Chapter 15

Aurora was now hiding behind a potted plant, getting a good view of the garden and all the staff serving the guests. She thought she wouldn't be found there, so she screamed in fear when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, placing a hand on her rapidly beating heart. "Seraphina! You'll give someone a heart attack!"

Seraphina apologized, "I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm a friend of your brother, didn't you know?" Aurora replied, while Seraphina watched her suspiciously. "What? I'm serious. If you want, ask him."

Curious, Seraphina asked, "Where did you two meet?"

"At Luna's welcome party," Aurora answered with such conviction that Seraphina believed her. However, she still found it strange to think that her brother and her "colleague" were friends.

Seraphina called a waiter when she spotted him, "Please, a glass."

The waiter approached and handed a glass to Seraphina, while Aurora turned her face, hoping not to be recognized, but her attempt was unsuccessful.

"Aurora?" called a familiar voice.

She slowly turned her face until she locked eyes with the cook. She gave a brief wave and smiled crookedly.

"Hi, Kai," Aurora greeted.

Surprised, Seraphina asked, "Do you two know each other?"

They didn't even bother to answer. Kai quickly walked toward Adelaide, who was very flustered with work. If he told her the truth, maybe she could focus better.

"Kai, you snitch!" Aurora called out, but he didn't stop. "Argh! Are you going to drink that?" Without waiting for Seraphina's response, she grabbed the glass and downed its contents in one go. She handed the object back and ran after the cook.

But it was too late. He was already telling everything to Adelaide. Aurora looked to the side and saw her sister, who forced a smile to avoid getting scolded.

"Where were you last night?" she approached, staring angrily at Aurora. "Who were you with? Why are you at this party and... dressed like that?"

"I-I..." Aurora averted her gaze and saw Xavier talking to some friends. "I'm a friend of Xavier, the birthday boy."

"That doesn't justify why you spent the night out and lied to me."

"I didn't plan on staying out, but Xavier's sister, Seraphina, messaged me asking if I wanted to sleep over at her place, and in the morning, we would come to the party. She's the one who dressed me like this," she lied. "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. I guess your date was going really well, huh?" She smirked maliciously.

Kai interrupted the conversation, "Save this family talk for later. We're at work."

"Yes, you're right," Adelaide nodded, turning her gaze back to Aurora. "I'll get back to work. Just make sure you don't cause any trouble!"

"I can't promise anything," Aurora replied. Once Adelaide walked away, she shot an angry look at the cook.

"What's the matter?" Kai asked.

"Be careful, Kai. Snitches don't last long!" Aurora said, her eyes flashing.

***

It was late afternoon, the sun was setting, and the party was still lively. Aurora no longer hid from Adelaide, except when Tristan was trailing her.

Griffin always watched Adelaide serving people with a smile. He really wanted to talk to her, but he always hesitated because she was working, not attending as a guest. However, that night, he believed he could at least get one dance with her.

"Adelaide..." Griffin called as soon as he saw her take off her apron, thinking her shift was over. "Would you like to dance with me?"

She let out a huge smile and blushed at that.

"Of course, I..." she was interrupted by someone grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind their body, as if they wanted to hide or protect her.

"Excuse me, but Adelaide is an employee and she's on duty. She can't interact with our customers," Kai spoke seriously, staring at Griffin.

From a distance, Tristan and Aurora were lying on lounge chairs, observing everything through their sunglasses. Aurora was stunned by Kai's sudden "fit of jealousy," as he had shown no interest in her older sister until now. Once he found out there was another suitor interested in the girl, he decided to growl and keep him away.

"This is getting dangerous, I'm telling you," Aurora said.

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

"I'm talking about the hot doctor and the attractive cook," she pointed to that slightly distant love triangle.

"Hot cook? Hot doctor?" Tristan questioned.

"Yes, Kai and Griffin."

"And what about me?"

"You're Mr. Arrogant."

"Can't I be the perfect businessman?" Tristan took off his sunglasses and winked at her.

"No," Aurora also removed her sunglasses and made a face. "Anyway, in the end, the strongest man will win Adelaide, and I bet it'll be Kai."

"No chance. My brother will end up with your sister, and he won't even need to make much effort. Elegance and charm run in the family."

"You're on!" They sealed the bet with a handshake.

"The same stakes as before, a wish about the other person," he approached her to whisper in her ear. "And this time, if I win, you have to do exactly what I ask. I won't accept a 'no' as an answer or give you another option, like last time."

Despite her apprehension, she smiled, trying not to show her nervousness.

"Deal!"

***

Monday. Everyone returned to their routines. Griffin was on duty at the hospital, and it was moderately busy. Adelaide went to the restaurant early and noticed that Kai was acting strange. There had always been something that caught her attention about him when he was up to no good, but at the beginning of that week, it seemed like he found fault in everything Adelaide did. "Enthusiasm" wasn't a word found in Aurora's Monday dictionary. Not even her morning coffee helped her feel energized, but she had to go to Emotion and then to college.

Meanwhile, Tristan was working hard at the company. He had so much work that he didn't leave his office during lunchtime. He tried to stay focused, but there were two distractions preventing him from doing so. One of them was sitting right in front of him.

Tristan looked at the papers on his desk while Xavier tried to persuade him.

"I've already told you, I'm not going to do it," Tristan replied, keeping his gaze on the documents.

"Why not?!" Xavier asked, frustrated.

"Because attending a charity auction won't bring money to the company. On the contrary, I'll have to take money out of my own pocket."

"But it would give you the reputation of a kind-hearted man, when in reality, I doubt you even have a heart. You must be made of stone," Xavier teased, making Tristan laugh at the nickname while Xavier scowled.

The truth was, Tristan couldn't stop thinking about Aurora, and she was his second distraction. He glanced at his wristwatch and thought she would be at college. He thought about how beautiful she looked when she was angry, how she seemed like a strong woman when she spoke firmly, yet a simple innocent girl when she was flustered. He sighed, setting the contracts aside; he was no longer focused on his work.

Knocks on the door were heard, and then his secretary entered with a huge smile.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I needed to deliver last month's balance sheet," she placed the papers on his desk and looked at Tristan provocatively, but he ignored her.

"Put that away and give it to me tomorrow. I'm taking the rest of the day off," Tristan stood up abruptly.

Xavier caught up to him, standing in front of him.

"Wait, what about our previous discussion?" Xavier asked.

"I've already said I'm not going to that auction, end of story," Tristan replied, walking past Xavier.

"But you just have to show up at the event, get photographed, and donate money to charity. It's simple."

"No," Tristan asserted, continuing on his way.

"Heartless Mr. Arrogant," Xavier retorted with the nickname, and this time it was Tristan who scowled.

***

"Hallelujah!" Aurora raised her hands when the sound of the end of class was heard.

She packed up her belongings and walked out of the classroom. She lazily dragged her feet until she entered the engineering department. She was looking for Lucca, who had promised her a ride after class. After a few minutes of walking through the corridors, she stopped a few people, asking about her friend until one of them said he had gone to the music department. And so, she made her way to the other department.

"Where is that shorty?" she stomped her foot on the ground, annoyed.

She continued walking for a while. Everything was deserted; it seemed like she was the only one in that vast area. Upon hearing a soft melody, she decided to let herself be carried away by the music. With each step she took, the sweet sound became more audible. She stopped walking when she saw that she had arrived at the auditorium. She entered cautiously and was amazed to see Alexander on stage, sitting on a bench, strumming the guitar strings slowly.

His eyes met hers, and he immediately smiled and stopped playing.

"There you are!" Lucca exclaimed, only after he spoke did Aurora notice the presence of the short guy sitting on a bench. "I looked for you all over the journalism department!"

"Don't complain! I looked for you in the engineering and music departments, and also..." Aurora interrupted herself when she realized she was losing patience in front of Alex.

"And also what?" Lucca asked.

"Never mind."

Alex put away his guitar as the trio nodded, ready to leave. They exited the music department and walked through the campus, engaging in casual conversation. Alex mentioned a charity auction that would take place in a few days.

"The purpose of this auction is to raise funds for charity," Alex explained, and Aurora smiled like a silly girl at his kindness. "You should go."

"I would love to!" Aurora replied. She wasn't used to attending charity events, but she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Alex.

***

Tristan was restless that night and didn't quite understand the reason why. He paced back and forth in the living room, a glass of whisky in his hand, his thoughts focused on Aurora. It was strange, but she wouldn't leave his mind. Sometimes, he found himself recalling every little detail about the girl, which was new to him, as he had never paid so much attention to someone before.

Deciding to put an end to this restlessness, he went to his bedroom and lay down in bed, hoping to fall asleep and stop thinking so much about that girl. However, sleeping proved to be more difficult than he had imagined. His pillow and blanket were infused with her scent.

"Argh..." Tristan sighed, rolling onto his back. "I need more whisky!"

***

Upon entering her apartment, Aurora saw Adelaide sitting on the couch, reading a small note and holding a white box in her lap.

"What's this?" Aurora sat down beside her and looked inside the box. Her eyes widened upon seeing the pair of silver heels, seemingly expensive. "Who gave you this?!"

"It was Griffin," Adelaide replied, her face blushing.

"Let me read!" Aurora took the note from her hands and read it aloud. "A beautiful shoe for my beautiful Cinderella... It seems someone here is being pursued by a prince."

Adelaide laughed.

Aurora's phone started ringing. She retrieved it from her bag and rolled her eyes upon seeing that it was Tristan.

"While Adelaide has a prince, I have an annoying toad!" Aurora thought, irritated.

She stood up and entered her room to answer the call.

"What do you want?" she asked directly, lying down on her bed.

"Do you really want to know?" Tristan teased.

"If I'm asking," she responded, unfazed by the rudeness.

"Honestly, I wish you were here with me, in my bed, without clothes... moaning my name..."

"Do you have no other topic of conversation besides us in bed?"

"It doesn't have to be just in bed, it can be on the couch, on the counter, on a table, on the floor..."

"Frankly, Mr. Arrogant! Do you only think about sex?"

"Lately, I've been thinking a lot about you."

She noticed his tone of voice and his increased audacity. She deduced that he must be very drunk.

"Are you drunk?" she questioned.

"No," he replied, but it was obvious that he was.

"Mr. Arrogant, go bother your prostitutes and leave me alone. I'm very tired and..." she fell silent when she realized he had hung up on her. Aurora ignored it and set the phone aside.

***

Aurora woke up in the early hours, still sleepy. She sat up in bed and, feeling thirsty, decided to leave the room and go to the kitchen. She turned on the light in the room and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. She took a sip and leaned against the countertop.

As she moved the glass away from her mouth, she saw a shadow approaching the kitchen. A shiver ran down her body.

"Aurora..." he murmured, but she didn't have time to respond as he quickly approached, pressing her against the countertop and holding her legs, intertwining them around his waist.

"What are you..." she tried to formulate a coherent sentence but couldn't, especially when he ran his nose along her neck. Shivers ran through her body, and she could smell the whiskey on him.

"Stop pretending... I know you want me too," he said, his strong hands gripping her thighs, making her bite her lips to contain her sighs.

She was feeling things she had never felt before. Her body seemed to disobey her; she was enjoying what Tristan was doing.

"Tristan... you're drunk!" she tried to push him away, but he was stronger and continued to explore the area of her neck. She ended up dropping the glass on the floor, shattering it into pieces. "S-stop this... Adelaide might wake up."

"She won't," Tristan replied.

"But..."

"Hey..." he looked into her eyes. "Except for the two of us, erase everyone else from your mind and let's just go with it, without caring about the rest." And without further ado, he pulled her by the nape of her neck and passionately took her lips in a wild kiss.