Selene put the shoes back in the box and smiled at him, "Fine. I'll forgive you this one time. I trust you've learned your lesson?" She asked with a smug smile, thinking she's the one who won.

Damian cracked out an amused chuckle, he took a sip of his wine and smiled back at her, lifting his glass, "I sure have."

She swept back a strand of her hair and leaned on the table, "You know... I have an interesting way to thank you for this gift."

His eyebrows raised slightly, "An interesting way?"

She only smiled.

__

A few minutes later. At a 5 star hotel penthouse not that far from the restaurant. The door burst open with Damian and Selene kissing each other aggressively. Selene was in the lead, she undid his tie and began to unbutton his sleeve.

Damian broke the kiss and looked at her, "Is this the interesting way of thanking me?"

She breathed heavily as she continued with unbuttoning, "Yes. Why do you not want this?" Her eyes already indicated that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Victor's words flashed in Damian's head, "Treat her well..." He bit his lips and closed his eyes, "Fine, Father. I'll do what you want." He said inwardly and unzipped her dress from the front, he then pulled her in for a kiss and carried her to the bed. After landing roughly on the bed, he continued to kiss her and pull on her dress until it was no longer in the way.

__

Aurora finished the final piece of chicken and sat back. She let out a sigh of satisfaction after chugging down a whole glass of freshly-made orange juice. She laughed at herself when she looked at the bucket that now contained only leftover bones. She couldn't help but feel liberated.

Back when she was at the Blackwood mansion, she always tried to keep an image. She was never allowed to be herself whenever Victor was around. Aurora was not devoid of elegance, she was rich in charm and was almost as charismatic as Damian. However, she wanted to be free every once in a while and have as much fun as she wanted but Victor would always call her free-spirited side "Careless", "image-tarnishing" and "not ladylike"

She sighed, "None of that anymore, Victor Blackwood. I live by my own rules now."

She went to bed that night feeling liberated and excited for what the next day would bring.

__

Her eyes slowly opened. She looked at the wall clock, 10am on the dot. The first thing she did was get up and did a stretching exercise that she read about in the wellness and nutritional manual.

After she was done, she spread the curtains and let the sunlight hit her, she inhaled while closing her eyes to soak it all in.

Aurora had a lot of activities for the day; She needed to register with a hospital closest to her for maternity care. Afterwards, she'd reach out to Jaxton Reid. Not to hire him as her business consultant, but to apply to be a business consultant.

Aurora worked in marketing before, despite her status favouring her at work, she still did her job really well and her colleagues loved her... too bad all of them turned out to be back-stabbing traitors who attended Damian and Selene's secret engagement party. She quit by mail immediately after leaving the party that evening.

Her last activity for the day depended on if she got the job as a consultant or not. She wanted to buy a car, one way less expensive than the last one, in good condition and capable of getting her to work, the hospital, to get groceries and run other errands.

She felt proud of herself after scribbling the activities on her notepad, "I can do this." She told herself. After wishing Maywell a great day through text, she headed to the bathroom.

__

Dubai

Damian watched the setting sun from the hotel balcony. He closed his eyes and allowed the evening breeze to swirl around him.

Selene was inside, asleep against the silk sheets after an exhausting round of "passion". Even after sharing a bed with her, Damian felt a recognizable sense of emptiness gnawing at him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, cutting through the silence. He glanced at the screen, and the name flashing across it made his expression harden.

Victor Blackwood.

Damian took a breath and answered. "Father."

"How's the honeymoon?" Victor's deep voice held its usual authority.

"Everything's fine," Damian replied smoothly, "Selene is happy. I was thinking of cutting the trip short, though. Returning the day after tomorrow."

There was a slight pause on the other end before Victor spoke again. "And have you spoken to Selene about this?"

Damian's fingers drummed against the railing. "Not yet, but-"

"Then don't make decisions without consulting your wife first," Victor cut in. His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "She's the daughter of the Davenport family, Damian. She sacrificed her reputation to marry you, a divorcee, after that lowlife wench left. The least you can do is make sure she's satisfied."

Damian clenched his jaw. Sacrificed? It almost made him laugh. Selene had gotten exactly what she wanted. And as for Aurora...

He exhaled through his nose. "If she's against it, I'll stay."

"Good." Victor's tone softened slightly. "This marriage is important for both families. You've done well so far, don't ruin it."

The call ended, leaving Damian standing there, the weight of expectations pressing down on him.

__

Aurora stepped out of the hospital, the cool breeze brushing against her skin as she took a deep breath. Registering for maternity care had been a big step,one that made everything feel even more real.

She brought out her notepad and checked it out. The next on her list was to meet up with Jaxon Reid. She took a deep breath and dialed his number. It rang for a bit and he picked up.

"This is Jaxon." His confident voice echoed

"Mr. Reid, it's Aurora Sinclair," she said, keeping her voice steady.

"Aurora," he repeated, as if testing the way her name sounded on his lips. "I was wondering when you'd call."

"I'd like to meet up. There's something I want to discuss."

"Right now?"

"Yes, is that okay?" She asked in consideration.

Jaxon remained silent for a bit before he responded. "Of course, I'm always available for business."

Aurora sighed in relief.

"There's a café downtown. The Grand Bean. Do you know it?" Jaxon asked.

Aurora nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I do." She had passed by the café on her way to the hospital.

"Great. Meet me there in thirty minutes."

"Alright. See you soon."

She ended the call, gripping the phone tightly for a second before slipping it back into her bag.

This was it. The first step toward creating a new life,one where she didn't have to depend on anyone.

Jaxon stared wide-eyed at Aurora, "Uhmm, could you please say that again?"

Without faltering, Aurora repeated, "I'm applying to be a business consultant."

Jaxon was perplexed, it was his first time seeing someone apply for the job straight up, her confidence kept him interested. He leaned forward and asked with an amazed smile lingering on his lips, "What made you think it was that easy to apply?"

"I never said it was," Aurora firmly answered, "I am just confident that having me work with you and your team will boost your ratings."

He chuckled, "You really are an interesting woman, aren't you? No one has ever done this before."

Aurora brought out a file envelope from her bag and handed it to him, "Here are my credentials to prove that I'm perfect for the job."

Jaxon sighed, "I guess it can't be helped." He took the files from her and opened it, "Even if I do find your credentials impressive, I don't exactly have the power to give you the job."

Aurora watched in silence and he flipped through the files. Her facial expression emitted confidence, however, she was feeling a bit uneasy on the inside. She never thought she'd be this desperate to get a positive review from someone regarding her work.

Jaxon blinked multiple times, his brows furrowed as he whipped his head towards her, "Blackwood? As in the Aurora Blackwood? Damian Blackwood's wife? Hold on..." He leaned on the table and asked in a low voice, "Isn't there a rumor that he got married recently? Does that mean...?"

"It was on the damn news. It's no rumor."

His eyes widened slightly, "And you're okay with that?"

She looked away, her hands tightening on each other, "So what if I am? I'm done with that family anyways."

Jaxon let out a soft gasp. He had watched several events hosted by Blackwood enterprises on live television before, and every few minutes, his eyes would dart towards the fine lady that always sat next to Damian Blackwood. But on most occasions, he wouldn't be able to find her simply because she didn't attend.

Blackwood enterprises was a really popular and powerful company after all, of course anybody associated with them would be easily recognizable. But Aurora was an exception, she attended only a few social events with the Blackwoods and even when she did, her face would be heavy with makeup because Victor preferred it that way. She knew why, of course. So that she wouldn't be recognizable outside these events by reporters, so they wouldn't approach her and ask any sensitive questions. Aurora didn't know whether to be happy or angry about it, while she liked the peace of being able to mix in with the public, she still would've been able to handle the attention.

Looking back, there were a lot of signs leading up to the separation of her and Damian which indicated that the Blackwoods had been planning it for quite a while. She scoffed and looked back at Jaxon, "Damian Blackwood and I are no longer married. I am not tied to Blackwood enterprises anymore or anyone else in connection with them. So I would appreciate it if you left out the part about me being Damian's former wife when putting in a good word for me to your boss."

Jaxon put the files down and let out a soft laugh, "Oh? And what makes you think that I'd put in a good word for you?"

Aurora calmly took a sip of her drink and smiled, "Because you've seen my work and you're impressed by it. And then decided to take a proper look at my name because you skipped that part at the beginning thinking it was a waste of time. You almost didn't believe that I'd be this qualified but those files proved you wrong."

Jaxon remained silent for a bit, "I think you're the fortune teller here, Ms Sinclair." (Reference to chapter 5 where Aurora first called him a fortune teller) He leaned back, "You're right, you do have great work credit. But my boss will have to know your background to see if you earned those credits genuinely or with your former status."

Aurora bit her lips, at the end of the day, the Blackwood name still had her on a chokehold. It would take a lot of convincing and close observation for them to believe that she was indeed a hard worker. She huffed, running low on options, she finally agreed. "Very well, do your investigation."

Jaxon smiled, "Great. You'll hear from me in 3 days. I'll be taking these with me, if you don't mind." He tapped on the files and Aurora nodded in agreement, they were photocopies anyways.

"Now that business is out of the way, why don't we talk more comfortably now?" He asked with a calm smile, his voice and expression now softer. "Can I call you Aurora?"

She took a deep breath, maybe small talk wouldn't be a bad thing. The only person she had been talking to was Maywell, thank goodness for that or her descent into madness would've been brutal, having someone else around would be good for her, mentally. "Sure. You can call me Aurora."

His eyes brightened up so much that Aurora almost noticed it, "Great, so...divorce, huh? Must've been hard."

"It wasn't that hard. All we did was sign a few papers." She answered with a shrug, trying her best to play it off but Jaxon wasn't having it, however, he didn't push further. He already observed that Aurora was a reserved person, she didn't look like the type to converse without filter after just meeting a person twice, especially if those meetings were initially for business purposes. He only laughed at her answer and asked a question, "Tell me, what do you plan to do with this newfound freedom of yours?"

Aurora smiled, she took a quick glance at her own stomach and answered, "Satisfy a lot of cravings. Oh, I've always wanted to..." As she talked about the activities she'd like to try in the city, Jaxon's smile involuntarily began to widen.

"Aurora Sinclair..." He called in his head, "So Damian Blackwood actually let someone like her go? Someone this beautiful? Just look at her, she's so angelic. A little on the tough and no-no sense side but still angelic. Hell, if she were mine, I'd never do anything to make her look at anyone else." He blinked and tilted his head, "If she were...mine." His heart couldn't help but beat in a whole new way.

__

Dubai.

Damian and Selene were curled up on the plush couch in their luxury suite, watching a late-night movie. The massive TV cast a soft glow over the dimly lit room, and the sound of crashing waves outside their balcony blended with the movie's background music.

Selene rested her head against Damian's shoulder, lazily feeding him popcorn every now and then, even though he wasn't exactly in the mood. He played along, letting her press a piece to his lips as he absentmindedly chewed, his mind elsewhere. He was silently rehearsing how he would bring up the idea of cutting their honeymoon short. He knew she wouldn't like it, but he needed to get back. The longer he stayed away, the more restless he felt...and the more the whereabouts of Aurora became more of a mystery.

But before he could even open his mouth, Selene suddenly spoke. "Honey, should we just go home tomorrow?"

Damian blinked, turning to look at her. "What?"

__

"Why do you want to go home tomorrow?" Damian asked, he masked his excitement with curiosity really well as he took her hand. She shrugged, "Nothing really, Dubai is pretty boring. We should've gone to Japan instead."

Damian raised an eyebrow, he searched her eyes for a hidden reason but he couldn't find any. On one hand he was relieved that she just found Dubai boring, and on the other hand, he found himself a little disappointed that she just found Dubai a little boring. He wondered if anything else ever went on inside Selene's head other than materialism. Funny how things turned out but who cares? As long as it worked in his favor in the end.

He then pulled her in for a warm embrace, "You're right, it's indeed really boring here. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll pack our bags after and we'll leave tomorrow. Sounds good?"

Selene groaned softly in his arms, "We'll pack our bags tomorrow. How about we just make this moment count?" She looked up at him seductively, "I wanna do it again..."

Damian sighed, a little smirk on his lips. He then shifted their positions on the huge couch. Selene was now underneath with him hovering on top of her. His strong hands brushing gently on her skin, "Are you sure?" He asked in a low voice,his sharp eyes lingering on her nightgown, "You might wake up late tomorrow."

Her heart skipped several beats at his words, she spread her lips to say something but her words failed her, all she did was swallow and nod. He leaned down and kissed her violently, aggressively. Selene didn't complain because it was just the way she liked it, her hands found his neck and pulled him closer.

The night stretched on in a blur of heated touches and soft moans. Selene surrendered completely to him, her breathless gasps filling the room. Damian took control, his grip firm yet teasing, his lips exploring every inch of her. She responded eagerly, clinging to him, savoring every rough kiss, every possessive movement.

When it was over, she laid sprawled against his chest, her fingers lazily tracing his exposed chest. She sighed in satisfaction, pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone.

"You're in a good mood tonight," she murmured, smirking up at him.

Damian exhaled, he kept stroking her blonde hair in a rhythmic manner, then he asked for the sake of confirmation, "You really don't mind leaving tomorrow?"

She lifted herself onto her elbows, watching his expression carefully. "Why? You weren't expecting me to say it?"

"Not at all." Damian admitted, turning to his side.

Selene shrugged, tracing circles on his chest. "I got what I wanted, Damian. A ring on my finger. Your name attached to mine." She smirked, leaning in to kiss his jaw. "So yeah, I wanna go home early and properly start being your wife, that's way more fun. But don't think for a second that I don't know where your mind has been all this time."

Damian's body stiffened for a fraction of a second, but she caught it.

She laughed, rolling onto her back. "I'm not blind, honey. Every time you think I'm not looking, your mind is somewhere else." She turned her head to look at him. "Tell me, Damian, are you still thinking about her?"

His jaw clenched. "Go to sleep, Selene."

Selene smirked in satisfaction, rolling onto her side and closing her eyes. "Sweet dreams, darling."

Damian didn't sleep for a long time. He laid awake, staring at the ceiling, his mind drifting back to a woman he had tried so hard to erase from his thoughts. But no matter how much he pushed, no matter how hard he tried...Aurora's face still haunted him.

__

Aurora paced around the house. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It had been 3 days since she spoke with Jaxon and she was expecting to hear from him today. But the day was almost over, she looked at the wall clock, a little after 7pm and she was still yet to hear from him.

Her phone rang, but it was Maywell instead. She sighed, who else was it going to be? Aurora didn't have anyone else in her contacts that she reached out to regularly other than Maywell. "Hello?"

"You don't sound good." Maywell flatly remarked, "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not. I'm fine, my babies are fine." Aurora lightly rubbed her stomach with a smile which faded almost immediately, Jaxon still hadn't called her. She explained to Maywell that she applied for a job and was still yet to hear the company's feedback.

"Oh, I see. Don't worry about it, I'm sure they're taking this long because they're preparing a special place for you." Maywell's words made Aurora laugh, this eased up her mind a little. She thanked Maywell for calling and they wished each other a good night.

A few minutes after putting her phone down, the doorbell rang, her heartbeat quickened, could it be Jaxon? She made her way to the door and she opened it.

She was correct. It was Jaxon. His usual friendly smile plastered on his face. She couldn't help but smile as well. "It's you." She whispered.

"It's me." His calm deep voice echoed.

"Well? What's the update? Did you do your research? Am I qualified for the job or not?" She asked hastily. This made him laugh, "Calm down, Aurora. I believe you have to invite guests into your home if you wanna get information out of them."

Aurora frowned, raising one of her eyebrows, "Seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes and moved so he could come in. "Thank you." He said with a cheerful smile.

After waiting for him to sit and get comfortable on the couch, she crossed her arms, "Well? Talk."

He cleared his throat, "Well..."

Aurora's ears perked up.

He continued, "I believe it's customary for guests to receive a beverage before any matter is discussed."

Aurora's face fell, "I didn't make it, did I? You're just here to let me down easy."

Before Jaxon could respond, she stormed off to the kitchen and came back with a can of cold drink, she tossed it at him, "Here's your beverage. Now get out." She said firmly.

Jaxon caught the drink effortlessly and stood up, "Aurora. Listen-"

"Just go away!" She yelled.

Jaxon sighed, he placed the drink down on the table and walked up to her. He placed both hands on her shoulders and made her look at him, "My boss loved it, alright? He personally did his research and found out that you earned your work credits fair and square, so he'd be more than happy to have you come in for a face to face interview tomorrow before he officially hires you, okay? So calm down."

Aurora stiffened, her eyes shining brightly, from the tears that were clouding her eyes, "Really? I'm qualified for the job?"