Whispers filled the hall. Everyone's eyes were on Aurora. She was so close to losing it. She looked at Selene who was holding back a sly smirk. Her cunning blue eyes lit up in a way that Aurora despised.

Damian sighed, "Aurora, I'm sorry. I.. I'm engaged to Selene. This is our engagement party."

Aurora's eyes darkened, "Your what?" She stepped closer to him, "Care to repeat what you just said?"

Before Damian could say another word, Victor stood up, "Look here, Sinclair. My son owes you no explanation, understood? Just leave quietly and await further instructions from us. Don't make this hard for yourself."

Aurora couldn't believe her ears, "Is this some kind of joke? Sinclair? I'm Aurora Blackwood!" She looked back at Damian, "Tell them, Damian. I'm your wife."

"Using that title is a bit of a stretch, isn't it? Considering that you can't have children." Victor calmly said. The hall was now filled with loud mummurs.

"She can't have children?"

"So she's infertile."

"No wonder they put her aside so easily."

Aurora's heart skipped a beat, "Seriously? You're clowning me for something I have no control over?"

"Well, how can we be so sure you didn't fool around before you met my son?" Victor shrugged and everyone looked at each other in agreement.

"Excuse me? I met your son in high school! We got married when I was 19! He was the first and only person to-"

Damian held her arm, "Aurora, please."

"Take your hands off me!" She pulled away and shot Damian a glare. Her expression took him aback, not once did he think that Aurora would have this kind of look on her face.

She let out a breath, "So this is your plan?" She asked the Blackwood men, "This is what you have decided to do?" She then looked at Selene, "You're picking her? Of all people?"

"Unlike you, Selene has a proper background and is capable of giving me a grandchild. She's everything you're not. And the perfect woman for Damian."

"Hah!" Aurora laughed bitterly, "You've decided already." She stepped down from the podium and made her way towards the exit. Her heels clacking loudly as she walked. When she reached the exit, she turned and looked at Damian, "You'll regret this." Her eyes went from Damian to Victor, then to Selene,"You'll all regret this." She left.

"Good riddance. Carry on with your speech, Damian." Aurora heard Victor say. She still couldn't believe any of it.

It wasn't until she reached the elevator that the tears came. She slumped down, right there on the elevator floor and cried her eyes out.

__

Now at the present.

She crashed into her bed, after leaving Blackwood enterprises 2 weeks ago, she went back to the Blackwood mansion to grab a few things and left. She then checked into a hotel and it's where she's been ever since. "Back to being single." She whispered and chuckled painfully, She then sat up, "Screw you, Damian Blackwood." She cursed silently and got up.

She went to the bathroom to take a long warm shower. In the process of turning on the water heater, she noticed her reflection in the mirror. No matter how much she didn't wanna admit it, the whole process took quite a toll on her body. Her hair had lost colour, she got a little thinner and her skin appeared pale. She never really left the hotel that much since she checked in except when she had a few meetings with her lawyer, and she even had to drive there so getting some sunlight was really not in her activity list the past 2 weeks.

She shuddered at the sight of her reflection and looked away, "Screw you, Damian Blackwood." She said again and prepared for the shower.

__

At the Blackwood mansion.

A sleek black sedan parked in front of the mansion and the door opened. Damian got off and walked in, accompanied by his bodyguards. Selene was in the luxurious-looking living room, waiting for him. She stood up when he walked in and hopped towards him happily, "Honey!" She called excitedly and wrapped her hands around his neck. Not minding the presence of his bodyguards, she pressed a kiss against his lips.

"Congratulations on being free from that bitch." She said after letting go and brought out an expensive champagne, "Now we can finally push through with the wedding. No more obstacles, am I right?"

"Sure." This was all Damian said, he then turned and walked away. Selene's smile faded, she scoffed and put down the champagne bottle, "Who does he think he is?" she angrily muttered to herself.

__

Damian finally got the quiet he needed, he rested on the door for a while after closing it behind him. He didn't say a word. He then went to sit on the bed and undo his tie. During this process, his eyes then spotted the vintage red wine Aurora had gotten him two weeks ago. Turns out he had gone back to his office after his speech to be alone for a while and there they were sitting on his desk, the bag and the wine.

He of course couldn't bring himself to eat what she had gotten him, he gave it out. The wine though, he knew how rare it was and could only imagine how hard it was for Aurora to get him that. He just couldn't give it away, throw it out aot even drink it. It was just there...the last thing she got him before leaving the mansion.

The door opened and Victor stepped in, "Why the long face? You should be celebrating." His cold voice echoed through the room. Damian looked away, "I'm just a little tired."

"Still not enough time for you to give your future wife the cold shoulder. You should treat her well, Mr Davenport agreed to that investment deal on the condition that his daughter is happy and marries you, Damian. Go apologize to her, now."

Damian looked at him. His grey eyes had an unreadable flicker, "I'll make it up to her tomorrow." His voice left no room for further discussions regarding Selene. Victor sighed, his eyes landed on the wine a few inches from him, he picked up the bottle.

Damian's eye moved from Victor to the wine.

"She couldn't even get the nicer version, how cheap." He said with a sneer and left the bottle in the air, making it fall to the ground and shatter. A few of the bottle pieces flew towards random directions. And the wine flowed out of the top half of the bottle.

Damian stood up, his jaw worked, his thick eyebrows creased and his fist subconsciously clenched.

Victor scoffed, "See? Cheap. The real one wouldn't have cracked, let alone shattering at the bottom." He then looked at Damian dead in the eye and added, "That ought to help you forget about that useless wench and focus on the matters at hand. We have a wedding to go through with, papers to sign and monies to make. Try not to get distracted. I didn't pay that judge millions to speed up the divorce process just for you to sit here and still think about her. You got that?"

Damian swallowed, "Yes, father." He looked away.

Victor smiled and patted his shoulder, "That's my son." He said with a smile and added before leaving, "I'll send someone to come clean up this trash. Get some rest, son. Busy day tomorrow."

Damian stared at the flowing liquid in silence for a while and eventually let out a little sigh.

One week later.

The morning sun rays peeped through the closed curtains. Aurora's phone went off, someone was calling. She rolled towards the nightstand where the phone was and sat up, no one had called her in the past 3 weeks except her lawyer. Even her lawyer stopped calling 2 days after the divorce was finalized. She was all alone now, or was she? Her eyes lit up a little when she saw the name of the person calling. Doctor Maywell Caldwell. She picked up, "Hello?" She regretted speaking without clearing her voice first, her voice was raspy and she sounded really stressed. And knowing Dr Caldwell, she'd definitely make it a big deal out of it. "What the? Have you been smoking? You sound really croaky." Aurora was right, she cleared her throat, it may have taken the cracking effect away but it didn't take away how stressed she sounded, "It's just my morning voice, Dr Caldwell."

There was a long pause then, Maywell spoke, "I read about the divorce."

Aurora's breath hitched, "Sounds like you been busy." She managed to joke but Maywell wasn't having it. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

Aurora chuckled, "And then what? You'd offer me support? Please, Dr Caldwell. That won't change anything. And besides, I'm fine. I went through it and I'm fine." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Maywell.

There was silence on the other side of the line for a while. Then she finally spoke, "Come in today for some check ups. I need to be sure that you're alright."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. I'll see you in thirty minutes to an hour." Maywell did not wait for her response before ending the call.

Aurora sighed. She stood up after placing her phone back on the nightstand and stretched a bit. She went towards the windows and spread the curtains, the sharp sunlight almost blinded her. How long did she sleep for? Her eyes then travelled to the wall clock, almost 10am. She closed back the curtains, the light was too much for her at the moment.

With another sigh, she made her way to the bathroom.

__

She walked along the hallway, slowly but steadily. It's the first time she left the hotel since the divorce and it almost felt like she was new in town. She even almost forgot the road to the hospital Maywell worked at. She stopped at the door at the end of the hallway. On the door, "Examination room" was boldly written on it.

Before she could knock, a familiar voice echoed behind her. "Wow. You look like you could pass out any moment from now."

Aurora turned around and there she was, Doctor Maywell Caldwell standing in front of her. Aurora took off the face mask she was wearing- associates of the Blackwood family are pretty well known, so she wanted to avoid any unnecessary drama. She smiled sheepishly, "Hello, Dr Caldwell."

Maywell sighed, and walked past her. She opened the door to the examination room and gestured for her to come in. The moment the door closed behind her, Aurora found herself in Maywell's arms. "You poor thing...you went through so much in so little time."

Aurora swore to not cry, but right now, she couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears kepi falling from her face.

__

Doctor Maywell Caldwell. Aurora's personal doctor and closest friend, probably Aurora's only friend. She's been with her since she got married to Damian.Together, the two have worked tirelessly trying to boost Aurora's fertility. They tried various ways, including naturally and scientifically. And during this process, they have built a really strong friendship in the past six years. Aurora always discussed everything with her, from her professional life to her marriage life and Maywell has always supported and encouraged her. And was always there for her during emotionally hard times, like her current situation.

She continued to let Aurora cry for a few more minutes and then gave her some water. After Aurora calmed down, she laughed, "I wasn't planning on letting anyone see me like this."

"Well," Maywell took the glass of from her and put it down, "I've seen you."

"Yeah. I guess I can only show my vulnerable side around you." Aurora grabbed a tissue from the box and wiped her tears, she wasn't wearing any make up so she didn't worry about ruining her looks. "Shall we get started then?"

__

Aurora sat on the examination table, silent, as Dr. Caldwell moved around her, taking her vitals, checking her pulse, and frowning the entire time. "Are you disappointed?" She asked Maywell with a small smile.

Maywell scoffed, scribbling something on her clipboard. "This isn't a joke. You haven't been eating properly, your blood pressure is all over the place, and I can tell you're barely sleeping." She put her hands on her hips and gave Aurora a pointed look.

Aurora shrugged, "It is what it is."

"No it's not." Maywell snapped, "You should take better care of yourself. I know it's not easy but come on... you should know better than to leave yourself like this."

"I get you, okay? I'm not going to let this separation bring me down. I'll pick myself up and I'll do better. For now, just let me breathe."

Maywell leaned closer, "You to eat to breathe. When's the last time you had a proper meal?"

Aurora pondered for a while, "Well, the hotel meals are pretty decent."

Maywell rubbed her forehead, gosh this woman won't be the death of her. She put down the clipboard and looked Aurora straight in the eye, "I am going to order some food...and you are going to eat them in front of me. No leftovers."

Aurora swallowed, "Okay, Doctor." Maywell gave a small smile and brought out her phone. As she went outside to make the call. Aurora checked herself in the mirror one more time. She really did look sick and wanted to change that. No more letting the past bother her. She leaned back and waited for that food, her appetite was slowly making its way back.

__

Aurora went back to the hotel. What was at first going to be just a check up ended up being a refreshing visit to a close friend. She spent 4 hours at Maywell's office, which would've been longer if she (Maywell) wasn't so busy. She had a great time and hoped it continued.

She threw her things on the bed and headed to the bathroom for a nice shower.

__

Later that evening, Aurora went for a short walk. There was a nice playground directly opposite the hotel building, that's where Aurora went. The sun was setting, it reminded her of the evening she stumbled upon the engagement party of Damian and Selene. A scoff left her lips, to think that they'd been planning that for a while and she never even suspected a thing. Damian was a loving husband until that moment she found out, and the fact that he wasn't even man enough to go against his father's wishes baffled her. Damian was a straightforward and dominant person...unless Victor is involved.

She shook her head, no more thinking about them. "They can all go to hell." She said and stood up to go back to the hotel. No more thinking about them...

The next morning.

Aurora was ripped from sleep by the shrill ringing of her phone. She groaned, blindly reaching for the device on the nightstand, her limbs heavy with exhaustion.

Who the hell was calling her this early?

Her blurry vision barely made out the name on the screen before she answered.

Dr. Maywell.

"Hello?" Aurora's voice was hoarse from disuse.

"Aurora, good morning."

There was something off about the way Maywell spoke. Calm, but almost too careful. Aurora's grogginess faded instantly.

She pushed herself up, heart thudding. "Dr. Maywell? Is something wrong?"

A pause.

Then, Maywell sighed. "I think you should come in. There's something we need to discuss."

Aurora stiffened. "What is it? Is it my test results?"

"Aurora, just come to the clinic. I'll explain everything when you get here."

Her chest tightened. "You're scaring me."

"It's nothing to be scared of, but it is important. Please. Come as soon as you can."

Aurora clutched the phone tighter. There was no point in arguing.

She exhaled slowly. "I'll be there soon."

"Good. I'll be waiting."

The call ended, and Aurora sat there, staring at the screen.

Something was definitely wrong. She climbed off the bed and hopped into the bathroom for a quick shower. Whatever it was Maywell found out, she hoped it wouldn't be as serious as she made it sound.

__

At the clinic. Aurora barely had time to knock on the office's door when it opened. Maywell appeared, "Hi." She said. Aurora went in, the weight of Maywell's seriousness started to dawn on her, "Is everything okay, Dr Caldwell?" Her voice contained a tiny bit of worry mixed with curiosity.

Maywell closed the door and went to sit behind her desk. "Aurora." She called, "How have you been feeling lately?"

Aurora blinked, she didn't understand the question, "Emotionally?"

"Physically."

"Well, I have-"

"Tell me, have you been feeling nauseated, any unusual fatigue?"

Aurora shrugged. "I mean, I've been tired, but that's just...everything, you know? The divorce, the stress."

Maywell hummed, making a note. "What about food aversions? Sensitivity to smells?"

Aurora sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know, Dr Caldwell. Maybe? I haven't really been paying attention."

Maywell pursed her lips. "And your last cycle?"

Aurora's brows furrowed. "It's been a little irregular, but it's always been like that when I'm stressed. Why are you asking all this?"

Maywell set her pen down and folded her hands together. She took a deep breath before finally saying,

"Aurora... you're pregnant."

For a moment, Aurora's world went dark.

She stared at Maywell, the words echoing in her ears.

Pregnant?

Her throat was dry, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. She shook her head slightly. "No. That's not..." She let out a weak laugh. "That's not possible."

Maywell's expression remained steady. "I ran the tests twice. You're about four weeks along."

Aurora sprang up from her seat, "But that's not possible, Dr Caldwell. You know that. I can't... I can't have children."

Maywell stood up as well, walking towards her, "Aurora. Perhaps one of those ways we tried during the past six years worked out?"

Aurora lowered her head as she rubbed her nape. Pregnant? Pregnant? Now? Where has the pregnancy been all this time? For the past six years she felt unworthy of Damian's love. Victor blacklisted her for this reason, not acknowledging her presence whenever he visited, always shutting down her opinion whenever she spoke up.

"Someone who's having trouble giving me a grandchild shouldn't have any opinion." He always said. Sometimes he would tell her outright, "Give me a grandchild before opening your mouth."

Maywell watched her for a while, "Aurora? Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm pregnant." She whispered, "I'm pregnant with Damian's child."

"Children." Maywell corrected, "You're pregnant with twins." Aurora's eyes flew wide, "Twins?"

Maywell nodded with a smile, "That's right. You have two lives depending on you now. You're not alone, Aurora."

"I'm not alone." She repeated, a smile tugging at her lips. But those smiles faded when she thought about Damian. "But Damian should know, shouldn't he?" Then her mind went to Victor, "No. Damian cannot know." She immediately decided, "He's already married to Selene. I saw it on the news. Victor won't be happy if I try to involve myself in their lives. Hell, he might even kill me. He's that ruthless."

Maywell's eyes widened a bit. "Then what are you gonna do?"

Aurora looked at her, determination now burning in her eyes, "I have to leave the city. As long as I'm here, I'll never be able to move on in peace. My kids deserve a fresh start."

"I see. I respect your decision, Aurora. Infact..." Maywell walked back to her desk and opened up her laptop, "I might be able to help you out. Your children would be in danger if Victor Blackwood ever finds out about them, yes?"

Aurora nodded, "He won't allow anything to interfere with Damian's marriage because Selene comes from a billionaire family."

"Then I'll erase every trace of your medical records. That way, they can't find you even if they try to."

"Dr Caldwell. Doesn't that go against the rules?" Aurora asked in concern.

"Yes. But if it's to protect a close friend, then I'm willing to bend the rules a little. I'll also draw up a nutritional draft so you can eat healthy and take care of your babies."

Aurora smiled, "Dr Caldwell... Are you really going to go that far for me?"

"Oh, I'm not done." Maywell said with a calm smile. "You mentioned leaving the city? Well, I have a place you can stay in another city. Far away from all this. It's quiet, I think you could need some of that."

Aurora sighed, "I can't thank you enough, Dr Caldwell." She reached out to Maywell for a hug and she accepted it gladly. Aurora never felt so thankful. Amidst all the chaos and betrayal, she was glad to still have a friend who looks out for her.

__

She went back to the hotel to pack up her stuff, she had a clear vision of what she wants to do now. But first, she needed to leave the city for there was no place for her here anymore.

She checked out of the hotel minutes later and left.

__

Moments after Aurora walked out of the hotel, a sleek black car pulled up in front of the entrance. The back door opened, and Damian Blackwood stepped out.

His sharp gaze swept across the building as he walked into the reception area. The receptionist straightened nervously as he approached.

"Aurora Sinclair," He said in his usual deep, commanding tone. "What room is she in?"

The receptionist hesitated before replying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Blackwood, but Ms. Sinclair checked out about fifteen minutes ago."

Damian's jaw tensed. He stood there for a moment, silent.

His driver, standing a few steps behind him, spoke cautiously. "Do you want us to look for her, sir?"

Damian exhaled slowly, rubbing his fingers against his temple. He knew Aurora well enough, if she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be.

After a long pause, he shook his head. "No."

He turned on his heel and walked back toward the car. As he slid into the back seat, he muttered, "I have to meet Selene at the airport."

At the airport.

Damian stepped out of the car, adjusting the cuffs of his tailored suit as he scanned the bustling airport entrance. Among the crowd, his eyes landed on Selene Davenport, now Blackwood, standing with her designer luggage, dressed impeccably in a white summer dress. She looked every bit the perfect billionaire's wife, elegant, poised, and entirely self-assured.

The moment she saw him, her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Finally," She said dramatically, closing the distance between them. Without hesitation, she looped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a long, lingering kiss.

When she finally pulled away, her cunning blue eyes studied his face. "And here I thought our honeymoon would be canceled." She pouted slightly, though her voice carried suspicion. "What took you so long? What urgent business were you handling?"

Damian's expression remained unreadable. "It's nothing," He said smoothly. "Let's go."

She tilted her head, watching him closely as if she could read between the lines. But before she could push further, he took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and led her toward the airport entrance.

Selene smirked, satisfied for now. "Good," She murmured as they stepped inside. "Because I'd hate for you to be distracted when we have a whole island to ourselves."

Damian didn't respond. Instead, he kept walking, his grip on her hand firm but his mind elsewhere. No matter how hard he tried to push it away, the image of Aurora's tear-streaked face lingered in his thoughts...