Chapter 112

Chapter 112
Chapter 112

Shattered Chains

Aurora’s POV

I didn’t think there was anything left inside me that Tiffany could break. I thought I had braced myself, hardened my heart, and drowned every weakness, killed my every emotion.

But watching her and Alex… no, my Alex, the boy who once shielded me from bullies, the boy who once promised me that no matter what, he would never turn on me, the boy who was my ride or die, watching him give himself over to her right in front of me shattered something deep inside, something I had thought I had killed a long while ago.

My chest felt like it was splitting open with every sound, every glance, every deliberate cruelty. Tiffany wasn’t even trying to hide the satisfaction she took from my suffering. She kissed him as if to claim victory, and Alex kissed her back with a hunger that made bile rise in my throat. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even lust. It was something worse, though. I knew they didn't want to have sex, but they knew if they did In front of me, It would break me beyond repair, and that's Tiffany's plans.

I wanted to scream, to curse, to throw myself at them, even bound as I was, but nothing came out. Not a word. My voice failed me, but my heart bled with hatred so raw it felt like poison to me. Tiffany had taken my dignity, and Alex had helped her, without thinking twice about it.

The door creaked, and a guard entered hurriedly, whispering something in Tiffany’s ear. Her lips curled into a smile I will never forget.

“Dominique’s here.”

My pulse stuttered. Relief, fear, hope, and dread all collided in me at once.

Tiffany turned to Alex. “Untie her from the chair. She’ll be coming with us. She's the price”

He obeyed, but they left my hands and legs tied, chains digging into my skin. My body felt heavy, useless, but my spirit, though fractured, burned with rage for Tiffany. Alex gripped my arm tightly and dragged me across the cold floor.

The silence between us was unbearable. I broke it. My voice cracked, weak, but laced with pain and sadness.

“Why, Alex? Why did you do that in front of me?”

He didn’t answer at first. My eyes searched his face, desperate for a flicker of remorse, of hesitation, of the boy I once called my best friend, of the boy I once relied on. But when he finally turned his head, what I saw hollowed me. His lips twisted into a smile, not warm, not human, but cruel, demonic and devilish.

“Anything to make you feel pain,” he whispered silently with his tone filled with disgust.

I stopped breathing. My heart clenched. That was it. There was no redemption left in him anymore. He wasn’t the Alex I knew, that Alex I knew was gone, and what remained inside of him now was Tiffany’s weapon of war against me.

Dragged into the warehouse, I squinted against the harsh lights. My eyes landed on them, Dominique, my father, Damian, standing together, like an immovable wall on the opposite side.

“What is Damian doing here?” I thought, because it was a shock seeing him here.

Dominique’s presence nearly undid me. His eyes, sharp and burning, met mine immediately. I wanted to run into his arms, to tell him everything, but the chains held me, and Tiffany’s grip on my fate anchored me in hell.

Dominique stepped forward, his voice cutting through the space like a blade. “Tiffany, release her. This ends tonight. Here and here.”

Tiffany only laughed, a sound sharp and venomous. “You think you get to dictate terms here? Oh, Dominique, still clinging to the illusion of control. You can’t protect her from me. You never could, and you never can.”

“Don’t test me,” he snapped, his voice a growl. “You’re playing with fire, remember why they call me the devil, Tiffany.”

“And yet,” she purred, “I never burn.”

I saw it then, the fear flickering in Dominique’s eyes. He was trying to stand tall, to project the invincible Don, but I knew better. I knew him. Beneath the rage and steel, his chest was tight with dread. He wasn’t just fighting for me, he was fighting for the child I carried.

His child.

Every second stretched into eternity. Then the air shifted, and footsteps echoed against the warehouse walls.

Peter.

I froze. It had been so long since I last saw him that for a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. His presence was a shock that rippled through everyone present.

He ignored the stares, ignored the guns cocking in suspicion, and walked straight to Tiffany.

“You disappear for weeks,” she snapped, venom dripping from her voice. “And now you just stroll in, like you are the king of the moment?.”

Peter bowed his head slightly, almost humble. “I needed time. To clear my head. To purge… emotions I shouldn’t have had from the beginning.” His eyes flickered toward me, and my stomach twisted. He was lying, or maybe he wasn’t. Either way, the air grew heavier.

“And now?” Tiffany asked coldly.

“Now,” Peter said evenly, “I want to help. Let me hold her. Let me be the one to keep her in place, so she wouldn't have another idea”

My heart thudded painfully. My instincts screamed that something wasn’t right. Tiffany narrowed her eyes at him, suspicion plain, but after a long pause she finally waved her hand. “Fine. Prove yourself, not even prove, I would say redeem yourself..”

Alex smirked, almost triumphant, as if he were passing me like some possession. His grip tightened cruelly before he shoved me forward, chains clinking as Peter caught me.

But the moment his hand closed around me, everything shifted.

A metallic click cut through the air. A cold steel pressed against my head.

Peter had drawn a gun.

Gasps erupted. Dominique’s face darkened, his men raising their weapons instantly. Damian tensed like a coiled spring. My father cried out, his voice ragged, “No!”

Tiffany’s eyes widened, fury blazing. “Peter, what the hell do you think you’re doing, why are you spoiling our plans?”

I couldn’t move. I couldn't think. All I felt was the chill of the gun pressed l against my skin and the weight of silence that followed.

Peter’s voice was calm, almost too calm. “For too long, Aurora has been tossed around like a trophy between enemies and allies. Tonight, that ends. One way or another. And I will end that.”

The warehouse became a leaking diesel tank,with the tiniest spark stopping it from exploding.

And I, bound and broken, stood in the center of it, with death breathing against my skin.