Chapter 9
As the plane lifted off the runway, Aurora sat by the window, her gaze drifting toward the city shrinking below.
Skyscrapers, highways, familiar streets-all of it falling away, swallowed by clouds.
But there wasn’t even a flicker of longing in her chest.
Only relief.
She was finally leaving the place she had once called home. And it didn’t feel like loss. It felt like freedom.
Even as a child, Aurora had dreamed of running away. Deep down, she’d always known her parents favored her sister.
In every way-attention, affection, basic human kindness-she had always been treated like an outsider.
For a long time, she’d wondered if maybe… she wasn’t really their daughter. Maybe that would explain it.
But the truth had cut even deeper.
She was their biological daughter. And Scarlet was her full sister.
Which only meant one thing: they simply didn’t love her.
Not when she was born. Not as she grew up. Not now.
Her entire existence had been for someone else’s benefit-from the moment she entered the world, she’d been nothing
more than a lifesaving cord blood donor to save Scarlet.
Sometimes, she wondered… if Scarlet had never needed that transplant, would she have ever been born at all?
And as for Sterling-
She used to believe he would be her salvation. He was the only person who had ever shown her kindness, made her feel
truly seen.
Her love for him had begun long before his accident, but it wasn’t his wealth or power that drew her in.
It was that quiet gentleness. The way he treated her like she mattered.
She had fallen for the person, not the heir.
But now… he believed Scarlet was the one who had stayed by his side during his blindness.
No matter how many times Aurora tried to explain-how many memories she recounted, details she laid bare-he refused
to believe her.
He had chosen his version of the truth.
And in doing so, had chosen Scarlet.
The plane hit a patch of turbulence, jostling slightly as it passed through a pocket of rough air.
The impact from the crash still lingered in Aurora’s bones. A sharp twinge raced through her ribs and down her thigh.
She inhaled sharply, her fingers curling against the armrest.
Her body was healing, but something inside her had changed.
Ever since Scarlet pushed her into that fountain, Aurora had grown hypersensitive to the cold. Even on mild overcast days,
a chill would settle into her bones like winter frost.
She pulled the airline blanket tighter around her, but it did little to help.
She was still shivering.
Just as she was about to call for the flight attendant to ask for another, a soft voice spoke beside her.
“You can take mine. I don’t need it.”
Aurora blinked and turned.
The man sitting beside her wore a crisp white shirt, pristine and buttoned to the collar. He wore a mask that covered the
lower half of his face, but his eyes-his eyes were striking.
Unnervingly beautiful. Sharp, clean, and unreadable.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He nodded slightly as she accepted the extra blanket and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders.
Warmth seeped in almost immediately. Her muscles began to relax, and the lingering tension eased from her jaw.
The lack of sleep finally caught up with Aurora, making her feel drowsy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be arriving at Sydney International Airport in approximately thirty minutes. The current temperature is 22 degrees Celsius, or 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit…”
The smooth voice over the intercom jolted Aurora awake.
She blinked, realizing she had dozed off for nearly two hours. Her back and legs ached from sitting still too long.
Half an hour later, after retrieving her luggage, she checked her phone.
No missed calls.
No texts.
No messages.
The silence no longer hurt. She had grown used to it.
Chapter 9
If she disappeared from the face of the earth one day, she doubted anyone from her old life would notice-much less care.
But that was fine.
She wasn’t here to be found.
She looked up at the unfamiliar airport, the sunlight pouring in through the windows like a quiet welcome.
This was a new place. A new beginning.
Everything from her past-every person, every betrayal, every scar-she was done carrying it.
Aurora had let it all go.
