what I felt anymore. I was angry. I was stupid. But no, I didn’t sleep with her. She told me she was pregnant after we landed. I didn’t know anything until then.”
My thoughts swirled. Could this be true? Could she have faked it just to get to him? And why would he go along with it?
“I don’t believe you,” I said finally, backing away. “Even if it’s true, it doesn’t erase everything else.”
He reached out like he wanted to touch my hand, but I pulled away.
“Aurora, I want to make things right.”
I looked him dead in the eye. “You had three years to do that. Now it’s my turn to choose. And I choose me.”
I walked away, leaving him in the cold night air, just like he once left me.
But this time, he was the one watching me go.