CHAPTER 3

AURORA’S POV

Fiona couldn’t be serious, right? Sending me away from the house to serve some random person? Who does that? She couldn’t possibly mean it. I couldn’t leave this house only to end up somewhere even worse.

“Fiona, you can’t be serious, right? Or are you?” I asked, tears already gathering in my eyes.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” she snapped. “I accepted the offer a long time ago, and soon you’ll be going to your new home. Aurora, I’ve already told you that you’re useless to me. You tried to ruin my reputation, so maybe someone else can teach you some discipline.”

She raised her wrist and checked her watch.

“How could you, Fiona? How could you be so heartless? What do you really want from me and my family? What have we ever done to deserve this? You’re just a wife. You have no right to—”

My words were cut short as she slapped me across the face.

“How dare you speak to me like that? Who gave you the courage?” she shouted. “I don’t have time for this. And wipe those tears off your face. Stop pretending to be innocent.”

With that, she spat at me and stormed out of the room.

I locked the door behind her and sank onto the floor.

My eyes burned, but the tears refused to come.

I felt completely broken.

School was definitely out of the question today. I couldn’t show up looking like this, with swollen eyes and a tired face.

I stared at my reflection in the large mirror.

My hair was a mess.

My eyes were red and puffy.

“I’ll just take a bath,” I whispered to myself. “I won’t let Fiona’s words destroy me. I’ll take life one day at a time.”

After bathing, I returned to my room and lay on the bed.

My phone suddenly rang.

It was Reeve.

I answered immediately and placed the phone against my ear.

**

CLARK’S POV

Aurora wasn’t in school today, and that was unusual.

What happened to her?

I spotted her friends and walked over.

“Hey, where’s your friend?” I asked.

“Aura’s at home. Why?” one of them replied.

I rolled my eyes and walked away.

Something felt off.

Not because I cared, but because my plans weren’t getting the reaction I expected.

I drove toward Aurora’s estate and parked several houses away from her gate.

The neighborhood was surprisingly quiet and beautiful.

Aurora’s house stood out from the others.

It was bigger and more elegant.

Maybe her family owned the estate.

Getting through security wasn’t difficult after a little persuasion.

I walked toward the house and noticed the gate was open.

The place seemed empty.

Curious, I stepped inside.

The front door wasn’t locked either.

After making sure no one was around, I headed upstairs.

Maybe she was home alone.

Maybe I’d finally find out what was going on.

**

AURORA’S POV

I stepped out of the bathroom and nearly screamed.

Clark was sitting on the edge of my bed as if he owned the place.

I rubbed my eyes.

Surely I wasn’t seeing things.

“Hey,” he said. “Stop looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Clark!” I snapped. “How did you find my house? And what are you doing in my room?”

He shrugged.

“Do I need permission to visit someone?”

“Actually, yes. Especially when nobody invited you.”

He smirked.

“Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty to talk about soon.”

“In your dreams.”

He laughed and bounced lightly on the mattress.

“Nice room you’ve got here.”

“Clark, why are you here?”

Instead of answering, he unlocked his phone and held it up.

The moment I saw the screen, my stomach dropped.

Those private photos.

The same photos that had been sent to me anonymously.

My eyes widened.

“You?” I whispered.

He didn’t deny it.

“So you were behind this all along?” I shouted. “Why would you do this to me?”

He remained silent.

“Have you not caused enough trouble already? What do you even want from me?”

Still nothing.

The silence only made me angrier.

“Clark, do you even have a heart?” I asked. “Do you know what this has put me through?”

For a moment, he looked away.

Then he returned his attention to the phone.

I sat down and buried my face in my hands.

Everything felt like it was falling apart.

Fiona.

The photos.

The threats.

Now Clark.

It was too much.

Finally, I looked up.

“Clark, what do you want from me?”

He sat straighter.

“What do I want?” he repeated.

“Yes. Just say it already.”

“I want you to stop acting like you’re better than everyone else.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“You embarrassed me in front of half the school.”

“So that’s what this is about?”

“Partly.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You’ve put me through all this because your pride got hurt?”

He didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

“Delete the photos,” I said quietly.

“No.”

“Clark—”

“No.”

I clenched my fists.

“Those photos are private.”

“I know.”

“Then delete them.”

Again, he refused.

My patience snapped.

I lunged toward the phone in his hand.

“Give me that!”

We struggled over the device as it nearly slipped from his grasp.

“Stop it!” he shouted.

“No! Delete them!”

The phone suddenly made a notification sound.

Both of us froze.

Clark stared at the screen.

His expression changed immediately.

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

“What happened?” I asked.

He looked genuinely alarmed.

“Aurora…”

My heart pounded.

“What happened?”

He swallowed hard.

“I think we accidentally sent something.”