Chapter 47: In Which Her Tarot Reading Went Wrong

With an almost steady voice, Aurora replied with a tiny smile, “My boyfriend will misunderstand, Sir.”

The man laughed and gave her a look of interest, “Well, aren’t you a smart little kitty.”

Goosebumps erupted all over her. She remembered how those grey eyes had ogled at her when this man visited her father’s office.

Stay calm, Aurora, she repeated silently, you’re in a safe place. If he dares to make a move, she would scream for help. Kate would surely hear her.

After another quiet inhale, she said, “Ask your question, Sir.”

“James,” the man winked.

Aurora took in another breath and forced a smile, “James. What’s your question?”

“Is my wife cheating on me? If she is, what should I do?”

Aurora made a Herculean effort to maintain a straight face, which seemed to amuse the man further. Clearing her throat, she told him to choose one card from each of the three decks.

She flipped the card taken from the middle deck and saw a reversed Justice. F*ck, she cursed silently, this man was probably cheating on his wife as well.

“Well?” His gaze bounced between the card and Aurora’s face.

Without answering him, Aurora opened all the cards. There was The Emperor reversed and The Fool upright. D*mn, this man is a tyrant at home, she pursed her lips at the thought. No wonder his wife might cheat on him.

She lifted her gaze at the worried-looking man and concluded quietly, “Take the risk and listen to what your wife has to say. You’ll be in for a new journey.”

Those white brows as anger shot from Jame’s eyes. He almost shouted, “What bullsh*t is this? You didn’t answer my d*mn question!”

Startled, Aurora leaned away and continued in a soothing voice, “I’m afraid the answer lies with your wife. You have to--.”

The man slammed his hand on the table, stood and towered over her, “You’re a hoax!” His nasal voice boomed.

Aurora fixed her eyes on him, ready to jump away and scream for help if he pounced.

Then, his eyes widened with realization. “You’re Tim’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Aurora froze. The color drained from her face as his quavering finger pointed at her, “A chip of the old block. You’re here to cheat me as well, aren’t you?”

“Hey, James, are you done? Because each person gets only ten minutes,” Calix was standing at the opened door.

Aurora was glad there was someone to help control this beast of a man before he started spilling out her ugly past. But… when did the door open? Aurora stiffened with fear. Did Calix hear what James said?

James spun around, widened his gaze at the young economist and gulped. Then, he moved towards the door with an embarrassed look, “A-apologies, Calix. I-I’m done.”

“No problem. Your wife came to find you,” Calix’s said in a monotonous tone and a matching dead expression.

“T-thanks,” James stepped through the door. He turned and glared bitterly at Aurora before closing the door.

Calix pounced onto the stool, stared at the cards in awe and eagerly asked, “Quick, Aurora! I just met a woman and I want to know if she likes me.”

Aurora watched the large man, slightly shorter than Theo, behaving like a schoolboy and chuckled, then she tried to calm her rattled nerves as she sat.

He probably didn’t hear anything, she thought as she watched him pick cards out of the three piles.


******


“Are you okay, babe?”

Theo’s face covered her entire view, jarring her out of her thoughts. She blinked twice then smiled weakly, holding her forehead.

“I’m alright.”

“But, you look pale. Did something happen at the tarot reading?” Theo was still suspicious. He tried to find Audrey after lunch, but she seemed to have checked out of the hotel.

Thankfully, Aurora shook her head, “N-no. N-nothing happened. I guess I was tired.”

Theo handed her a glass of red wine and Aurora sipped on it slowly then exhaled heavily.

“I’ll tell Kate to call it off,” Theo pressed lightly on her shoulder.

Aurora’s face shot up and she shook her head furiously, “Don’t, Theo! I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Theo furrowed his brows. He was all fidgety inside and he didn’t like it.

The tarot reading room is just next door, big guy. Stop acting like a girl, he scolded silently.

“Yes,” Aurora nodded, “Just one more hour and I’ll be done. Kate assured me that I can enjoy the last hour of the ball. Let me finish it, please,” she purred like an innocent kitten.

Theo chuckled and kissed her on the lips, “Call me if you need any help.”

“If anyone steals the cards, I’ll holler.”

“I’m serious, babe,” Theo said quietly.

Aurora widened her gaze and then smiled, “I’ll call if I’m in trouble.”


******


Aurora stared at her last customer.

The man, almost as old as her father, in a glittery silver and gold checkered tuxedo with a bronze fauxhawk haircut, raised his clean-shaped brows in realization.

“Aren’t you Tim’s daughter?”

Aurora swallowed hard. She quickly recovered and mustered a smile, “Yes. What’s your question, Sir?”

“Call me Lucas.” He leaned in and lowered his voice into a thin whisper, “You’ve grown into a fine woman, I must say.”

Aurora inhaled cautiously and repeated slowly, “Your question, Lucas.” She remembered this man had behaved very gentlemanly when her father introduced them at his office.

He seemed like a snake now and she turned grim at the thought.

With a purposeful smile, Lucas cleared his throat and said, “I want to know about my latest investment.” Following Aurora’s instructions, he picked out three cards.

Aurora flipped the cards. There was Temperance upright, Justice upright and The Devil reversed.

“D*mn,” Lucas muttered under his breath when his eyes caught sight of the Devil card. He glared at Aurora, “What the hell does it mean?”

Aurora avoided his gaze and stated firmly, “You need to be patient with the investment. There will be gains and losses, but eventually things will work out.”

Gradually, those hazel eyes shifted and Lucas growled, “What do you mean losses?”

Aurora pointed at the Justice card and explained, “This signifies a balance--.”

Lucas chuckled mockingly, “I can see that.”

“Which means your investment will balance between give and take, so this...” She pointed to the upright Temperance and added, “This suggests that with patience, what you hoped for will happen.”

“James was right - you’re a charlatan,” Lucas breathed coldly. A hyena’s grin appeared in his thin lips. “Just like your father.”

Aurora widened her gaze in fury. Ignoring the tiny voice in her head, she stood and thundered, “My father is not charlatan!”

Lucas stepped closer and sniggered, “I thought he was an honest businessman, but turns out, he’s a conniving a*shole. Tim Sherman - I’ll never forget that liar’s name!”

“He’s not a liar!” Aurora gritted her teeth, her hands already in fists.

“That f*cking old weasel stole my money then got sick and sought my sympathy.” He came to a dangerously close distance with a fierce scowl, “What does he take me for - an idiot?”

“He didn’t take your money,” Aurora replied in a tiny whisper. “It was me.” Ignoring the shocked expression, she added firmly, “I stole the money. Not him. My father really fell ill, Lucas.”

Lucas broke into a series of cackles, “Oh boy. You truly surprised me, Aurora. You revealed yourself sooner than I thought.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aurora didn’t like the derisive tone in his voice.

“You got yourself a pretty good deal, didn’t you? With Theo Baron,” the businessman flashed a wicked grin. “He looked absolutely smitten by you. Oh, he’ll marry you for sure. And you’ll get his entire fortune in no time. I must say you struck it hard this time, Aurora Sherman.”

She was boiling mad now. What the f*ck is he saying? He has no right to talk about her that way. It’s insulting to Theo too! Why did she feel apologetic to such a vile person in the first place?

Aurora raised her chin, “What I do is none of your business, Luc--.”

The door flew open and Kate crashed in with a stricken face, “Stop talking, the both of you!”

Baffled, Aurora watched rooted to the ground as the princess scanned the small room with her stern eyes then strode to the back of the room. There was a table in the right corner.

Lying quietly on top of the table was a microphone.

Aurora's eyes enlarged at the black cylinder in Kate's hand. Her throat went dry as the tech tycoon's wife frantically searched for the button to switch it off.

“What’s happening, Kate?” Lucas looked as worried.

Kate was severely flushed when she answered, her gaze switching between the businessman and Aurora.

“We heard everything. Everyone did. Your conversation was broadcast in the ballroom.”

Aurora’s heart sunk.