Aurora’s POVI would, at some point, be able to deal with the sudden tilting of my world upon its axis. That was the logical conclusion to draw – but it hadn’t happened yet.Selene knew I was Aurora Everheart. This was not me guessing, not me jumping to conclusions. There was no allusion in her statement.Selene knew. ‘Uh, oh,’ Violet whispered.I gulped. ‘You said it.’I scrambled desperately to think of something to say to make this go away. I had to act casual, to act like Selene was crazy, to laugh if I had to – but what if none of those things worked? I spent so long second guessing myself that my expression got caught between laughter and fear, and I said nothing.Selene just smirked at me, the cat with the cream as her cold green eyes assessed me with a victor’s glint. I had to say something, do something – but what?I opened my mouth, determined to at least try to defend myself, but before I could Selene spoke.“Ethan! She’s in here,” she called out, twisting at the waist to
Aurora’s POVSeeing Serena up close was strange. I knew what she looked like, of course, but I’d never been face-to-face with her. She was the perfect mix of Ethan and Selene – but she also looked an awful lot like Sammy.She shared his dark curls and rosy cheeks, his bright eyes and curious expression. She had Ethan’s strong jaw, too, paired with Selene’s softer features, like her small, straight, freckled nose.It struck me as odd for a second that she and Sammy looked so alike, like they could be twins, almost, but of course it made sense. They shared a father, and genetically, back before I’d drastically changed my own appearance, Selene and I had been identical. That wasn’t just Selene’s nose I was seeing in Serena’s face; it was mine, too.“What are you doing out here?” I asked softly, crouching down to be at her eye level. “Waiting for Mummy and Daddy. They told me to stay out here.” She rocked back on her heels. She was wearing a woolly dress with patterned tights, and my hea
Aurora’s POVI stared down at the pregnancy test. My heart pounded. Another ten seconds, nine, eight…It was time. I swallowed hard, squeezed my eyes shut, and then–I looked down. My hands shook where they held it. I tried to focus my gaze on the trembling test.Two pink lines stared back at me. I gasped; a sob built in my throat. I clutched the pregnancy test to my chest, kicked my legs, and whispered to myself, “I’m going to have a baby!”Tears streamed down my cheeks. I let them fall, gazing down lovingly at my flat stomach, cupping it with one hand and still clinging onto the test with the other. “I’m going to have a baby,” I breathed again, my eyes widening.Finally.After three years of marriage, Ethan and I were going to have a baby. I smiled as I cried, imagining my belly swelling with our child, imagining Ethan pressing his hands to my pregnant belly and singing sweet songs to our little one. He’d always wanted to be a dad, just as much as I’d wanted to be a mum. But it was
Aurora’s POV“Ethan?” I croaked, feeling around the bed for my husband. My hand hit wood – floorboards. I wasn’t in bed. Panic choked me. “Ethan!”I cried out for my husband, but he didn’t answer.Grey daylight streaked across the living room. I rolled over and covered my eyes with my hand.Why was I on the living room floor?Last night hit me all over again. I bolted upright, saw the scattered pages of the divorce agreement lying next to me, and burst into tears.“Ethan?” I called out, my voice shaky. “Ethan, please…”I grabbed the blanket off the couch and let myself cry, cradling my belly. I didn’t understand why he’d changed so suddenly, so drastically. Sure, he’d been a bit distant lately – but I’d thought it was just work stress, or the pressure of being an Alpha, or… something. Whatever it was, he’d never treated me like this before. Never.Ethan woke before me most mornings. He kissed my head, then slipped quietly out of our bed and came back with two steaming mugs of coffee.
Aurora’s POV I stared at the girl Ethan had been kissing. Everything faded into the background as I recognised my own features on her face. We had the same long, blonde hair, the same green eyes, the same full lips, the same freckles over our small, straight noses. We even had the same beauty mark! What was going on? Who was this girl? Violet whined. ‘I don’t like this.’ I stood, frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but watch as my lookalike steadied herself on Ethan’s muscular arm. Was Ethan seriously cheating on me? With a girl that looked so much like me? Zoe stormed up onto the stage, dragging me with her. With all the fury of a lioness, she shoved the DJ out of her way and snatched his microphone. “To the bitch that kissed someone else’s mate over there – The Midnight Club doesn’t welcome cheaters!” The music stopped. There was a beat of total silence – and then the whole club erupted with chatter. I felt numb to it all. Then I heard what they were saying. “Why i
Aurora’s POVI woke to the steady beeping of machines and the overwhelming smell of lemon and pine disinfectant. I wrinkled my nose.“You’re awake!” cried Zoe. I opened my eyes. She was sat on the edge of my starchy white hospital bed, her expression caught between worry and fury. Swallowing hard, I managed to rasp, “What happened?”Her jaw flexed. “I can’t believe I left you alone with Ethan.” At my frown, she took a deep breath and explained. “Raina and I brought you here. She’s a friend,” she added, with a wave of her hand. “We couldn’t get you to wake up, so…”“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand. “What about Ethan?”“What about him?”“Well – where is he? Is he here? Did he come with you…” I trailed off, seeing the answer in her eyes. Hesitantly, she said, “Selene got sick, too. Her health has always been bad.” My heart plummeted as I waited for her to go on.“He’s with her,” she muttered, shaking her head in disgust. “I’m sorry, Rory. He’s a dick.”It was like she’d ripped my hear
Aurora’s POVSelene clung to Ethan’s arm like a limpet as they left. He steadied her as she wobbled; seeing that broke me all over again. Had she been right? Would he really choose her over me? His mate? His wife? His Luna?With clumsy fingers I picked up my phone. My hands shook as I waited for my parents to answer.Ring, ring, ring…We’d always had a good relationship – until now. Despite the struggles we’d faced and the poverty that had made them money-hungry once Ethan had entered our lives, I’d always thought they loved me.All of a sudden, it felt like their love for money had outrun their love for me. “Aurora? How are you?” asked my mum as soon as she picked up. “I’ve been better.” I took a deep breath. “Mum, have you spoken to Ethan lately?”She sighed. Nearby, I heard my dad’s gravelly huff. “Is this about the divorce? Ethan has already been more than generous.”Dad cut in, “Especially after what you’ve done.”I almost crushed the phone in my grip. “I haven’t done anything
Aurora’s POVFive years laterSammy grinned toothily at me. My little son was the picture of innocence as he said, “What about Simon?”I sighed. “No.”We both looked through the glass wall of my office, out into the waiting area. Simon wiggled his fingers at me and stood up.I shook my head at him. With a huff, he sat back down. “He’s been out there for a long time,” said Sammy, his gaze drifting over to one of my would-be suitors. “He must really want to be my new daddy.”Laughing, I lifted Sammy onto my lap. “Yeah,” I teased along with him, “that must be it.”Five years ago, I’d run away from my life. I’d changed everything about myself to stay hidden after faking my own death. I wasn’t Aurora Everhart anymore; now I was Aria Black.It wasn’t just my outward persona that I’d changed. Along with switching out Aurora for Aria, I’d lost the naïve, trusting parts of myself. I’d had to do whatever I could to survive, cutting ties with family and friends alike just to get away from Ethan