The day had finally arrived—Anne Carvil, Aurora's elder sister, was coming home. The mansion was filled with her friends, each of them lurking, waiting for the moment they could watch Aurora crumble. Their whispers carried a cruel certainty, as they could barely contain their amusement.
"Anne will finally be with her beloved," someone muttered, a taunting reminder that the past was coming back to claim what was hers.
"Just thinking about that clueless, low-life Aurora all over Tim disgusts me," another sneered. "She blackmailed him into getting engaged to her."
"Do you think Tim will actually accept the breakup? I've seen the way he looks at her. For a split second, there's devotion."
"It's all an act. If he really cared, he wouldn't have kicked her out that night," a third voice scoffed. "How humiliating."
Aurora clenched her fists, holding back the tears burning behind her eyes. Their laughter rang through the room, each chuckle slicing through her like a blade.
They weren't wrong. But they weren't entirely right either.
What no one knew was that she wasn't just Tim's fiancée—she was already his wife. The world simply believed they were still engaged because Tim didn't want anyone to know the truth. Only family knew about their marriage and no one had nerves to make a sound.
A decade. Ten years of her life given to him. She had sacrificed, endured, and played the bigger person at every turn. And in the end, none of it mattered. Because he had fallen in love with her sister.
When Anne ran away a night to her wedding three years ago, Aurora had thought the wait would be over. She was overjoyed when she became the sudden bride. Thinking Tim would finally see her.
A suffocating weight settled in her chest, making it impossible to breathe.
"Aurora, why are you standing there?"
She turned, snapping out of her thoughts, and met Catherine's sharp gaze. Tim's mother. The woman who had never hidden her disapproval, who had made it her mission to make Aurora's life miserable in whatever way she could.
Without another word, Catherine walked past her into the private hall where the meeting was being held. Away from the judgmental eyes. Away from the laughter.
Aurora had no choice but to follow.
Inside, a few people offered her polite nods, while others barely masked their smug satisfaction. She returned their gestures with a fake smile and took a seat.
Almost immediately, her stepfather clapped his hands together, looking pleased. "Tim, you've finally decided to show up. We've been waiting."
Aurora's heart stopped.
She hadn't expected him to be here. Just her sister.
"We had a few things to fix," Tim said, his voice deep, steady—too steady.
Her stomach twisted painfully. We?
Before she could process the meaning behind his words, another voice—sweet, cheerful, and painfully familiar—cut through the room.
"Tim wanted to make sure I was comfortable before bringing me here. He didn't want to pressure me."
Aurora froze.
That voice.
Anne.
She didn't turn, she couldn't turn. The expressions around her told her everything she needed to know. The joy in Catherine's eyes, the satisfied smile on her stepfather's face—this was real.
Tim had brought Anne back.
"I'm glad you're both still emotionally intimate," Catherine mused, sarcasm dripping from her words.
The comment sliced through Aurora like a razor. Three years of marriage, and still, Catherine refused to acknowledge her.
The air in the room felt thick, suffocating.
"We shouldn't be discussing this here," Anne said lightly. "I mean, his wife is right here."
She sounded polite, but the underlying message was clear. She enjoyed Aurora's suffering.
"Don't do that," Catherine said, her eyes locking onto Aurora. "Aurora knows she was just a stand-in. Right, Aurora?"
Aurora finally turned.
And instantly, she hated herself for it.
She had missed him. How pathetic.
But the moment her gaze met his, she knew—she had been fooling herself all along. His expression was unreadable, cold. Indifferent. There was nothing left.
This was the man she had fought for. The one she had given everything to.
And now, there was a distance between them. They weren't so apart, but their mind and heart was. So vast, she wasn't sure if they had ever truly known each other at all.
Tim's blue eyes remained fixed on her, his sharp jawline clinched. Aurora forced herself to look at the woman beside him.
Standing 6'4 beside Anne, they looked so perfect together as a couple.
Anne. Beautiful, radiant, effortlessly perfect. The kind of perfection that had always overshadowed her. It was no wonder Tim had fallen for her.
Anne had done what Aurora never could—broken through his walls.
And Aurora? She had never been anything more than an obstacle.
"What are you doing here?" Tim's voice was sharp, cutting straight through her.
The words knocked the air from her lungs. After everything, that was the first thing he had to say to her?
No greeting. No explanation. Just that.
Beside him, Anne clung to his arm, as if claiming him completely.
Aurora forced herself to smile. "My stepfather invited me," she said simply. Then, shaking her head, "Beautiful." She added, using a finger to point at Anne's clinging hold.
Anne's expression twisted slightly before she turned to her father. "She isn't part of us. You know that."
Aurora rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Part of you? No, I'm not. But you should remember that my mother own 90% of the wealth that sustains you and your lifestyle,"
Anne turned red. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "That doesn't mean you belong here," she snapped, her voice trembling with barely contained fury.
Aurora stood up and took a slow step forward, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Maybe not," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "But I wonder how long you'll belong here once the truth comes out."
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Anne's father stiffened. "Aurora," he called warningly.
Aurora smiled. "Oh, don't worry," she murmured, turning toward the grand double doors. "I'll let you enjoy your little world… for now."
Aurora's eyes met Tim's blue ones. He didn't say a word, didn't react or move. It was as if he had also been waiting for this day to divorce her.
And that was it.
The final crack.
Aurora never knew a heart could break itself.
Without another word, she walked away, her movements steady despite the storm raging inside her.
She never looked back.
She was worth more than this humiliation.