84

AURORA

Life slowly returns to some semblance of normal.

As the days tick past, Cassian’s recovery is slow but gradual. It didn’t take long for his attempts at walking confidently to fall through and reveal that the pain in his hip was giving him a limp. Some kind of macho confidence definitely fueled his attempts to hide it. I suggested a cane to help him walk. He shot that down immediately.

With warmer weather weaving through the days, I began spending more and more time outside with Selene. The first week after Lucian’s reveal was tough, but in the end I realized I’d already made my decision. I was simply refusing to accept it. Over mugs of hot chocolate at two o’clock in the morning, I reassured Lucian that I had no desire to put Selene in any danger. Or him, for that matter. His secret was safe with me. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t pass the information on to my mother because the similarities between her upbringing and Selene’s possible future were too glaring.

Generational responsibility or not, I couldn’t have a hand in destroying her childhood. We would be no better than the men that destroyed my mother’s life. I told myself I would help my mother find another way to get her revenge but in the dark of night when there was no one to distract me from my innermost thoughts, deep down I knew that was a lie.

“I’m confused.” Selene crosses her arms across her chest and pouts, drawing me from my musings. Math wasn’t my strong point, but Selene’s tutor had left homework, and it fell under my responsibility to help her do it. The problem is that her request for help usually sends me on a fifteen-minute deep dive into Google.

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning again.” Pushing a few strands of hair away from my face, I hover over her shoulder and tap the problem with my pen. “Adrian has fourteen watermelons. Betty has one-third of Adrian’s, while Thomas has two-thirds of…” Trailing off, the problem becomes spaghetti in my mind.

“You don’t know it, do you,” Selene states, turning her adorably confused face up at me.

“I’m more of a percentages gal,” I reply, bopping her nose gently with my fingers. “And this is a crazy amount of watermelons. Do you have any idea how much it would weigh to cart fifteen of them around?”

“More than Daddy?”

“Definitely more than Daddy,” I chuckle.

Suddenly the air warms behind me and a tingle rushes like fingertips trailing down my spine. Tipping my head backward, my heart jumps as my eyes connect with Lucian’s above me. His handsome face twitches into a warm smile.

“How many watermelons do I weigh, exactly?” he asks.

“Daddy!” Selene leaps up and throws herself at him. He catches her swiftly with one arm and hauls her up into a hug while her squeals of laughter soak into the pages of all the books scattered around us.

“I don’t know.” Closing the math book, I swivel on my chair to face him. “Care to put it to the test?”

His eyes glint with warmth, then he buries his face against Selene’s and kisses her repeatedly. “Sadly, I don’t have time. I have to go away for a few days.”

Selene stiffens in his arms and pulls back. “Why?” she demands.

“Work.” He kisses her nose and then sets her down back at the table.

“But I don’t want you to leave,” she whines, her large eyes turning to glass.

“I know, baby. But it won’t be for long, I promise. Aurora will take great care of you.” Lucian’s tone is the warmest I’ve ever heard, a soft voice reserved only for his daughter.

“Stupid,” Selene mutters under her breath, and she stubbornly turns back to her homework.

Rising at Lucian’s subtle head nod, I move a few feet away with him while concern churns warm in my gut.

“Is everything okay?”

Lucian nods. “Yes. Just keep an eye on her, please.”

“I always do.”

His eyes dance across my face and warmth seeps into my cheeks at his attention. “So, you’re leaving me here with Cassian?”

“What I might learn from this,” he says, his brows pinching together. “Might help both of us.”

“Oh?” The mystery has me curious but given everything else that’s happened, it’s probably best I remain in the dark.

“Trust me,” Lucian says, and my heart lifts.

“I do.” One thing is certain above all else; Lucian wouldn’t leave his child here with an enemy under his roof unless he had no other choice. Plus, she’s well-protected.

Orion appears through the doorway, coming into view when Lucian steps away back to his daughter. Ever the watchful guard, he lingers near one of the bookshelves as Lucian says goodbye. When he brushes past me, his hand briefly presses against the small of my back and the warmth remains as he heads out. A quiet conversation happens quickly between Lucian and Orion, then he leaves.

“When will he be back?” Selene stares up at me, eyes filled with unshed tears. Brushing her hair back from her forehead, I give her my strongest smile.

“Before you know it. I promise.”

Orion stays with us until bedtime, providing no aid to the math problem we are stuck on. Eventually, I discard it in favor of reading Selene her favorite story about the beanstalk, and then it’s time for bed. Just as I bundle her out of a shower and squeeze her into fresh blue pajamas, my phone bleeps to life in my back pocket.

My instinct tells me to ignore it since the only person who ever contacts me now is my mother. I haven’t called her or spoken to her since the day at the cafe, and her anger is like the simmering water inside a pressure cooker. The longer I wait, the more explosive it will be.

“In you get.” Smiling at Selene, I hold the sheets up for her to scoot underneath as my phone vibrates again.

Fuck. I can’t ignore it.

Giving in, I reach for my phone with the intent of turning it off, but the message on the screen halts me completely.

The text message blinks up at me.

Mom: I’m outside.

She’s here?!

Oh no. No no!

“Orion, can you take over?”

Without giving him a chance to refuse, or any kind of explanation, I sprint from the bedroom and take the stairs two at a time. Having someone turn up at this time of night spells danger for the entire estate given how alert the guards are around the perimeter. It’s a sheer stroke of luck that she hasn’t been found already.

Outside, the cool night rush of mid-spring air clings to my bare arms as I rush past guards with a weak excuse and run full speed toward the back gate. At least she had enough sense not to turn up at the front.

Reaching the crumbling stone pillars at the bottom of the garden, I fling myself out the gate and skid on a damp patch of grass with a soft squeal. A bony hand wraps around my upper arm, catching me as my feet slide.

“Aurora!” My mother’s sharp tones send sickness lancing through me.

After regaining my footing, I spin to face her. Under the soft lights lining the wall, her face is sharp. Shadows cut across her features like blades. Bundled in a red coat, she’s almost crying out to be discovered.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Don’t you take that tone with me,” she snaps, retracting her hand from my arm. “You’re so sweaty. Honestly Aurora, I raised you better than this. If you lost a little weight, I’m sure you’d be able to move without so much exertion.”

“I ran!” Even now she saves no time before getting a dig in. Typical. “Why are you here?”

“Because you haven’t returned any of my calls. Did I not warn you clearly enough what would happen if you ignored me again? Does our family pain mean nothing to you?” Her eyes narrow to slits and her thin, painted lips press together so firmly that all color vanishes.

“Mom,” I pant, fighting the restriction around my chest. “I told you that things here were intense. I barely have a moment to myself never mind time to call you.”

Warmth roars through my body and sweat beads along my hairline. I really ran here all the way from the second floor. I’d be proud if I wasn’t so anxious that my mother was about to cause yet another intense upheaval.

“Have you fallen for their lies, hmm?” Her thin brow lifts. “I knew this was taking too long. You’ve spent too long here and been taken under their spell, haven’t you? I thought I raised you better, but clearly letting you live here for so long has been a mistake!”

Her voice lifts and my hands shoot out, waving in an attempt to calm her. “Please, someone will hear you. You have to be quiet.”

Her hand flies out so fast that it blurs in sight, and the sharp impact of her palm against my cheek is so shocking that the pain is non-existent for a few seconds. Then a different heat blooms under her handprint and tears spring into my eyes.

“What’s to stop me from telling the right people about Cassian if you’re going to be nothing but disobedient?” she snaps, her words as sharp as the edge of a blade. “I told you. Calling every few days. A meeting every three weeks. You’re here to gather dirt, not play family.”

I have to give her something. I have no idea what, but if I have any chance of keeping the peace here, even for a little while, I have to give her something. Something that will feel important without putting anyone in danger—more than I already have.

Regret sits heavy in my stomach. I shouldn’t have told her about Cassian.

“Well? Don’t just stand there like a dumb simpleton. What excuse do you have this time?”

“Lucian told me he was Bratva.” My words are thin, shock from the slap still keeping the majority of my emotions at bay. “He told me straight so I’m no longer in the dark.”

My mother’s face lights up suddenly and the sharp, dangerous angles melt into the shadows. Her thin hands clutch my shoulders then she smiles widely.

“Aurora! This is excellent progress. Why didn’t you just say so?”

I have no answer.

“This is good.” She starts to nod, and her hair bounces slightly around her face. “You can openly ask questions now. Clearly, he trusts you which means he’ll be more likely to slip up. Now you need to start digging properly. You have a foothold so use it.”

I nod numbly.

“Anything you can to get your hands on like account numbers, partner deals, and anything you can use to destroy them is key here Aurora, understand?”

Again, I nod.

“Good.” She lifts a hand and strokes some of my hair behind my ear, her fingertips cold. Then she cups my face. “This is for the best. You were born into glory, glory we will reclaim from them. They will regret ever messing with us.”

A weak argument rises in my mind—it wasn’t Lucian and we were never a great family; my grandparents were. The argument doesn’t make it past my lips.

“I understand. But you have to give me time. If I move too fast, they’ll get suspicious.”

“You have until our next lunch.” She smiles and pats my stinging cheek. “Remember, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Those hollow words follow me all the way up the garden path after my mother departs. She’s desperate—she has to be if she’s turning up here. I don’t even know where to start in terms of finding out if anyone saw her. Explaining it away might be easy since she is my mother.

My mother is intent on tearing down this family because she’s in pain and blames them. At one point, I shared that goal but my time here is thawing my heart. Warmth and understanding overrule my misplaced desire for revenge.

I don’t want to carry the blame for my mother's actions and Lucian shouldn’t shoulder the blame for his father’s.

But I have no idea how to get my mother to see that.

Slipping back inside, I close the kitchen door and slump back against it. My heart hammers, my gut twists, and my cheek throbs.

Fuck.

What a night.

I see no way out. Obeying my mother will hurt people I care about. Ignoring her will hurt her, and she will take the secret I blurted out to her and run with it, again hurting the people I care about.

And the most innocent person in all of this, Selene, will suffer the most.

It’s hard to believe that when I started working here, I was excited to bring Lucian to his knees and burn this place down. Now? Now I want to be the one on my knees.

After a few deep, calming breaths, I push away from the door and head into the hall. Before I make it a few steps, however, the air around me changes and a strong presence brings me to a stop. Just in front of me stands Cassian, whose brow tightens and his nose scrunches up slightly.

“Aurora?” Concern bleeds from his lips. “Why are you so flushed? What were you doing running around outside at this hour?”

My heart punches up into my throat. I’d been so concerned about people seeing my mother that I hadn’t considered that people would see me. Locked under his gaze, my mind runs for an excuse but I can’t think of anything. My thoughts are stuck on Cassian and how handsome he is in the low light of the hallway. How strong his arms look and how a hug from him would soothe me within moments.

Or I would break down crying.

“I was looking for you,” I say eventually, stumbling slightly over my words. “I know you enjoy nightly walks in the fresh air to practice with your hip and everything, so I went looking for you.”

His face remains concerned like he doesn’t believe me.

I need something else. Excuses fail me, and the surging hurt from my mother’s slap mixes with an aching desire to be comforted.

Fuck it.

Desperation surges and with little thought or consideration, I throw myself forward and kiss him.