(Author's POV)
He sat down slowly and stared at the ring she'd been wearing.
It wasn't something she'd bought for herself. He knew enough about jewelry to know that piece had a history. Someone had given it to her.
He picked up his phone and stared at it. Then he put it back down.
Aurora, meanwhile, stepped out of the building into the late morning sun and took a long breath. She looked at the ring on her finger. Then she looked at her phone, at the transfer confirmation still on the screen.
Her money. Properly, legally, entirely hers.
She put her phone away and went shopping.
The furniture store she chose was the kind of place with wide aisles and quiet staff who didn't hover. She moved through it slowly, touching things - the grain of a side table, the weight of a lamp base, the t
