Chapter 237 THE COLOR GREEN.
AURORA’S POINT OF VIEW.
I scooted closer to Kai, my cheeks burning at the fact that both our parents were right beside us. They’d see it. “Do you trust me?” I whispered, and for the first time, Kai turned from his glare on Morgan to a soft gaze on me.
“Without a doubt.” He nodded, and at once, I pulled him even closer to me, grabbing his hand so he snaked it around my waist while I climbed into his lap. I turned to Morgan with a triumphant smirk; she was cracking… beautifully so. Her eyes were now wide and full of green envy, her face pale as if I had my hands firmly wrapped around her throat.
She glared at Kai’s hand on my waist, and at mine around his neck. “While you grow old, gray, and weary in here, my fiancé and I will be married, with enough kids running around. You would be all alone in here, the world would move on without you….and guess what, no one will remember.”
The silence in the room became heavy and thick enough to choke on; so was the intensity of her gaze on me, not Kai, but me alone. I could feel Kai’s body heat seeping into me, his grip on my waist tightening as he played his part perfectly, resting his chin on my shoulder. I made sure she knew it all over again. We were a legacy in the making; we had a future.
But she, her’s was now erased. There was nothing she could do to stop us. “Two minutes more.” The officer announced, and Mom’s breath hitched with alarm.
Morgan shook her head, a sharp hiss from her filled the silence as the false, unfocused mask she had on when she came out cracked and shattered into a million torn pieces. The rhythmic tapping of her fingers stopped, turning into a harsh clenching, her nails digging so hard into the metal table that the screeching sound set my teeth on edge.
"Married?" she hissed, spitting the word out like it left a bitter taste in her mouth, like it was a curse.
"In the summer. Someday in a couple of years from now, my name will be Aurora Mercer, and then later, we will have children…" I lied smoothly, my voice a soft, melodic contrast to her rough, broken gasp. "In Paris….you know I’ve always loved that country. Heck, maybe we’ll buy out an entire hotel chain so we can have the week or month to ourselves. You know, wedding planning can be a whole lot.
Then, I’ll be the one to inherit it all, the company, the name….everything Denise worked to pull me out of; I’ll take it all. I’ll be the one wearing the family pearls, too; the ones left by my grandparents for me when I turn twenty-five, Morgan. I’ll be the one carrying the heir as well. And you? You’ll be lucky if the guards, or whoever is in there, can remember to bring you a cup of water."
“That’s it.” The officer called, and the world ended for me. “Time up.” No….fuck. Morgan still hasn’t spoken yet. If we leave, Armando will win. Just then, three guards stepped up to us with one order: “It’s time for you to leave.” Just before we would protest or beg for two more minutes, it happened.
"You... you little bitch!" Morgan screamed, lunging at the glass. Her handcuffs yanked her back, the metal biting into her wrists, but she didn't seem to feel the pain. Her face was contorted, her eyes burning with a narcissistic rage that was far more honest than any act she’d put on. "You think you’ve won? You think you can just step into my life and take my future?"
"I'm not stealing anything from you, Morgan," I said, my smile widening as I felt her ego go up in flames. "It was always mine. I simply took it back after letting you have it for some time.”
She slammed against the glass again, her dirty hair stiff even with her moving. “Get out….get the hell out!” she screams, her voice high-pitched.
“Not until we strike a deal, Morgan.” She paused, a bit calm. “We both know Armando does not care about you, not since Silas agreed to let me be Kai’s fiancé. Denise is gone, and she never had any family who stuck around with her because she cut them all off when she got with dad. Don’t lie, Morgan.” I interpreted her before she could. “If you had family members who cared enough, they would be here right now.”
“What the hell do you want, Aurora?”
“A way both of us can win out of this shithole we’re in.”