Maxwell laughed but didn't answer Aurora's question. Instead, he suddenly said, "Aurora, I can't use the Pendleton surname anymore."Aurora was taken aback. His words inexplicably saddened her. He said he couldn't bear the Pendleton surname anymore because he wasn't a son of the Pendleton family. Sebastian had disowned him, and from now on, he had no connection to this family—an outcome caused by Aurora.She knew she hadn't done anything wrong. Maxwell was no relation of hers, possibly even the son of her enemy. Staying with the Pendletons, he would have sided with Evelyn to drive her out. She was just protecting herself by speaking the truth.But that's how it sometimes is; you tell yourself you did nothing wrong, yet you feel guilty and sad about the results.Aurora didn't know what to say to him. She wanted to leave, but Maxwell was leaning against her car door. She hesitated for a long time before saying, "I need to go now.""Where to? We've both left the Pendletons, Aurora. You c

"Thane's birthday party is in a couple of days. Come with me?" Heath said to Aurora."What for?" Aurora asked."Evelyn will be there. You're not coming?" Heath pushed.Aurora was a bit torn. Really, Evelyn marrying Thane had nothing to do with her. Marry him if you want, and they weren’t going to live together anyway.Heath cleared his throat and added, "Elowen will be there too.""Then I’m in!" Aurora quickly said.She hadn’t forgotten that Elowen was always parading around, pretending to be Heath’s childhood sweetheart and fiancée, fooling even Evelyn into thinking they might both marry into the Fairbank family.Aurora didn't care about anything else, but the Elowen thing really disgusted her. Who would want another woman daydreaming about marrying her man?"It's time Elowen stopped bouncing around and for Evelyn to see she backed the wrong horse. Elowen isn’t leading anyone into the Fairbank family," Aurora thought.Sneaking closer, she asked, "So, are we going public with this?"H

Aurora shook her head helplessly and said, "Sis, you're hopeless. How on earth do you think you can outsmart me?" Evelyn didn't believe it. Staring at Aurora, she smirked sarcastically and said, "You're not going to tell me that Heath likes you, are you? Or did he propose? Aurora, have you lost your mind again?" Aurora replied helplessly, "Forget it. Since you don't believe it, there's nothing I can do. Just remember, I warned you. You’re backing the wrong side here." Aurora and a few others, including Cheryl and Vespera, went to the lounge area, grabbed some snacks, and sat on the couch chatting and eating. Cheryl sighed and said, "Aurora, is Evelyn kind of dumb or what?" Munching on a pastry, Aurora mumbled, "Who knows! Let's just ignore her." The three were chatting about recent life and gossip when a man, Maxwell, walked past. Aurora looked up, alarm bell

Aurora was totally done with it. With the way Elowen was looking, anyone who didn't know better would think Heath had done her wrong. But Heath didn’t care about this stuff, Aurora did. She didn’t want to hear anyone speak ill of Heath.So, Aurora said to Elowen, “Why do you always look at Heath like he’s wronged you? Anyone who doesn’t know the situation would think he’s done something terrible to you. But really, it’s all just a show you’ve put on yourself. All this talk about engagements, promises, feelings—it’s all just fantasies you’ve made up to fool people. You’ve told the lies so often that even you believe them now. The truth is, Heath has nothing to do with you. At most, he just met you a bit earlier than others. He never said he’d marry you, and his family never arranged any marriage.”Aurora made her point crystal clear, not for any reason other than to make sure everyone present understood that Heath hadn’t let anyone down.“It’s not true! You’re lying! It’s not like that

But in the past, the Pendletons was so grand and imposing. Even after relocating to the capital city, they were among the top families. How did they end up in such a state today?Aurora seemed to know what Sophia was thinking and scoffed sarcastically, "The magnificent Pendletons of the past was mine, not yours. I told you four years ago—if you didn't kill me, I would take everything from you: your emotions, career, reputation, family, even your freedom. It's all taken by me. The Pendleton family is mine; all the shares, the companies, the properties are mine. You have lost utterly, Sophia. Haven't you realized that yet?"Sophia stared at Aurora but remained silent, for she had nothing to say. She had to admit, Aurora was right; everything had been taken from her. She had nothing left, utterly defeated.Aurora smiled kindly, "But in the end, we don't have any deep hatred. If you leave the capital from now on, stay out of my sight, I might just spare you..."Sophia's eyes lit up, but t