Out Of Reach

The room remained in stunned silence as all eyes turned toward Aurora.

She stood, calm and collected, while a few whispers rippled through the audience.

Lucas stood frozen, his mind racing.

Twelve million? The enormity of her bid, her confidence, the way she handled herself—it all gnawed at him.

Julia shifted beside him, her voice trembling as she muttered, "She's made a spectacle of herself."

Lucas didn't respond. His gaze remained locked on Aurora, his heart pounding.

He had never imagined she could pull off something like this. She had always been ambitious, but this... this was something else entirely.

Aurora, ignoring the murmurs and stares, gracefully made her way toward the stage to finalize her purchase.

Hades followed closely, a proud smirk on his face as if he'd won the prize himself.

Lucas clenched his fists. He couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't just about the jewel—it was a statement, a direct challenge to him.

As Aurora approached the auctioneer to sign the paperwork, she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Lucas's.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still. There was no smug smile on her face, no sign of triumph—just a calm, knowing look that pierced through Lucas, leaving him even more unsettled.

Julia leaned in, her voice laced with disdain. "What is she trying to prove?"

Lucas didn't answer. He was no longer thinking about the Crystal Moon or the auction. His thoughts were consumed by Aurora—what she had become, the confidence she exuded, and the unfamiliar man at her side.

As Aurora finished her transaction and turned to leave with Hades, Lucas moved abruptly, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Aurora," he called out, his voice cutting through the crowd. Everyone turned to watch, sensing the tension between them.

Aurora paused, her back still to him.

Slowly, she turned, her expression unreadable. "Yes, Lucas?"

His throat tightened. He had no clear words, no plan, just a surge of emotion he could barely control. "Why... why did you do it? Twelve million? What's your game?"

Aurora's gaze softened slightly, and for a fleeting second, Lucas thought he saw a flicker of the woman he used to know—the one he had loved.

She tilted her head, her voice cool but not unkind. "No game, Lucas. I did what I had to do."

Aurora's gaze softened slightly, but then her eyes hardened with confidence. The flicker of familiarity in her eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"You know, Lucas," she said, her voice calm but laced with an edge of finality, "since you seem incapable of dealing with the reality of our divorce, I've decided to let my lawyer finalize everything."

Lucas blinked, caught off guard by her sudden shift. "What are you talking about?"

Aurora didn't falter, her tone as steady as before. "You'll be receiving the finalized copies of the divorce papers soon. It's over, Lucas. Officially."

His heart sank, a knot forming in his stomach as the weight of her words hit him. She didn't wait for him to respond.

Instead, she turned and walked out of the auction hall, Hades by her side, leaving Lucas standing in stunned silence.

The crowd around him was still, watching the scene unfold, but Lucas didn't notice them.

He felt a sudden hollowness in his chest, a void he hadn't realized existed until now.

The finality of it all. Aurora was gone—really gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Lucas stood there, staring after Aurora as she disappeared through the doors with Hades beside her.

The frustration and confusion building in his chest were too much to contain.

He turned abruptly to Amos, his voice tense.

"Who the hell is that man? The one who's always staying so close to her."

Amos, who had been watching the exchange with growing unease, cleared his throat and glanced cautiously at Lucas. "That's Hades. He's the son of the Alpha of Alphas."

Lucas froze, his eyes widening. "Hades?" he repeated, doubt colouring his voice.

The Alpha of Alphas' son?

That realization made everything worse—Aurora wasn't just with any man, but with someone of significant power and status.

Before Lucas could process it, Julia stepped forward, her voice dripping with contempt.

"You see what I said about her?" she sneered, her lips curling. "A whore who's only after men for their wealth and power. She was probably planning this all along."

Lucas's eyes flicked to Julia, his jaw tightening at her words. His annoyance flared into anger. He hated the way she spoke about Aurora. He hated that she was trying to reduce the woman he once loved into something so shallow, so degrading.

"Enough, Julia," he snapped, his voice sharper than he intended. "That's not what's happening."

Julia flinched, startled by the harshness in his tone, but she quickly recovered, crossing her arms in defiance. "Oh, really? Then what is happening, Lucas? Because it sure looks like she's moved on to someone more powerful than you. She's playing the same game, just with a bigger prize."

Lucas glared at her, his frustration mounting. "I said, enough," he repeated, his voice low and dangerous. His eyes burned with anger, and though part of him knew Julia was only trying to get a rise out of him, it didn't stop the irritation from boiling over.

Julia fell silent, though her eyes flashed with bitterness.

Lucas, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on him, turned his back on her, his gaze drifting back to the door where Aurora had left.

The feeling of helplessness settled in his gut.

She had moved on—moved on with someone more powerful, more influential—and no amount of wealth or status he had would bring her back.

And worse, she was about to finalize their divorce, putting an end to whatever remained between them.

The room felt suffocating. Lucas's mind was racing, his chest tight as if the air had been sucked from his lungs.

Aurora had always been bold, but this… her finality, her decisiveness—it was too much for him to take in. She was out of his reach now, both emotionally and legally, and there was nothing he could do to reverse it.

"Lucas, don't tell me you're still hung up on her," Julia muttered with a roll of her eyes, clearly unimpressed with his silence. "She's playing you, flaunting that Alpha's son like a prize. You can't seriously be letting her get to you like this."

But Lucas barely heard her. His thoughts were stuck on Aurora's calm, unbothered expression when she had walked out with Hades. The twelve million bid. The divorce papers. Everything was spinning out of his control.

"I told you," Julia pressed, her tone turning sharper. "She's nothing but trouble, a gold digger—"

"Shut up, Julia," Lucas said through gritted teeth, the anger inside him snapping.

Julia blinked, momentarily taken aback by his fury, but she quickly composed herself, her face hardening in response. "Fine," she spat, "keep defending her. See where that gets you when she takes everything and leaves you with nothing."

Lucas didn't respond. His focus had already shifted away from Julia's bitter words, back to the void Aurora had left in her wake.

His pulse thundered in his ears, and for the first time, he truly realized that she wasn't coming back. This was real.

Amos cleared his throat beside him, his voice cautious. "Sir, maybe it's time to accept it. She's moving on with someone else…"

Amos's words hung in the air, deliberate and calculated. He shifted uneasily beside Lucas, knowing full well that his comment could stir emotions. But deep down, Amos wasn't just trying to be practical—his motivations were more self-serving than that.

Over the past few days, Julia had taken a keen interest in Amos, slipping him gifts under the table—large sums of money that far exceeded anything Aurora had ever offered him during her marriage to Lucas.

Julia was generous, especially when it came to swaying people to her side, and Amos had slowly but surely started to lean in her direction.

He glanced at Julia, who stood with her arms crossed and an impatient scowl on her face.

She had made it clear that Aurora's downfall was the priority, and the idea that Aurora might now be romantically involved with someone as powerful as Hades only made Amos's situation more precarious.

If Aurora moved up in the world with Hades, it could leave Julia, and by extension, Amos, on the losing side.

Lucas, oblivious to the shifting dynamics around him, clenched his jaw, his focus still on the door where Aurora had disappeared.

He didn't realize that Amos's words weren't just advice—they were part of a strategy, a subtle nudge to steer him away from clinging to the hope of reconciliation with Aurora.

After all, if Aurora really was with Hades, she had upgraded in every possible way, and Amos wasn't about to be caught on the wrong side of that shift.

"Maybe it's time to accept it," Amos repeated, his tone edging toward something more final, "She's moving on with someone else. Someone… powerful."

Lucas glanced at him, a flash of confusion in his eyes as if trying to grasp Amos's sudden insistence. "What are you talking about?"

Amos met his gaze steadily, though inside, he was calculating.

He had to keep Julia happy—she was, after all, his new benefactor—and the more he pushed Lucas toward letting Aurora go, the better it would be for both of them. Julia had made sure of that.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Amos continued, leaning in slightly, as though sharing a secret. "Aurora and Hades. You saw them together. She's not coming back, sir. She's moved on to bigger things." His words were laced with just enough emphasis to leave no doubt about his meaning.

Lucas looked torn, his emotions clearly warring within him. But the seed had been planted. Amos could see the doubt flickering in his eyes, the uncertainty starting to creep in. That was all he needed.

Julia, noticing Lucas's hesitation, smiled faintly, her earlier irritation fading as she realized Amos was doing exactly what she wanted.

She had invested in him for a reason, and now, with Lucas shaky on the edge, it seemed like her gamble was paying off.

Lucas, meanwhile, stared into the distance, struggling to process everything—the auction, Aurora, and now, the creeping thought that maybe Amos was right.

Aurora had always been determined, but if she had found someone like Hades, someone with immense power and wealth, what hope did he have of ever winning her back?