9 CHAPTER 8

Lucian was drinking with his best friend Garrick when Jewel called and told him that Aurora had been gone for the whole day and they couldn't find her. He stopped immediately and rushed back to his parents' house only to find his mother seated and looking not so well.

'What really happened?'

'Please forgive me. It was my fault. I didn't know she would take it so badly,' his mother murmured.

'What did you do?' he asked her and saw her crying.

His mother began to tell him what happened after he left. Aurora's birth mother was his Aunt June, his mother's youngest sister. His mother told Aurora all about it and she just left. They tried to look for her but she was nowhere to be found. There was no road in the direction that she went at all.

'We had a huge fight in the morning and you added that to it, mother what were you thinking? If something happens to her, I will not forgive you,' he meant every word.

It all made sense now. She approached his family for a reason but not a bad one. She just wanted to know about her parents something he would have done if he was raised somewhere else. Victor called to tell him about the results of what he had asked him to find. He began to read through the document Victor had sent and Aurora didn't lie. There was really a shooting and a man died terribly but when the police got there, there was no evidence. The suspects, Aurora, the gun and the bullets were not there. No one was arrested despite it being a murder case.

Aurora was admitted to a hospital where she was put in a comma for a month and during that process she indeed lost her baby and her womb was removed. That kind of information was hard to get but the people he hired had other ways to make people talk. She didn't lie, in fact it was a painful memory and he just jolted away from her when she needed him the most. When she was hurt like that, his mother just had to tell her that her sister was her mother. That made them relatives which were a huge blow to her. He had to find her but where exactly would he find her?

He remembered the day she left his villa and walked by herself at night in the road. He had a feeling that she was stronger than anyone else he had ever seen.

'I will go and look for her,' he said.

'Where would you find her? Everyone has been searching for her for the whole day,' his mother said.

'I know her a bit better than anyone else. If I don't come back in two hours then send more help,' he said and began to follow where Aurora was last seen going.

He had walked for about thirty minutes and yet he hadn't found anything yet. He suddenly heard a twitch sound and he looked around and saw that there was a tiny road, so he followed it deep into the forest. If she was in the forest then she was really crazy. He began to call out her name but there was no response. He was in the forest for more thirty minutes when he saw a cave. The entrance was a bit funny, it could collapse if you make a mistake and there was a bit of blood there. So he carefully widened the entrance and allowed himself to enter inside without causing any more damage to the cave. He switched the phone torch on and began to look around and there was still no sign of her. He heard the sound of water flowing and he guessed that there might be a stream ahead, so he followed it. When he arrived he saw her lying down about one meter from the stream. Her eyes were closed and she was freezing. She was hurt but she had bandaged herself well as if she was a professional. She was a survivor but why didn't she return back home? He rushed towards her and shook her. Aurora slightly opened her eyes.

'I must be dreaming. I guess I really love you now that I'm seeing you every time,' she murmured and reached out her hand to touch his face.

Those words hit him hard. She had always said how much she hated him and not even a day she ever confessed her love to him.

'Aurora open your eyes, we have to go home,' he said and she opened her eyes wide open and looked at him as if she was seeing a ghost.

'How did you find me?'

'Let's just say after all the time we spent together, I'm figuring you out bit by bit,' he said with a smile.

'I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving,' she yelled.

'You will die if I leave you here alone Aurora.'

'I don't care. It's not like anybody cares anyway. Did I do something wrong to you? Why should you all treat me this way?' she yelled tears running down those sweet cheeks.

He didn't like seeing her cry and he wasn't going to keep her in this cave. So without answering her he scooped her up and carried her while she kicked him so hard. He would bear some wounds as long he took her back home. He carefully exited the cave while he carried her. Along the way Aurora got tired of crying and she slept. Lucian met more people who were coming to look for him and Aurora. They helped him to carry Aurora back to the mansion. The doctor was called to look at Aurora.

'Is she okay doctor?'

'I'm surprised. If she was just an ordinary person she would have died but her body seems to be used to this kind of conditions. She just needs to sleep and she will be okay.'

'What does that mean doctor?'

'Look closely at her. Beneath all those tattoos there are grave scars. She had been hurt or maybe abused but she hid the scars under the tattoos. She is a strong girl, she can survive anywhere,' the doctor said.

'That's terrible. Can you guess what hurt her?'

'Most of her scars were at least a decade old. The scars are a bit sharp and deep, probably a knife or something like that. Like I said she is strong. Just keep watch on her and make sure she doesn't do anything again,' the doctor said and left.

He looked at her and saw how peacefully she slept. Why didn't she tell anyone about all these grievances?

'I'm sorry Lucian, I didn't know it would be this way,' his mother apologized again.

'It's okay. It wasn't your fault. You were just trying to help her,' he said.

The wedding was still a few days ago. What will he do? Will he still marry his cousin? Will they stop the wedding and announce her relation towards his family? Everything was just too much he needed to be alone. He left the room and went to the bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. His dad found him drinking and poured himself a glass too.

'I understand that you are hurt but in the end there should be a solution to all this and you must make a decision,' he said.

'It's difficult dad,' he said.

'It's not at all. Only the few of us knows who she is really now. So it's either you go along with the wedding or you cancel it.'

'I don't think I can cancel it,' he told his dad the truth.

'And why is that?'

'I love her dad. I know it's crazy at the moment but being without her is just something I can't do.'

'You want to be with her even when she is your cousin?'

'Yes even if she is my cousin. It's too late to turn back the time now. I will continue with the wedding,' he said.

'Since you have made that decision you should be ready to face the obstacles that lie ahead. Not everyone will think the way you do. Just make sure you will be able to protect yourself and those that you love when that happens,' his father said and left.

Aurora might not be able to give him a child, she might be his cousin but still she was the same woman who captured his heart. The same young woman who made his blood boil, his heart race and made his day brighter and made him want to go back home. He was going to marry her and keep her by his side. Give her a better life and make her forget about all the nasty things that happened to her while she was growing up.

'Dad, Aurora is awake!' Jewel called out as she entered the bar.

He stood up immediately and ran to his room where Aurora was really wide awake.

His mother left the room as soon as he got inside. Jewel disappeared too leaving just the two of them.

'I'm sorry I lied to you,' she said.

'What did you lie about?' he asked as if he wasn't aware of the truth.

'I came into your lives for my own personal reasons. I'm sorry that I used you and I'm sorry that this will have to stop.'

'Who are you to make all the decisions yourself?' he asked furiously.

'I thought this will be a lie but it wasn't. I'm your cousin and it hurts me. After everything we did and it turned out to be this. I just can't stand it. I will go back to Queensland,' she said crying.

Lucian was not going to let her go. He hugged her so tightly and told her, 'I will never let you go Aurora. I don't give a shit whether you are my cousin or not. You love me so why would abandon me and Jewel?'

'I just can't.'

'Are you going back on your words now?'

'Lucian I ...' he cut her, he didn't want to hear any excuses from her. He kissed her; he had missed her so much. She was fighting him but she became docile after a while. They kissed each other for a while until he stopped the kiss and looked at her.

'You still want to leave me even after this?'

'I love you okay, so much it hurts but you don't know me. What I have done and what I may do. I don't want to hurt you Lucian.'

'You can never hurt me Aurora. You and me will get married as planned,' he said brushing his finger tips on her cheeks.

'You still want me even when I can't give you children?'

'We have Jewel already. She is enough don't you think?' he said it as a joke and saw her smiling.

'She will kill you if she hears that.'

'She won't do that. You should smile more often.'

'I will do that from now on,' she said and let herself fall into his embrace.

'I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't supposed to be harsh at you.'

'I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said it in that way,' she said her eyes now looking at him.

'I'm glad that you are okay now.'

'I'm glad that you have found me. Can you hold me?' she asked and somehow he knew what his little nymph wanted. His little nymph was back and he couldn't wait to remind her of exactly what she was getting into.

'I thought you will never ask,' he said laying her back on the bed. Her eyes were filled with the tears and it looked sweet. He kissed those tears away from her eyes first before making his way to her nose, the corner of her lips and finally captured her lips; his actions promising her exactly what she wanted. He was going to give her the world, make her happy and make sure she forgets everything and began a brand new life.

...

Jewel had never felt bad like the way she was at the moment. From the moment Rora fainted and disappeared she had been worried. She was at school when she heard about what happened. If she hadn't done tricks for her dad to be in soup and forced to marry then all this wouldn't have happened. She heard about how Rora approached her in order to learn more about her real mother. As much as it was Rora's fault she was also to blame. Even when she saved her back then she didn't want to come but she forced her, every time it was her clinging onto Rora and was happy when her dad chose her. And now she was her aunt who was supposed to be her step mother. What kind of joke was this really?

She knew how deep the feelings were between her dad and aunt now. Separating them would just be a huge blow to them and that shouldn't happen. Since no one knows about her real identity she might as well just marry her dad and forget that she is Aunt June's daughter. She had seen a lot of movies were cousins marry each other. She just didn't know what would happen in the future but she just prayed that no one will get hurt.

The next few days Jewel never said a word about what had happened and learnt that the wedding was still on which was a huge relief. Her grandma took her and her friends for shopping. They were supposed to buy dresses for the wedding. It took them four hours to find the perfect dresses. Shopping with grandma was surely different than when she was with Rora. The time she went shopping with Rora, they didn't take a lot of time. Rora was someone who just didn't want to take all her time looking at things continuously. Once she likes something she would just take I and it was fun. Her grandma on the other hand wanted total perfection since her son and niece were getting married. It was still confusing but in a lovely way.

Jewel and her friends ended up picking up red dresses which were bright and lovely. Hers since she was the maid of honor was different from her friends which made her feel special. After shopping grandma treated the three of them with pizza and drinks and after their meal grandma took them home. Jewel took her friends to her room in her grandparents' house since that's where she was staying at the moment. Grandma decided to give her dad and Rora some privacy so she moved back with her grandma.

The maids brought some drinks and snacks for them to have while they talked.

'So it's really happening?' Wendy asked.

'Yes it is and I can't wait,' Jewel replied excitedly.

'You really don't mind that your dad will be marrying someone who is six years older than you? I mean she will be your new mom,' Anna said.

'I know exactly what you are talking about but its fine as long as my dad is happy and married. I can't stand the sight of all his previous women. They made me sick to the bone. But Rora she is different, I have a feeling she will beat anyone who messes up with her and we will be free again,' Jewel told her friends.

'I can't believe that's the reason you like her so much.'

'Do you remember how she beat that guy the other day? I can imagine her pulling those women's hair. It will be a good sight.'

'You are really nuts!' Anna said laughing.

'Do you know what she did recently?'

'Tell us.'

'My mother happened to bump into her and she threw coffee on her, can you believe it?'

'You mean they have met already?'

'They did but my mom lost the round even when she was the one who threw the coffee on her. She called me and said a lot of bad things about Rora but that's who she is,' Jewel said.

'It's going to be fun. I think I will do some sleepovers at your house sometime soon,' Wendy said.

'You are welcome.'

Talking with her friends made her forget a lot and just made her feel like any other normal girl out there. What would be Aurora be doing now? There were two days left before the wedding. The wedding was being held on a Saturday which means Rora would be home alone since her dad had work to do. She misses her already but patience always pays.