Chapter 152
Aurora’s POV
Aurora sat across from Marcus at the restaurant, watching him check his phone for the third time in five minutes. Always Elara. Always the babies. Always something more important than the conversation happening right in front of him.
“Sorry,” Marcus said, setting the phone down. “The twins had a rough night. Elara’s exhausted.”
“It’s fine. I understand family comes first.”
))
The lie was killing her but Aurora kept her smile pleasant. This dinner had been Penelope’s idea, one final attempt to create an opportunity before the board meeting tomorrow sealed Marcus’s fate one way or another.
“I’m glad we could do this,” Marcus said. “Clear the air before everything gets more complicated.”
“Me too. I know I haven’t made things easy for you and Elara.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Aurora laughed, the sound light and self-deprecating. “I deserve that. I let my feelings cloud my judgment. Got caught up in what we used to have instead of accepting what we are now.”
“Which is?”
“Old friends, hopefully. Or at least not enemies.”
Marcus relaxed slightly, his shoulders dropping from the defensive posture he’d held since arriving. “I’d like that. Despite everything, Aurora, I don’t hate you. I just can’t give you what you want.”
“I know. And I’m trying to accept that.”
The waiter arrived with their drinks. Whiskey for Marcus, wine for Aurora. She watched as Marcus took a sip. then another, letting the alcohol smooth the edges of his stress.
This was the moment. The decision point where Aurora either went through with Penelope’s plan or backed out and accepted defeat gracefully.
She thought about Marcus in the hospital when Elara was bleeding. The way he’d looked at his wife like she was the only person in the world who mattered. The way he’d chosen her over and over, even when it cost him everything.
Aurora would never be looked at like that. Not by Marcus. Probably not by anyone.
The realization should have hurt more than it did.
“Excuse me,” Aurora said, standing. “I need to use the restroom.”
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She walked through the restaurant to the bathroom, her heart pounding. In her purse was the small vial Penelope had given her. Rohypnol. Enough to make Marcus compliant, suggestible, confused about what happened.
Aurora locked herself in a stall and pulled out the vial, staring at the clear liquid.
This was insane and even was criminal. This would destroy whatever shred of dignity she had left.
But Penelope had been clear. This was Aurora’s last chance to break up Marcus and Elara’s marriage. One night of staged photos, one morning of carefully planted suggestions, and Elara would finally doubt her husband enough to leave.
Aurora thought about her family’s business failing, about the Wellington deal that had fallen through when Marcus stopped taking her calls, about returning to London with nothing to show for months of humiliation.
She unscrewed the vial cap.
When she returned to the table, Marcus was on his phone again. He looked up guiltily.
“Sorry. Dante needs some files for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“No problem. Take your time.”
While Marcus typed out a response, Aurora reached across the table like she was adjusting her napkin. Her hand hovered over Marcus’s whiskey glass for just a second. The clear liquid from the vial mixed invisibly with the amber alcohol.
Aurora’s hand shook as she pulled back.
Marcus set down his phone and picked up his drink, taking a long swallow. “God, I needed that. This week has been hell.”
“I can imagine. The sex tape, the board meeting, Elara’s pregnancy complications, it must be a lot.”
“The pregnancy complications are the only part that actually matters. Everything else is just noise, I literally don’t care.”
He took another drink. Then another. Aurora watched the level in the glass drop, watched Marcus’s eyes get slightly unfocused, watched him lean back in his chair and loosen his tie.
“You okay?” Aurora asked.
“Yeah, just tired. Didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Maybe we should get you home.”
“No, I’m fine. Just need to…” Marcus trailed off, blinking slowly. “What were we talking about?”
“The board meeting tomorrow. But maybe we should continue this conversation another time. You look exhausted.”
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“I am fine…..completely exhausted.” Marcus rubbed his face. “It feels weird. Did I drink on an empty stomach?”
“You did. Come on, let me get you to a hotel nearby. You can rest for an hour before driving home.”
Marcus didn’t protest as Aurora paid the check and helped him stand. He leaned on her slightly as they walked out of the restaurant, his coordination off, his words slurring just barely.
The hotel was two blocks away. Penelope had already booked the room, already made sure there would be no questions about Aurora checking in with an inebriated man.
They took the elevator to the eighth floor. Marcus was fading fast, his eyes closing as he leaned against the elevator wall.
“Almost there,” Aurora said.
She got him into the room and onto the bed. Marcus collapsed onto the mattress, already half asleep.
Aurora stood over him, looking at the man she’d loved for years, the man who’d never love her back.
She could stop now and leave him here to sleep it off, could walk away and let this be the end of it.
Instead she pulled out her phone and started taking photos. Marcus on the bed, his shirt unbuttoned. Aurora leaning over him, her hair falling around his face. Staged intimacy that looked real enough through a camera
lens.
She undressed him carefully, removing his jacket and shirt, his belt and shoes. Left him in his pants but bare- chested.
More photos with different angles. Aurora lying beside him on the bed, her dress strap slipping off her shoulder and showing her top breast, her lipstick smudged.
When she had enough, she sent them to Elara’s number with no extra message, just the images.
Then Aurora settled into the chair by the window to wait for Marcus to wake up.
It took almost six hours. The sky outside had gone dark when Marcus finally stirred, groaning and pressing his hand to his forehead.
“What…” He looked around the unfamiliar room, confused. “Where am I?”
“A hotel. You passed out at dinner. I brought you here to sleep it off.”
Marcus sat up slowly, his face pale. “I don’t remember… What happened?”
“You really don’t remember?” Aurora stood and walked to the bed. “Marcus, we slept together. Last night. You said you needed me, that Elara wasn’t enough anymore.”
Marcus’s eyes went wide with horror. “No. No, that’s not.. I wouldn’t…”
“You did. I have the photos if you need proof.” Aurora held up her phone, showing him the staged images.
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“You were quite insistent about it.”
“I was drugged. You drugged me.” Marcus stood up, swaying slightly. “Where’s my shirt? Where’s my phone?”
“On the chair. Marcus, you’re not thinking clearly. We had sex. Consensual sex. You wanted this.”
“I would never cheat on Elara. Never.” Marcus grabbed his shirt and started putting it on, his hands shaking. “What did you give me?”
“Nothing. You were drunk and upset and you made a choice.”
Marcus found his phone and saw the messages, the missed calls from Elara. His face crumpled.
“What have you done?”
“Given you what you really wanted. A way out of a marriage that was never real to begin with.”
Marcus looked at her with such disgust that Aurora actually took a step back.
“We had sex last night,” Aurora said again, her voice faltering. “Don’t you remember?”
AD
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