After his recovery, Nathaniel was never the same physically. He regularly collapsed from overwork, landing in the hospital multiple times from severe sleep deprivation
Each time, heat rest just long enough to be discharged before plunging back into his punishing schedule. Len watched with growing
Sir, you need to slow down, he’d plead |||
Nathaniel would dismiss these concerns with a wave, Only by working himself to exhaustion could he ful fleeting moments of peace–those brief instances when he transferred Aurora’s share of profits to her account, knowing she would never want for anything||
Throughout Manhattan’s elite social circles, an unspoken rule emerget any rent attended by Nathaniel Rhodes would never see Aurora
everser Aurora and Damian Wolfe on
aged their formal wedding ceremony |
Damian, protective of his hard won happiness, quickly arranged
During the lavish celebration at the Plaza Hotel, Damian placed a spectacular ten–carat canary diamond on Aurora’s finger in front of New York’s most influential
That moment of pure joy was captured by photographers and went viral. Nathaniel say the images while working late in his office.
Alone in the darkness of his penthouse that night, he wept drunkenly, gendly kissing Aurora’s photographs on his phone screen.
“Be happy, Aurora,” he whispered to the empty room. “Ill spend whatever’s left of me making sure you stay that way.
one spring afternoon, while discussing a contract at a sidewalk cafe in the Upper East Side, Nathaniel noticed a child chasing a balloon into traffic]
.he harely registered the scene, about to ask Leo to handle the situation.
Inically. I
Then he caught a glimpse of the child’s face–a perfect miniature version of Aurora’s with Damian’s mischievous eyes. Nathaniel’s heart seized
Simultaneously, an SUV lost control after blowing a tire, skidding toward the frozen three–year–old who stood paralyzed by the blaring horn
hat split second, Nathaniel moved purely on instinct. He lunged forward, wrapping his body around the small figure as the vehicle struck. His left leg tonk the full impact, twisting grotesquely as blood spread across the pavement
The terrified child sobbed against his chest. Through waves of excruciating pain, Nathaniel forced a smile, his voice surprisingly gentle.
“Hey buddy, you’re okay. No more tears. The scary parts over now.”
Just mu
Aurora had
once shielded him with her own body, now he had done the same–pot for her, but for her child.]
When Aurora burst onto the scene, she froze at the tableau before her. For a barthest, the seemed suspended. Then maternal instinct kicked in–she called 911 while gathering her shaking to into her arms|
with trembling hands, she knelt beside Nathaniel, using her designer scarf to apply y pressure to his femoral artery, stemming the alarming blood flow.
1
Everything felt like a cruel echo of the past–when she had punched young Nathaniel out of a car’s path, sacrificing her own malality in the process.
After a moment of charged silence, she asked quietly!|
“Why would you do that? Why risk yourself for us after everything? ||
Nathanard looked into Aurora’s eyes–rally looked at her, prag for the first time–suoding his remaining strength is after a genuine smile untainted by manipulation ur agenda
said simply. This is what I owe you for you. I’d do a million times over.
Douil you can forgive ine na
But be left une last words unspoken.||
At New York Presbyterian, doctors confirmed what Nathaniel already suspected, his leg would never tally recover. Like Aurora before him, he would rely on a rate for the rest of his life ||
The years passed. Nathaniel continued building the Starlar empire while Aurora’s fashion house gained international acclaim||
At a charity gala years later, when a curious socialde asked Aurora abust Nall–whn was this mysterious man who sacrificed everything for the Sinclair Tunaty
uta paused momentarily, swirling her champagne before answering with a small, enigmatic smile]]
“He’s my brother.”
A non–blood brother–their relationship permanently defined. Just siblings, nothing more possible
