Chapter 121
Aurora’s POV
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Aurora was lounging on the couch in the guest house, flipping through a fashion magazine she wasn’t really reading, when her phone buzzed with a text from Penelope.
Penelope: Come upstairs. Now. We need to talk.
The tone was sharp, and very urgent. Not Penelope’s usual carefully controlled communication style. Something was wrong.
Aurora set down the magazine and stood up, smoothing her silk blouse and checking her appearance in the mirror by the door. Her hair was perfect, makeup flawless as always. She grabbed her phone and headed out.
The walk from the guest house to the main building was short, and the elevator ride up to Penelope’s penthouse even shorter. When Aurora knocked on the door, it swung open almost immediately.
Penelope stood there looking completely unlike herself. Her hair was slightly messed up, her makeup smudged around the eyes like she’d been rubbing them. She was still in her expensive clothes but something about her whole appearance screamed distress.
“Come in,” Penelope said, stepping aside.
Aurora walked into the penthouse and immediately noticed the chaos. Papers were scattered across surfaces, drawers were hanging open, there were clothes piled on furniture that definitely shouldn’t be there.
“What happened here?” Aurora asked, genuine concern in her voice. “Are you okay? Did someone break in?”
Penelope laughed bitterly. “Yes, actually. Someone did break in.”
“What? Did you call the police?”
“No. And I’m not going to.” Penelope walked over to her bar cart and poured herself a generous glass of whisky.
She didn’t offer one to Aurora. “Because I know exactly who did it and calling the police would create more problems than it would solve.”
Aurora sat down on the edge of the couch, watching Penelope carefully. “Who was it?”
“Marcus. Or Dante. Probably both of them together, the sneaky bastards.” Penelope took a long drink. “They came in here while I was out with you at dinner and they stole something from me. Something very important.”
“What did they steal?”
Penelope hesitated, clearly debating how much to reveal. “Evidence. Evidence I had against Marcus that would have given me leverage over him and control of the company.”
16:50 Mon, May 11
Chapter 121
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Aurora’s interest sharpened immediately. This was the most Penelope had ever shared with her about whatever scheme she was running. “What kind of evidence?”
“The kind that doesn’t matter anymore because it’s gone.” Penelope drained her glass and poured another. “But that’s not why I called you up here.”
“Then why did you?”
Penelope turned to face her fully, her expression calculating despite the disheveled appearance. “Because I need to know if I can trust you, Aurora. Really trust you. Not just as a casual ally but as someone who’s actually committed to helping me take Marcus down.”
Aurora felt her pulse quicken. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for since she moved into the guest house. The moment where she could either align herself fully with Penelope or strike out on her own path.
“Of course you can trust me,” Aurora said smoothly. “I want Marcus back. You want control of the company. Our goals aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“No, but they might require different strategies.” Penelope sat down in the armchair across from Aurora.
“Tell me something. When we talked before, when I suggested you could drug Marcus and seduce him, remind him what he’s missing… were you serious about that? Or were you just humoring me?”
Aurora remembered that conversation vividly. The way Penelope’s hands had wandered, the kiss they’d shared, the sexual tension that had crackled between them. The plan had sounded insane at the time, reckless and dangerous.
But now, looking at Penelope’s desperation, Aurora realized something important. Penelope was weakened. Her leverage was gone. Which meant she needed Aurora more than Aurora needed her.
And that shifted the power dynamic significantly.
“I was serious,” Aurora said carefully. “But I think the approach needs to be more subtle than just drugging him. Marcus is too smart for that. He’d see it coming.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
Aurora leaned back against the couch, her mind already working through possibilities. “I think we need to make Elara the problem, not the solution. Right now Marcus sees her as his wife, his partner, someone he’s building a life with.We need to change that narrative.
“How?”
“By making him doubt her. Making him question whether she’s really on his side or if she’s just using him like everyone else in his life has used him.” Aurora smiled slightly. “Marcus has abandonment issues. His mother died, his father cheated, well with me technically. He’s terrified of being betrayed by people he loves.”
Penelope’s expression shifted, understanding dawning. “So we make him think Elara is betraying him.”
“Exactly. We plant seeds of doubt. Small things at first. Questions about where she goes, who she talks to, what her real motivations are for staying in this marriage.”
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Chapter 121
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“And while he’s questioning her, you swoop in and remind him what it feels like to be with someone he can actually trust.”
“Someone from his past who knows him, understands him, accepts him despite his flaws.” Aurora felt excitement building in her chest. This could actually work. “I don’t need to drug him. I just need to be there when he’s vulnerable and make him remember why we were good together.”
Penelope nodded slowly, a smile spreading across her face. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”
“I’ve been playing the long game since I moved in here. Being sweet, being helpful, staying out of the way but always present. Always a reminder of what he used to have.”
“And what about that little moment with the towel the other day?” Penelope asked with a knowing look. “Was that part of your strategy?”
Aurora felt her cheeks warm slightly. “That was spontaneous. I saw an opportunity and took it.”
“Did it work?”
“He covered me up and told me to leave. But I saw the way he looked. Just for a second before he remembered himself. He’s not completely immune to me.”
Penelope stood up and walked over to the window, looking down at the penthouse below where Marcus and Elara lived. “So what’s your next move?”
Aurora thought about it. She needed to create an opportunity to be alone with Marcus, somewhere Elara couldn’t interrupt. Somewhere that felt natural, not forced.
“I’m going to invite him for a drink,” Aurora said. “Tonight. Just the two of us, to discuss the Wellington business deal. Professional, appropriate, but intimate. Give him a chance to relax around me without his guard up.”
“And if Elara objects?”
“Then that just proves to Marcus that she doesn’t trust him. Which plays right into our hands.” Aurora stood up and smoothed her blouse. “Either way, I win.”
Penelope smiled, genuine warmth in her expression for the first time since Aurora had arrived. “I like the way you think.”
“Just remember,” Aurora said, walking toward the door. “When this works, when I have Marcus back, you get your company. But he’s mine. Completely mine. We’re clear on that?”
“Crystal clear.”
Aurora left Penelope’s penthouse and headed back down to the guest house, her mind already planning what she’d wear tonight. Something sophisticated but sexy. Something that reminded Marcus of the early days when they’d go out to expensive restaurants and she’d dress up just for him.
She had the perfect dress. Black, fitted, with a neckline that was just low enough to be interesting without being obvious. The one Marcus had always loved seeing her in.
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Chapter 121
Aurora smiled to herself as she pulled it out of her closet and laid it on the bed.
Tonight was going to be very interesting.
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