Chapter 29
“Is your matter finished?”
Exiting Rayyen’s room, Aurora nodded. She felt bad because she had made Alden wait. It was all because of Velia. If only her friend wasn’t so clueless, maybe Alden wouldn’t have been provoked and agreed to accompany and wait for her at Rayyen’s office.
“I’m entrusting Aurora to Doctor Alden. Please escort her and wait until she’s finished, Doc. Perhaps this is the first step towards restoring your relationship to its former closeness. Hopefully, you can be as close as you used to be.”
It was unbelievable that Velia had flirted while they were at the hospital earlier. After all, she knew she was still Alex’s wife. Why was she so eager to matchmake Aurora with Alden?
However, returning to Alden’s question, for Aurora, two hours wasn’t a short time. Just imagine, from eleven o’clock until now at one in the afternoon, Alden hadn’t moved an inch. Even though he said it was okay, Aurora still believed that Alden must have felt bored at some point.
“I’m really sorry if I took long.”
Alden rose from his seat. Both of them walked towards the first floor, preparing to enter the car.
“No problem. Like I said, whether it’s long or short, I’ll still wait until you open your heart again.”
“What? What was that just now?”
Alden turned his head. He smiled because he enjoyed seeing Aurora’s confused expression. Holding the door open, inviting Aurora in, he said jokingly, “There’s no replay. It’s your fault if you didn’t hear it properly.”
“Oh dear… that’s your habit from before.”
Again, Alden laughed heartily seeing Aurora’s momentarily pouting face. From his ex-girlfriend’s words, Alden believed that Aurora still remembered the habits he used to do to her.
“Are we going back to the hospital or do you want me to take you home?”
Once inside the car before driving off, Alden asked, making sure Aurora had other plans. He was happy to accompany her.
“Let’s just go to the hospital. But, please make a quick stop at the mini-market.”
“Is there something you need to buy?”
Aurora nodded.
“I want to buy you something as a thank you for escorting and waiting for me.”
“You’re buying for me?”
“Yeah.”
“If I can guess, you must want to buy ice cream, right?”
Aurora laughed. What else could she do? The man’s guess was spot on.
“Just relax. Don’t hesitate. I sincerely want to help you. In fact, I’m glad.”
Aurora turned to him, furrowing her smooth brow.
“Why are you glad?”
“Consider it as a way to get closer again. We’ve known each other for a long time. But, at the hospital, we acted like enemies. And you seemed to deliberately avoid me.”
Alden didn’t know why Aurora intentionally did that. It’s not that he didn’t want to be friends. Aurora just worried that she might become emotional because she kept remembering past moments.
“Ah, that’s just your feeling. The fact that I was willing to accompany you back and forth proves that. But it wasn’t smooth. We argued at the beginning. Although it was normal. I didn’t mean anything bad. I just wanted to be friends with you. Luckily, Velia helped convince you.”
Aurora just chuckled. Upon observation, Alden and Velia were indeed suited to be allies.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks again for the trouble of escorting and waiting for me. Anyway, don’t forget to stop by the mini-market. There’s something I want to find and buy too.”
Alden didn’t mind at all. On one of the main roads, when he saw the mini-market, he deliberately parked his car. He gestured for Aurora to get out.
“Just wait a moment, okay? I won’t be long.”
“Sure, take your time. No rush.”
Aurora immediately entered the mini-market. She intentionally stopped by because she wanted to buy Alden some ice cream. She knew very well that he had always liked Vanilla or coconut-flavored ice cream.
Back when they were dating, Alden once said that his happiness and mood could instantly improve if he ate ice cream. His anger could also quickly dissipate if he was bribed with Vanilla ice cream. It was just like dealing with a child. Oh God, why was she reminiscing about the past again? Dangerous!
Believing that the ice cream she chose was more than enough, Aurora moved to another aisle to buy other necessities. Aurora intended to buy some fruits and snacks to eat with Velia. She felt sorry for her colleague for having to handle work while she wasn’t there.
However, when she looked to her left, as if receiving a miracle, Aurora accidentally met Nicole. Whatever good deed she had done today, it seemed that God was kind. Without needing to search, that cursed woman could appear in front of her again.
“Hi… Nicole.”
When their eyes met, Aurora deliberately initiated the conversation first. Smiling broadly, she even walked closer.
“How was last night? Did you sleep well after eating that expensive steak?”
Nicole grunted. Her expression clearly showed her annoyance and perhaps even anger. But, this was exactly what Aurora wanted. Her goal last night was to tease Nicole to embarrass her and possibly make her angry.
“Why couldn’t I sleep well?”
“Maybe you had a stomach ache after eating expensive food last night. Usually, if someone isn’t used to eating premium meat, their stomach might hurt. Especially if the payment was made with dirty money.”
Nicole flinched. Trying to hold back her emotions, she maintained her composure by giving a smile. Nicole vowed not to be defeated by Aurora.
“Don’t worry, Aurora. I slept just fine. Had sweet dreams too. Besides, thousands of dollars aren’t a big deal for me. I didn’t even have to sell a bag.”
Nicole seemed to boast. She didn’t want to lose, especially not to be humiliated again by Aurora.
“Moreover…” Nicole continued. “Even if I run out of money, I can just call Alex to ask for more.”
“Oh, really?”
Nicole openly mentioned Alex’s name. After all, there was no point in hiding it. Aurora was already aware of the affair she and Alex were having again.
So, instead of being humiliated, Nicole decided to fight back. If necessary, she would openly declare war on her cousin.
“Just so you know…” Nicole approached. Closing the distance between her and Aurora, she spoke while locking eyes with her opponent. “It’s not difficult for me to ask money from Alex. I just have to please him until he’s satisfied. After that, whatever I ask for, he’ll give it to me right away.”
Aurora chuckled. She couldn’t believe Nicole was so proud of sharing her tricks to easily get money. Whether she realized it or not, her cousin was demeaning herself.
“Nicole… Nicole. You’re really pitiful, aren’t you? Wanting a lot of money so badly you have to sell yourself first. But it’s true. Most women like you only need a bit of itchiness and no self-respect to get a lot of money.”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
“Shouldn’t you pity yourself instead, Aurora?”
Nicole didn’t accept it. If Aurora could insult, she could do the same. Especially since Nicole felt she was far superior to her cousin.
Nicole believed that if Aurora were better than her, Alex wouldn’t have betrayed her and chosen to turn to her. Twice.
“What should I pity, Nicole?”
“Your face might be pretty. Your status might be wealthy, but unfortunately, you’re being cheated on by your own husband. And the reason for his infidelity is because you can’t satisfy Alex in bed. Aren’t you ashamed of your shortcomings?”
Aurora laughed again. Not only was she not hurt, she wasn’t offended at all by Nicole’s deliberately harsh words. Aurora knew Nicole was trying to provoke her emotions.
“You’re amusing, aren’t you? Why should I bother feeling insecure or ashamed? In fact, I’m grateful because God has shown what the truth really is.”
Aurora took a step forward. She leaned her face closer to speak directly into Nicole’s ear. Perhaps she intended for the woman to listen carefully. If necessary, to digest and remember every word she was about to say next.
“Now, you can feel superior all you want. Enjoy your pleasures while you can. But, remember this very well, no matter how skilled you are in bed, I dare to bet that in the end, Alex will still choose me, not you. Why? Because trash remains trash. Even if it’s picked up, it’ll still rot and stink up the whole house.”
Then Aurora left just like that. Leaving Nicole irritated because the woman’s words had indeed come true. Nicole didn’t forget that Alex had even asked for their relationship to end before.
In this situation, Nicole had to think hard. She couldn’t afford to lose to Aurora even a little bit. And she knew what she had to do now.