Aurora's eyes were filled with tears. Tears of pain, as she remembered what today was.
It's been three years since she lost her baby girl. But she was married to a family that didn't particularly approve of her and a husband who was cold and indifferent.
As her mind drifted to her past, she remembered he once told her, 'Aurora, I don't like seeing tears in your eyes, they…irritate me. And it makes you look pathetic,' And hell! The last thing Aurora wanted was to scare the only man in her life. The only family she had now. Her cold husband.
She looks out the window, taming the gnawing ache in her heart. Her husband beside her didn't even remember three years ago that his daughter died. She died of cancer, but she waited long enough for her Daddy. Aurora called and called, but none of the calls were answered. She felt heartbroken for her daughter, but more devastated that Damain had moved on so fast from his own child.
Aurora cried in silence as she thought about that day three years ago. Mother's love they say is the ultimate, but what is a father's love called? Mirabelle was his blood.
A sob mistakenly escaped Aurora and she knew it was loud enough to attract Her husband's attention so she quickly took out a handkerchief from her small purse and dabbed the tears on her eyelids, with careful precision so as not to ruin her make-up.
"Aurora, are you okay?" Damian asked. His tone lacked compassion like the words he used.
"Yeah. I'm okay." Aurora lied. Thinking maybe he'd want to press harder, maybe then she could tell him how she was feeling but to her dismay, Damian went back to typing on his phone like he didn't just ask her a question.
Aurora felt a twinge of disappointment in her heart, this was the highest attention she'd gotten in the past three months. This is the closest she's been with her man except two weeks ago when he came back utterly drunk and demanded sex from Aurora.
Because she was also sex-starved and missed his delicate touches, she agreed to it. Aurora felt happy that maybe Damian had truly missed her and came to his senses but she was mortified by the frown on his face the next morning when Damian saw they'd slept today.
He'd snatched a robe and left the room, Aurora was confused and in pain when reality hit her. That Damian no longer loved her. But Aurora consoled her broken spirit with the hope that one day things would change and maybe she needed to work on herself. Maybe she was the problem.
They were going to an awards ceremony, her husband had been nominated as one of the most successful, innovative, self-made billionaires.
Aurora was happy for him, she truly was, but she missed the days he came home with a lazy smile, tugging on his tie as he looked for her to kiss her on the head. It felt like a fairytale to Aurora. It was the first time she was loved and in love with a man. Aurora had a tough childhood, she was always discarded, and neglected by those she went to for help and refuge.
But with Damian, she started feeling safe, protected, and secure. She wished that it would never end. But this was not the end, right? Was her marriage fixable?
Their sleek, Black, Escalade stopped in a space between the big fountain and the towering building, in which the event was taking place.
"Are you ready?" Damian asked her.
"Yes," Aurora said quietly.
"You behave, and greet everyone with a smile. Reporters will be all over in this event, make sure no one captures you not smiling." His voice was calm like he was giving out simple instructions. But living with Damian for eight years, she knew it was more than just instructions. It was a clear warning to not disgrace him.
Aurora on the other hand wasn't going to do anything to make Damian angry with her because they were so distant from each other and it affected her badly.
They stepped out, Damian rounded their car and took his wife's hand in his with a smile plastered on his face. Aurora noticed it and quickly wore hers.
Paparazzi attacked them as they walked through the red carpet asking questions.
But one of the questions struck a nerve within Aurora, "Sir how does it feel coming to an awards night on the same day your child passed?"
Damian didn't remember that. But they did. The media remembered.
She felt Damian's hand stiffen around hers, his eyes flared a bit but in seconds he fixed his face.
Putting back a signature smile still, he passed the reporters and entered the grand hall. As they made their way to their seats, they met a few businessmen on their way, Damian introduced his wife to them and it kept going.
Damian had frowned when one of the men, Mr. Greenwich, he'd Introduced to his wife, kissed her knuckles and said "You're very beautiful, Damian has good eyes. I would kill to have a woman like you," The man was outright flirting and at that moment, Aurora wanted to take back her hand so badly but she was scared of pissing Damian off. And when she looked at him, his face was blank. Like he didn't care.
"Mr. Greenwich, I don't like my wife being touched by any man that's not me." Damian carefully took his wife's hand from Mr. Greenwich's "So if you don't mind, we'll go look for our seats now,"
"It's understandable." Mr. Greenwich nodded and before Aurora knew it they were heading to the frontline seats.
They got to a table and Damian drew out a seat and put his jacket on his wife's shoulders before sitting opposite her. Aurora was confused, she couldn't tell if he was mad about what that Man said as she assessed his expression.
A waiter came by minutes later and served drinks, Damian looked impassive the whole time. Aurora was unnerved, but she made sure her smile never faltered because of the paparazzi hovering like hulks all over the place.
They started giving out the awards, Aurora listened carefully and she blushed at the part where most of the men thanked their wives for supporting them through their journey.
But inside Aurora, she was curious about what her husband would say when they called him up. And at that moment, her husband was called up.
"Let's welcome to the stage tonight, Damian Caldwell." Damian stood up with a smile, straightening his suit.
He placed a fleeting kiss on his wife's cheek. Before leaving for the stage.
Aurora's body froze because she didn't know how to feel about the kiss. She knew he was doing it to show the public that he was a doting husband but was there a tiny chance he did it for love?
She looked around her and every other woman was smiling, they were beautiful too. Dressed in their high fashion, pricey jewelry, perfect makeup, and flawless skin.
She looked back at herself, 'was I different from these women? What was in them that I didn't have?' Aurora's eyes watered.
Somehow her husband's voice brought her out of her reverie, "I want to thank my family, my Mom, and my best friend for their support in my career. And you all for believing in me. And for giving me this award, I truly appreciate you all. Thank you." He stepped down from the podium and Aurora harshly peeled her gaze from him.
'Maybe I'd set my expectations too high today,' Aurora told herself.
Damian returned to his seat with his award in hand. Some men—colleagues came around his seat to congratulate him. After that, everything passed in a blur and they left the event.
On their way back home, Damian didn't so much as open his mouth. He was strangely quiet.
Aurora wanted to ask him if he wanted to talk about anything but she was scared of herself. So she didn't say anything in the end. Maybe the driver increased the speed of the car or drove a shorter cut because this time they got home early.
When they got home, Damian got out of the car and he didn't bother to open the door for Aurora, she opened her door herself before the maid even got close, she got down and shut the door. Damian had reached the doorpost of their mansion.
She held her fraying nerves and broken heart together and walked inside the house. 'Why was I expecting him to acknowledge me? Not as if I go to work with him, I stay home all day, being the wife he wants me to be, I shouldn't be mad,' Aurora told herself.
With her trembling hands, Aurora held the hem of her Louis Vuitton dress and climbed the stairs that led inside the house. She nodded to the workers as she made her way to the master bedroom.
As she opened the door and entered inside, a force from nowhere shut it and before Aurora could comprehend what just happened she was pinned against the wall with her husband's hand gripping her neck. His baby blue eyes were dark and piercing like a predator that had his prey in his hold.
"Why did that man touch you like that?" he sneered.