Chapter 13

Unlike Tristan and Aurora, their older siblings were having a perfect date. First, they dined at a high-quality restaurant, conversing about many things and laughing at some embarrassing stories.

After the wonderful dinner, they took a walk in a park near the restaurant. That night, the sky was filled with stars, adding to the romantic atmosphere between them. Adelaide found the perfection of the situation strange. Whenever everything seemed to be going well, something would go wrong.

That's when she misstepped and broke the heel of her shoe, almost falling to the ground if it weren't for Griffin, who caught her in his arms.

"You need to be more careful," he said, smiling as he noticed her racing heartbeat.

"I can be a bit clumsy at times," Adelaide replied, awkwardly smiling as she distanced herself from the doctor.

"Let's sit on that bench," Griffin pointed to a nearby bench, and they did so.

They sat side by side. Adelaide took off her heel and huffed at the sight of the damage. It was her only option for elegant footwear, and now it was ruined.

Griffin felt sad seeing Adelaide's distressed expression. He looked around and spotted a convenience store nearby. An idea popped into his mind.

"Wait here," he simply said, standing up and running off, leaving Adelaide confused.

She set the shoe aside and grabbed her cellphone. She sent a message to her sister, always concerned about her younger sibling, who was her only family.

She waited for a long time, but there was no response. Aurora never parted with her cellphone, so Adelaide imagined she was either sleeping or up to something. Her gut feeling told her that the latter option was more likely!

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of fast approaching footsteps. She saw Griffin running towards her with a bag in his hand.

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"To the convenience store nearby," he explained, kneeling in front of Adelaide, who grew nervous at the gesture. "I bought some glue. I think it will solve the problem."

Griffin took Adelaide's heel, applied glue, and pressed the parts together to make them stick. Then he smiled as he saw that he had managed to fix it.

"Miss," he said, delicately slipping the high-heeled shoe onto Adelaide's foot, who was completely embarrassed by the whole situation.

Her cellphone beeped, interrupting the romantic moment once again. She picked it up and saw a new message from Aurora, informing her that she was fine. But what caught her attention the most was the time.

"Oh my God, it's already midnight!" she exclaimed, putting the cellphone in her bag and quickly standing up next to Griffin. "I need to go. It's very late."

"Wait a minute, Cinderella," Griffin said.

"Cinderella?" Adelaide repeated softly, blushing at the way he called her.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Is your carriage turning into a pumpkin?" he joked, making her laugh with his irony.

Before she could respond, thunder rumbled and suddenly it started to drizzle lightly.

"It's better to take off your shoes, princess. We have to run to the car," he said, admitting that he was enjoying calling her that way, and she felt no different.

"I shouldn't be so worried," Adelaide thought. "Aurora is in the apartment, she's safe."

***

"Get in the car already!" Tristan ordered.

"You don't tell me what to do!" Aurora yelled back, completely intoxicated.

She moved away from him, hopping from side to side in the street, under the heavy rain. Tristan banged his forehead against the car door multiple times, frustrated with the drunk girl's refusal. Both of them were drenched, and he wanted to leave quickly, but she refused.

Tristan huffed as he realized he had to make a decision. He walked up to the intoxicated girl and, in a swift motion, carried her body, placing her over his shoulder.

"Let go of me, you arrogant masochistic jerk!" She pounded his back and kicked her legs as he carried her towards the car, until she lost her energy and allowed herself to be carried.

He placed her inside the car, in the passenger seat, and then got in himself, sitting in the driver's seat. He looked at Aurora next to him, specifically at the bruises on her legs. As they left the nightclub, she stumbled on her own feet and fell several times, resulting in some injuries. Tristan didn't say anything, he just watched her struggle on her own.

He began driving in silence, but she did the favor of speaking complete nonsense throughout the entire journey. The scene seemed familiar to him, reminding him of when they first met.

Aurora wasn't fully conscious, but she noticed that Tristan was parking the car in a garage and found it strange because it wasn't her building.

"Where are we?" she asked as soon as she felt the car stop.

"At my house."

***

Tristan entered his mansion with Aurora in his arms. She was exhausted, unable to walk due to the injuries and dizziness caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Even in her haze, she managed to take in the surroundings. The mansion was immense, with typical decorations in a modernized style and paintings by famous artists adorning the walls. Everything was breathtaking.

In complete silence, Tristan climbed the stairs with her still in his arms, proceeding down the hallway until he stopped at a door. With a gentle kick, he opened it and entered his own room. Carefully, he sat Aurora down on the bed. Then he went to the bathroom and retrieved the first aid kit, returning to the room and kneeling in front of Aurora, who tilted her head to the side, almost falling asleep while sitting, but her drowsiness faded when she felt the stinging sensation on her knee. She strained her eyes and only then noticed Tristan in front of her, tending to her injuries.

Even though she was completely intoxicated, she paused to analyze the situation more closely. She found it strange to see the sadistic and powerful Tristan Callahan being so gentle with her.

"Argh! It hurts!" she interrupted the silence as she felt the intense sting on her knee.

"It's not my fault you're in this state," Tristan replied.

"It is! I'm weak when it comes to alcohol, and you know that. Instead of helping me stop drinking, you just watched as I messed up!" she vented, and he let out a faint laugh. "Do you want to stop laughing at me?"

"No," he looked into her eyes, with a faint smile. His fingers slowly brushed the corner of her face. "You look so beautiful when you're angry."

Her intoxicated brain took a moment to comprehend the cheesy pickup line, but after a few seconds, she pushed his hand away.

"Shut up! I have no patience for your pickup lines," she huffed, looking away. "As if I would give my virginity to a scoundrel like you."

He quickly looked at her and his expression changed, a mixture of seriousness and surprise.

"You're a virgin?" Tristan questioned.

"Yes, I am," Aurora yawned, feeling her eyelids weigh heavy. "Just don't tell that to Tristan."

He looked confused as she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, surrendering to sleep without even realizing what she had just said and to whom she said it.

Tristan observed her sleeping for a while, getting lost in every feature of her face. She looked like an angel, calm, defenseless, and vulnerable, which was ironic.

His gaze shifted to her bag, lying on the floor of the room. He noticed an object almost falling out of the compartment. He strained his vision until he realized it was a camera.

"She takes this wherever she goes," he commented in a low tone, so as not to wake her up. He reached out and took the camera, feeling a bit awkward as he wasn't very experienced with the device. "Why does she like it so much?"

Driven by curiosity, he brought the camera closer to his face and aimed it towards Aurora. He was amazed and, without hesitation, took a photo of her sleeping. [...] Aurora opened her eyes with difficulty, due to the brightness invading the room through the open window. With great effort, she sat up on the huge, comfortable bed, immediately noticing the throbbing pain in her head. Not just her head, but her whole body ached.

She looked around, not immediately recognizing where she was. After struggling to remember a bit, she recalled that she was in Tristan's room.

Her eyes widened as she realized she wasn't wearing her clothes. She was only in lingerie and the shirt Tristan had worn the previous night, which was huge on her small body.

"Me and Tristan..." she couldn't complete the sentence.

She began desperately examining the bed sheets, searching for any trace that would prove they had engaged in some form of sexual activity. However, she found nothing and let out a relieved sigh.

"Alright, I'm still a virgin, but that jerk took advantage and undressed me!" She stood up and walked firmly out of the room. "Tristan Callahan!"

Aurora was so focused on finding him and giving him a piece of her mind that she ignored the impressive palace that seemed to have no end. Numerous corridors and doors piqued her curiosity about what lay behind them, but she ignored them and decided to go downstairs.

"Tristan Callahan!" she shouted as she passed through the living room. "Don't hide, you arrogant masochistic jerk!"

The loud sound of a gunshot made her stop immediately. She swallowed hard as her hands began to tremble nervously. It was a gunshot. Fearfully, she took a few more steps until she entered a kind of room, with several targets, weapons, bows, and arrows on the walls.

She spotted Tristan with his back to her, positioned a few meters away from a target and wearing headphones. She realized he was skilled from his posture, the firm grip on the weapon, and the focus on the target. Within seconds, he pulled the trigger, and the shot hit perfectly. He removed the headphones, satisfied with the practice, and turned around upon noticing Aurora standing at the door, unable to divert her gaze, observing her from head to toe.

"Good morning," he greeted casually, setting the weapon aside.

"Good morning my foot!" Aurora replied.

"Waking up in a bad mood?" He smirked ironically as he approached her.

"You took advantage of my vulnerability and undressed me!" accused Aurora, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow. Tristan smiled mischievously.

"That gave me various erotic ideas involving you."

"Jerk!" she was flabbergasted. "One more comment like that and I'll grab one of those arrows from the wall and stick it up your...". She interrupted herself, remembering Kai's warnings. "Stick it up there!"

"Are you always like this, so mean?" Tristan asked.

"Actually, this is me trying to be nice," she replied. He chuckled softly and walked past her, leaving the room. She followed him, unsure of what to do. "Where are my clothes?"

"I had the maid wash them and put them in the dryer," Tristan replied.

"Maid?" She furrowed her brow, confused. "I screamed my head off in your room and no one showed up."

"I fired all my employees," he explained, leading her to the dining room. He pointed at the large table. "Help yourself."

Aurora's eyes sparkled as she saw the table set with a delicious breakfast. Coffee, juice, bread, pancakes, omelets, cake...

"You like coffee, don't you?" he asked, sitting in a chair.

"As much as I like oxygen," she replied, smiling.

"I asked the maid to make you American coffee."

She decided to sit in a chair a little away from his. She would never refuse a feast like that. She drank the hot and delicious coffee and ate a bit of everything.

"You know... I was thinking that you're the first girl who came here and didn't sleep with me," Tristan said, breaking the silence. He stood up and walked slowly towards her.

"And what about the maids?" Aurora questioned.

"Except for them," he replied, sitting in the chair next to her and locking his eyes with hers. "But we can change that." He ran one of his hands along her bare thigh and daringly squeezed it when he felt her shiver.

"Don't provoke me when I'm armed," she warned, showing the fork she held and pushing his hand away.

Tristan was about to insist when his cell phone started ringing. He picked up the device and left the room to answer a call from his annoying friend, Xavier.

Aurora tried to restrain herself, but curiosity got the better of her. She quietly got up and followed the path Tristan had taken. She spotted the man with his back to her, standing in the middle of the living room.

"No, Xavier, I didn't forget your birthday," Tristan said, rolling his eyes. Xavier had been talking about the party since the beginning of the month. "I'm on my way."

He ended the call and turned around, finding Aurora in a pensive moment. She needed to go back home before Adelaide found out she had spent the night away, but she had a strong urge to go to Xavier's party.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Tristan scolded, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Can I go to Xavier's party?" she ignored the previous question.

Tristan crossed his arms, puzzled by her interest.

"Before, you did everything to stay away from me, and now you want to be close?" he asked, getting closer and giving her a seductive smile. "Are you already falling for me?"

"Forget it, Mr. Arrogant! I want to go for the food, and it would also be interesting to see the 'small package' again," Aurora teased.

Tristan blinked several times, trying to understand the nickname given to Xavier.

"How do you know he has..." he couldn't finish the sentence before she laughed, cutting him off.

"Draw your own conclusions," she replied, shrugging. Aurora found it amusing to make him think she had been intimate with his friend.

Whatshe didn't know was that the night before, she had revealed her secret to Tristan. For that reason, he understood that it was just a simple tease.

"You two didn't sleep together," Tristan stated.

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"Yesterday, you told me you're a virgin. Well, depending on me, that won't last long," he said. Aurora blushed and lowered her head to hide it. He let out a smile; it was rare to see her blush. "Anyway, your clothes are still in the dryer, and you can't go wearing just my shirt."

"I can't stop by my house and change clothes. Adelaide would rip my head off if she found out I didn't sleep there," she explained. "By the way, where's my bag?"

"In my room. Go there, take a shower, grab another shirt and one of my coats, and get dressed," he said. She huffed. One of the things she hated about him was how he thought he could give orders to anyone.

"And where are we going?"

"To the mall."