Chapter 6
He threw open the door and froze.
There was just a fancy wooden box sitting right in the middle of the altar.
All the wedding guests were looking around like “what the fuck?”
Cassian walked up and slowly opened it.
The moment he saw what was inside, his knees buckled and he hit the floor hard.
In that box was our unborn child–my wedding gift to him.
“AURORA! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! I know you’re here! You have to be!”
Cassian completely lost his shit, screaming at the top of his lungs.
He stumbled toward the back rooms, checking everywhere.
Bridal suite, bathrooms, waiting areas–I was nowhere to be found.
That’s when the panic really set in.
He kept calling my phone frantically.
The automated message had changed from “not available” to “disconnected.”
Every single text bounced back undelivered.
I walked through the JFK, pulled out my SIM card, and tossed it in the nearest trash can.
Goodbye forever, Cassian Kemnis.
The wedding was called off. Everyone had front–row seats to his humiliation. Only Melody was actually smiling.
She wrapped her arms around him.
“Cassian, if Aurora doesn’t want to marry you, you still have me.”
Cassian pushed her hands away and turned his back to her.
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Chapter 6
“I promised her a wedding. I keep my promises.”
Meanwhile, my plane was touching down in London.
Mom brought me to her place–a gorgeous three–story house.
All these years abroad, she’d been working her ass off just so she could bring me home someday.
“Aurora.”
I knew that voice–Dante Orlando, our old next–door neighbor from when I was a kid.
“Mr. Orlando?”
Mom practically skipped over to him.
“He’s my husband now. You don’t need to call him stepdad or anything weird–just Dante’s fine.”
I could tell Mom was genuinely happy. Way happier than she’d ever been with my father.
“Aurora…”
That voice made me freeze.
I turned around and there was Hector Orlando, smiling at me like the sun coming out.
Two years after Mom left, when I turned eighteen, the Orlandos moved away. I hadn’t seen Hector since.
Holy shit, he’d gotten hot.
“Sweetie, I already handled all that bullshit with your modeling agency back in New York. Paid off every penny you owed. You never have to think about that place again.”
Nobody mentioned Cassian’s name, which was fine by me.
I knew they had to know about him–they were too smart not to dig up everything.
Living with them, I remembered what it felt like to be loved.
Real
parental love, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
They took incredible care of me. No more malnutrition, no more depression.
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Chapter 6
Hector basically gave me every minute he wasn’t working.
Once I got healthier, Mom and Dante had Hector show me how their company operated.
So I spent most days at the office, and Hector never complained about babysitting me.
Just when I thought I could finally leave all that New York bullshit behind me, a hit piece about me went viral internationally.
“EXPOSED: American Model’s Wild Life – Knocked Up and Unmarried, Destroys Client’s Hair, Ditches Groom at Altar, Secret Abortion, Total Train Wreck.”
Didn’t take a genius to figure out who was behind this.
Only Melody hated me enough to pull this vicious.
What I couldn’t understand was why she still wanted to destroy me when I’d already given her Cassian.
When Cassian finally saw the article the next day, he didn’t stop it.
He probably figured this was his best shot at finding me.
Soon enough, some internet detectives were posting candid photos of me in London.
Pictures of me laughing with Hector, looking genuinely happy.
When Cassian saw those photos, he punched his desk so hard his knuckles turned purple and black.
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
