Jenny swirls her glass of orange juice, then slowly takes a sip, her eyes pinned on the door. Settling the glass on the table she kicked Liam's legs, "Why isn't she here yet?' She asked.
Liam stole a quick glance at his wristwatch. "She should be here by now." He said. He doesn't have any explanation for Aurora's delay.
"Do you think she found out all this is fake and decided not to come?" Jenny asked. She was beginning to feel restless.
"Come on Jen, that is not possible." Liam smiled, raising Jenny's leg he placed it on his thighs and began to massage it slowly.
"If she doesn't come, then all this will be for waste." Jenny placed her fingers on her lips, biting down on them.
It wasn't like Aurora to ignore her. She has always had Aurora at her beck and call. No matter where she was or what she was doing, whenever Aurora heard that Jenny felt even a little discomfort, she'd rush to her.
That was how much Aurora cared for Jenny.
"This won't be wasted. I promise you, she'll be here soon. Maybe she is working on your third book. The prelaunch date is getting closer and she hasn't submitted it for approval yet." Liam explained.
This seemed to calm Jenny. The thought that although Aurora isn't here, she is working for her was enough to soothe her.
"About what happened between you and her yesterday, don't scold her too much." She removed her legs from Liam's thighs and adjusted so she was close to him.
She leaned on him, pressing her body into his chest. "Darling, you care too much about her," Liam said, one hand on her hair, smoothing it.
Jenny smirked, "I'll scold her just to put her back in line." Liam said and Jenny nodded. "I'll invite her to Stainless restaurant." Liam began, "We'll talk about it there." He reasoned it wouldn't be nice for them to speak about the event of yesterday in the hospital.
Jenny raised her head from his chest, "Don't you dare take her there. You know that restaurant is for us alone." She wouldn't let Liam take her there.
Stainless Restaurant was a five-star restaurant, and only a certain class of people could afford to go there. To Jenny, Aurora is not worth going there with Liam.
Liam had only taken her there once, she would not allow him to take Aurora too.
"Don't worry, I'll take her elsewhere." He placed a kiss on Jenny's lips, knowing how jealous she can be. "How about we speak in my car?"
"Perfect." She smiled in triumph. Before Liam left, he took a few photos of Jenny lying in bed, pretending to be very ill and sent them to Aurora.
They were sure that Aurora would hurry to the hospital if she saw those pictures.
…
"Are you okay?" Slade asked. He noticed she tensed when she saw that message. Aurora nodded, trying to brush it off, "Yeah, I'm okay," She said.
There was no way Liam and Jenny knew about this. What if they came for her?
She leaned on the headrest, closing her eyes.
The fact that they knew didn't change anything, she would still ensure to pay them back for everything they did to her.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she returned her gaze to Slade, remembering their earlier discussion.
"I understand what you are saying, but I think we all have somewhere to draw the line." Slade began, then continued. "And for me, this is it. I decide where I want to live and no one else." His face hardened.
From his tone, it was clear to Aurora that this was deeper than what he revealed. Seeing how resolute he was, she decided not to press on.
She turned on her phone and scrolled through it. Jenny and Liam's knowledge of her wedding wasn't what she planned, but she won't allow it to make her feel sad.
Thick clouds drifted slowly through the sky, preparing the earth for an impending downpour.
The car came to a stop in front of a sleek black gate which had a silver crest etched in the middle, 'Rowan Slade.'
Aurora sat straight as the car drove through the gate and into a glass entrance with a glass canopy. Two Watchmen dressed in black stood at the end of the glass canopy and bowed as the car passed.
This was the third time Aurora had passed this same entrance, but it was the first time she had taken note of it.
The first time she passed was last night; she had been asleep to see it, and when she passed earlier in the afternoon, she was too busy checking her phone to pay attention to her surroundings.
She tried to stop herself from looking too stunned at everything. The thought that this place, which reeked of luxury, would be her new home was a bit too much to handle.
"What are you staring at?" Slade snapped his hand in front of her face, jolting her out of her reverie.
She flinched when she saw his face above hers. She had been too engrossed in the building to notice her door was being opened.
Slade led her to a mirrored private elevator.
He ushered her into a black themed sitting room. There were four black couches which surrounded a gold table.
Aurora wasn't giving enough time to admire the sitting room when Slade suddenly entwined their hands together and pulled her forward, "Come, let me take you to your room." His warm large hand covered her small ones.
"You don't have to hold me," Aurora said without trying to pull her hand away.
Slade led her through a hallway which had polished marble spread all over the floor. He stopped in front of their room.
Just as he pushed it open, Aurora's phone beeped. She removed her hand from his and brought out her phone. A message from Liam.
She tapped on it. There was a picture of Jenny on the hospital bed with a reminder from Liam to go visit her.
This message was proof that her worries were unfounded. Jenny didn't send her the previous message.
But what Aurora couldn't understand was, if Jenny didn't send her the picture, then who did?