Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Aurora’s POV
My phone had been buzzing all day. Every few minutes Conan’s name lit up the screen, his texts piling on top of each other.
Aurora, please answer me.
Where are you?
Just talk to me. Please come back.
I can explain everything.
I didn’t even open them anymore. Every vibration made my chest tighten but I couldn’t bring myself to reply. What was I supposed to say? That I couldn’t erase the image of Vanessa sitting on his lap? That no matter what explanation he had, the damage was already done?
I left the phone face down on the table while I got ready to meet my sister. Clarissa had texted earlier, saying she wanted to see me, and for some reason I agreed. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe I just wanted a distraction from Conan’s endless calls.
The restaurant was quiet when I walked in, soft lights hanging low over wooden tables. I spotted her immediately, sitting in the corner, fidgeting with the strap of her purse. She looked thinner than the last time I saw her, her hair tied back loosely, her shoulders hunched.
When she saw me, she stood quickly. “Aurora,” she said, her voice small.
I walked over slowly and sat down. “Clarissa.”
For a moment she just stared at me, biting her lip like she was searching for the right words. Then she sighed. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. For everything. For what I did to you.”
I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Sorry doesn’t cover stealing my inheritance. Sorry doesn’t cover betraying your own sister.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “I know. I know it doesn’t. I was stupid and I was— I don’t even know all I know is that I made choices I can’t take back.”
I studied her carefully, anger mixing with something else I didn’t want to name. “How could you even do that? We’re sisters, Clarissa. We didn’t always get along but we had the same parents, we grew up under the same roof. And still, you thought it was fine to stab me in the back like that?”
Her hands trembled as she reached for her glass of water. “I didn’t think it through. I thought I was finally going to have a life of my own. I thought he cared about me. I thought he knew what he was doing.”
The way she said “he” caught my attention. My eyes narrowed. “Who?”
She looked down at the table, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Clarissa. Who?”
She exhaled sharply and tilted her head just enough that I noticed it—faint bruises around her neck, half-hidden by her scarf. My stomach dropped.
“What happened to your neck?” I asked quietly.
She froze, her fingers tightening around the glass. “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s nothing, Aurora. Please.”
I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “Is it him? The boyfriend you keep mentioning?”
Her lips pressed together before she finally whispered, “Yes.”
I felt heat rising in my chest. “He did that to you?”
She nodded slowly, eyes filling again. “He gets angry. Sometimes I say the wrong thing, sometimes I don’t say anything at all. He… he doesn’t stop until he feels like I learned my lesson.”
I clenched my fists under the table. “And you stayed? After he put his hands on you?”
She laughed bitterly. “Where else would I go? I don’t have money, I don’t have friends left. He convinced me to take your inheritance too, and said we’d build something together. But he lost it all. Every penny. Bad investments, stupid risks. And now I have nothing.”
My head spun as I tried to process her words. “So you sold me out because some man told you to?”
Tears streamed down her face now. “I thought he loved me. I thought he wanted the best for me but I was wrong.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “And you let him treat you like this? There are bruises on your neck, Clarissa? That’s not love. That’s abuse.”
She wiped at her cheeks quickly and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
The air left my lungs. “You’re what?”
“I found out last week and I told him and he… he told me to get rid of it. He said he doesn’t want it, that it’ll ruin his life. He said if I don’t do what he says, he’ll make me regret it.”
I felt rage crawl through my body so strong I had to grip the edge of the table. “He’s threatening you? He’s threatening you to get rid baby?”
She nodded again, trembling. “I don’t know what to do.”
For a long moment, I just stared at her. This was the same sister who had stolen everything from me, who had laughed when I confronted her back then, who had chosen some man over her own blood. Yet now she sat across from me looking small and broken, and despite everything, pity tugged at me.
“Where are you staying right now?” I asked.
“At his place,” she admitted. “I don’t have anywhere else.”
I shook my head. “You can’t keep living there. You’re not safe." I paused for a minute, thinking about my options. "You’ll come stay with me. Pack your things and leave before he hurts you again.”
She blinked, shocked. “Aurora… are you serious? After everything I did to you?”
“Yes. I’m serious. I may not trust you, and I don’t forgive you, but I’m not letting my sister and her unborn baby get beaten up by some worthless man. You’ll stay with me until you figure something else out.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks again and she reached across the table as if to hug me. Instinctively, I leaned back, holding up a hand.
“Not yet, Clarissa. I’m not there yet,” I said firmly.
Her face fell and she nodded awkwardly, withdrawing her hand. “Okay.”
Silence stretched between us as the waiter brought our food. Neither of us spoke while he set the plates down, and once he left we picked up our forks. The clinking of cutlery was the only sound for a while, the tension sitting heavy between us.
Clarissa cleared her throat. “Thank you. For giving me another chance.”
I stabbed at my food without looking up. “Don’t thank me yet.”
She said nothing after that, and we ate the rest of the meal in an awkward quiet, both lost in our own thoughts.
As I chewed, I kept asking myself if I was making the right decision. Was I saving my sister, or was I opening my door to more betrayal? The doubt nagged at me, and no matter how much pity I felt, I couldn’t shake the unease in my chest.