Aurora's POV.
I stood there.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
The music. The eyes. The silence. The way Ruby smiled like she’d won.
Richard beside her, proud like he’d just announced something noble. Something worth celebrating.
But all I saw was betrayal. Deep. Twisted. Personal.
Ruby—my step-sister. Pregnant. With Richard’s child.
It should’ve been me. It was supposed to be me. Carrying the first Hawthorne heir. Standing beside Luther, not being torn apart like this.
My hands were shaking. My throat burned. I felt like I was choking in my own skin.
And then I heard it. A voice. From the crowd.
“She couldn’t give him a baby... but her sister did.”
I couldn’t hold it anymore.
“No—no—no!” I yelled, my voice cracking. I pushed forward, stumbling toward them like I could somehow grab
