Chapter 16-
Nathaniel stood pale faced, ignoring Felicia’s desperate tugging at his sleeve as he stared at Aurora’s emotionless eyes–eyes that once beld entire universes of adoration for him []
He struggled to compose himself, forcing a smile so broken it resembled a grimace, his voice barely above a whisper
“If I hadn’t been so blind before.. if I hadnḥ always favored my aunt… would we still have ended up here?“[]
Aurora didn’t answer
answer immediately. Instead, she took Damian’s hand and walked toward the elevator, one deliberate step after another.
feet]
Just before reaching the doors, she stopped and turned back to look at Nathaniel, who was now swaying slightly on his feet.
This time, Aurora felt no urge to rush to his side. She had permanently relegated Nathaniel Rhodes to her past. There was no possibility of going back.
Yes” she said clearly, her voice carrying across the hushed room.
If you had cared about me even a fraction as much as you cared about Felicia–if you had spared me even one of the looks you gave her–we would never have reached this point-
The old Aurora would have made endless excuses for Nathaniel’s behavior, constantly lying to herself to get through each day.
But that final betrayal–when he had been willing to let her starve to death for Felicia’s sake–had shattered any possibility of self–deception.
She had loved the wrong man, but she wouldn’t make that mistake again. She glanced at Damian beside her, his eyes filled with vulnerability that only she was allowed to see.
When the elevator arrived, she smiled and pulled Damian inside, never looking back
As the doors closed. Nathaniel’s rigid body finally gave way. Blood erupted from his mouth as he collapsed to the floor with a sickening thud.||
The shocked gasps around him and Felicia’s placing screams couldn’t penetrate the fog in his mind
All he could hear were Aurora’s parting words echoing in his head:
Isn’t this exactly what you planned all along? Me escaping you and the Sinisirs, falling into another mary’s arms-isn’t this predsely what you wanted?
Yes, that had been his plan. Once, he’d believed Aurora’s importance to him was negligible compared to Felicia’s Only after she left did he realize his love for Aurora had seeped into his very hones
He inved her innocence, her every word and gesture. He had loved her desperately but never dared admit it.]
Now he had lost her forever.
Nathaniel lost consciousness. This man who hadn’t been sick in years now burned with persistent fever, mumbling Aurora’s name in his delirium, begging her
not to leave.
Everyone knew who had reduced the mighty Nathaniel Rhodes to this pitiful state. Felicia sat by his bedside, her hands clenched tight]
She was losing her mand. She couldn’t understand it. She had always believed all men were driven by lust above all else. She was more beautiful than Aurora, and Nathaniel loved her whenever she cried, he would do anything for her.||
All it took was a few words and some tears, and Nathaniel would always give in to her demands. Even Aurora, with her life–saving set and the Sinclair fortune. had been no match for Felicia’y maisipulations []
She had reveled in her power, taking special pleasure in tormenting Aurora. The more Aurora suttered, the more valuable and superior Felicia teh.||
But now Nathaniel’s heart was being consumed I
1 by thoughts of Aurora, and for the first time, Felicia fell genuine fear ||
Only now did she remember her precarious position as merely an adopted daughter with no real standing in the Khoides family. If not for Nathaniel’s protection all these years, the piranha like Rhodes clan would have devoured her alive ||
She needed to find a way to recapture Nathaniel het. She couldn’t return to her former lite of hardship:||
Currently. Felicia wore Aurora’s custom designer clothes, ate food reserved for the Sinclair fandly, and hadn’t yet tired of playing the heiress or wearing the Sinclair family jewels worth hundreds of inations ||
She couldn’t–absolutely couldn’t–lose any of this ||
Suppressing her panic, Felicia hurried away, leaving Leo to frantically arrange für Nathaniel to be carried to the hospital
Watching Felicia’s retreating figure–not a single word of concern for the man she claimed to love–Leo felt a moment of pity for his boss, Nathaniel’s entire life had been marked by abandonment, just when he’d found healing with Aurora, he’d thrown it away for a woman who only valued material possessions.
“Sir,” Leo sched. “If only you had realized sooner“]
Who could disagree?]]
By the next morning, videos of Aurora slapping Felicia had gone viral online, reaching even Nathaniel as he regained consciousness ||
