One month later.
It was a night of mistakes after mistakes.
Had she known what would happen that night, or who she was messing with, Aurora would rather stay in her bed and wait for the day to come.
But her desperate need for a momentary relief led her to sink into a far deeper pit than she thought.
Flesh against flesh, the amorous sounds of two people breathing as they drowned in pleasure, and the aftermath of that wild night, were still fresh in her mind.
Though she held some regret for what she had done, Aurora didn't think it was the worst.
No.
It was way too good that every night for the past month, the emotions and sensations she felt being pressed under that man were enough to keep her body burning for more.
She felt guilt stabbing her as she slept beside Dominik. It was true that they weren't married by love, nor was Dominik a faithful and gentle husband. But they were still legally bound in paper.
Her fear of him knowing what she had done with a man she shouldn't have dared to touch, Aurora swallowed the conscience eating her up.
But now, everything was coming back at her in full force.
Not just the dream or the pleasure that came from that night…
"It's been three weeks."
It had been twenty-one days since Dominik had last come home.
The housekeepers, who used to live in their house and clean, visited only three or four times a week. The guards guarding the gate dwindled. Then, last week, they no longer showed up. The entire house turned desolate and even lonelier. The refrigerator was almost empty.
At some point, there were people who came to visit.
Not the kind of people she expected to come, though.
They came knocking on the gate that she barely got to open before they stormed in. One of them spoke to her and informed her that they were going to take the entire house. They told her they came from the court. Aurora could barely hear what they were saying as she dazedly stared at them, fleeting across every corner of the house.
It took them several hours before they finally left.
Now, the entire house bore the mark of overdue notices.
Dominik still hasn't contacted her or returned.
It wasn't unusual for Dominik to be absent for extended periods to handle some business outside the country. But this prolonged silence was all too much for her to take.
Aurora sat on a rattan chair on the terrace. She was wrapped in a thick blanket as she watched the world turn even whiter as snow fell from the sky like ash. They melted as they fell on her palms, lingering on her eyelashes and chilling her skin.
Being alone was terrifying.
At one point, she wanted to return to her parents' home. At least there, she could have some bit of human touch.
Aurora held back in the last second.
She couldn't return to the people who personally pushed her into this life.
Alfred would gloat and complain, telling her to return to stay with her husband. It might have been better if he told her to stay with him until death.
In fact, he still sends messages to her. It was the same message he sent to her for the past three years—asking her to send more money.
Bang, crash.
The gate shook as if it had been forcefully opened.
"Dominik…?"
Startled, Aurora stepped down from the chair and placed her hand on the railing, but she soon hesitated.
In a world filled with white, three dark smudges ruined the painting. Three men walked in.
Aurora couldn't tell who they were. The fog blurred their figures, and snow clung to her eyelashes, furthering her inability to confirm their identity.
As if she couldn't wait, Aurora hurried to the stand in front of the door.
She hesitated.
What would she say to Dominik? Ask him where he had been? Or where did these people come from, and why did they tell her the house was no longer theirs?
The hand she placed around the doorknob fell away. She backed up and let her eyes wander over the red tags scattered throughout the room with an indifferent gaze.
Everything here was not her own. Would Dominik harshly reproach her for allowing those people in and ruining his house?
At the thought of this, Aurora trembled.
She still didn't know what was going on.
If Dominik returned now, it was certain that whatever emotion was raging inside him, he would transfer it all to her.
Time slowly ticked away. Aurora felt her heart pound against her chest, as if it threatened to come out of her mouth any second. She hated the feeling of fearing the man she lived with for three years as husband and wife.
—bang!
A deafening crash echoed as the door harshly swung open, hitting the wall behind it with a loud crash.
"She's here, sir."
The voice came after the commotion.
Then came the sound of leather shoes stepping across the room.
A tall, powerful build and broad shoulders. High, sculpted cheekbones, a straight nose, and thin lips pressed into a cold line.
The man stepped into the room with calm and suffocating dominance, as if the place he entered was his own room.
His light blond hair was smooth and neatly styled, slightly brushed back to expose his sharp forehead, where a one-inch scar ran horizontally above his left eyebrow.
His eyes of silver-eyed wolf landed on her as soon as he saw her.
The sight of him reminded her of the not-so-distant past. A clear night sky where she braved the cold night and ventured out to release everything for once.
A cruel night that shouldn't have transpired.
Aurora wondered if what she was seeing was real.
'Was she hallucinating right now?'
Whenever she felt an overpowering emotion, an intense urge suddenly formed.
Just like now.
Her pupils were blown wide as her hand stretched out to him.
"Hold her down."
The cold voice directed to the man who reported and kicked the door open ripped through the scene, waking her up from that endless dream to face the harsh reality.
Before she realized it, Aurora's knees were pressed on the cold, hard floor.