"A friend of yours is coming to live with us?" I asked just to be sure I heard him right the first time.He nodded, "Yes. She just got a job and is moving to Washington. So I offered to let her stay until she's back on her feet and can you know, get her own apartment." "Do I know this friend?" I asked him."The only friend of mine you know is Rick.""How close are you?" I knew I was asking a lot of questions but I needed to be sure. Thankfully he answered without feeling like he was being interrogated."She's a childhood friend, we lived in the same neighbourhood." "So she knows your parents?""Of course."I frowned, "So why can't she stay with them? They're also in Washington aren't they?"They had a bigger house and since his parents knew her from childhood, I believed they would get along well."She'd be comfortable here. We live closer to the city than mom and dad. Plus, I think you two would make good friends." His last statement was not so appealing. Too much of an assumption

Staring up at the plain white ceiling, I sighed heavily. I was back here again. Ready to be poked and injected with another fertilized egg, all to just have an heir for the Adams.When the process was done and over with, I dragged myself out of the hospital and found my way back to the house.I was struggling. There was a sudden weight gain within the last couple of months that kept Leo away from me. It was genuinely out of my control but that man could not hide how much it threw him off. I blamed it on all the meds I had to take. Over time, I found myself not stepping out of the house because I felt so insecure about my body. River had done everything in her power to talk me up but I was not having it. "Aurora, what are you doing in here?" Carmella came into the kitchen as I tried to get myself a cup of Greek yoghurt. I raised the cup for her to see."Are you allowed to take that?"There was just something about the way she sized me up with her gaze that made me want to smack he

"Maybe you should just leave her." "Mom please stop.""Don't you get it Leonardo? She's barren. How many more failed IVFs do you want?"I listened from the hallway although she was loud enough for me to hear it from my bedroom."It's just four failed IVFs mom and we are still trying. We'll have a baby soon enough.""Get yourself another woman who has a functioning womb." "Mom I'm not going to cheat on her, not again.""It's not cheating if it is a pointless marriage. You wouldn't look outside if she was the least bit good enough. I blame your father for this." I just wanted her to stop talking. Her words bit straight into my skin and I knew she knew I could hear her. She said those venomous words to hurt me and unfortunately it was working.I went into my bedroom, sprawled on the floor with my back against the door, I cried my eyes out.The fear of never having a child crept into me and it poured out the tears even more. I had taken those painful injections with high hopes that I w

"You're sketching again. That's good." He said, leaning over my shoulder."Yeah," I sighed. "How was your day?" I asked, shutting my sketchpad."Good. How was yours?""Great.""I got you something." He said.I stared at the gift bag he held, stretching it towards me. "No thanks.""No? You haven't even opened it yet.""I don't want any presents from you.""Aurora I know you're still upset over what you saw but I promise you it's not what you think.""Yeah right." I said, looking away from him."Look at me." He softly held my chin and tried to turn it towards him. I did not budge. "I'm sorry, I truly am."I shrugged off his apology, sure that he was going to do this again. It was only just a matter of time."Please say something.""What would you like to have for dinner?""Aurora," He groaned out his frustration but I paid him no mind. I was just going to be that traditional wife he wanted and not question him about his infidelity anymore. I had cried enough and would not let myself ge

It was our fifth anniversary. This was when it all came crumbling to the ground. Everything we had built. Or what I thought we had built. "We need to talk." He said, sounding tensed. "I'm all ears." I said to him, turning away from the mannequin I had been working on. I watched him pace for a bit before letting himself blurt out the last thing I expected to hear. "I don't know how to put this in mild terms but," he sighed. "I think we should get a divorce." Divorce. The words rang in my ears a couple of times and I felt my head lurch. "Divorce?" I repeated, not wanting to believe I heard right. "Yes. I'm sorry but Aurora this isn't working anymore and we can't continue like this. I deserve to be happy, you do too. There was really no point in all of this." He said. "The deal is over isn't it?" I asked knowingly. There was no other reason he would have the courage to do this. His father was surely in the know and that meant that whatever deal he had with my father had grind