"And now she’s got a new family. A husband. Kids. A nice, happy life. While Spencer... he spent his whole childhood and teenage years feeling alone. Unwanted. Abandoned."
Aurora’s eyes were starting to sting. Her throat felt tight.
She never knew.
All this ti, Spencer had been carrying so much pain, and she had called him weird for being scared.
She sat down in the nearest chair, feeling overwheld.
"I didn’t know..." she whispered. "I didn’t know it was that bad."
Aiden didn’t say anything. He just looked at her, waiting.
Aurora sat there for a while, holding her head in her hands, trying to breathe.
After a long silence, she finally looked up.
"I need to talk to him," she said softly. "I need to make this right."
Aiden didn’t stop her. Instead, he whispered in a small voice,
"Aurora, it might sound really ssed up but... I like Spencer."
Aurora froze like a statue.
Her brain stopped working for a mont.
She blinked. Then blinked again.
"...Wait," she finally said, her voice small. "Are you... are you gay?"
Aiden let out a dry laugh and gave a small nod. "Yeah. I am."
Aurora stared at him, totally stunned. She wasn’t expecting that at all.
He looked down at his hands, playing with his fingers nervously. "I’ve liked Spencer for a long ti. Since we were younger, I guess. But I ssed everything up."
Aurora didn’t say anything, just listened.
"There was this woman," Aiden said slowly, his voice almost like a whisper.
"Back then, I didn’t know better. She made believe things that weren’t true. Said she could help . But she tricked . And... I did sothing really stupid. I ended up hurting Spencer badly. I didn’t an to, but the damage was done."
He took a deep breath.
"I couldn’t fix it. No matter what I did. And now... the only thing I can do is protect you. Because you’re soone Spencer loves. That’s the kind of redemption I’m trying to do."
He looked up, his eyes serious.
"I just hope... maybe soday, Spencer will forgive ."
Aurora narrowed her eyes. "You’re still selfish, you know that?"
Aiden looked surprised. "What?"
"You’re doing this so Spencer forgives you. Not because you actually feel bad about what you did. You just want peace for yourself."
Aiden shook his head. "No. I swear, even if Spencer never forgives , I’ll still protect you. Like my life depends on it. Because... that’s the least I can do."
He stood up, ready to leave. "I just... wanted you to know the truth. No more hiding."
He turned around and walked toward the door.
But before he could leave, Aurora’s voice stopped him.
"Don’t expect anything from ," she said coldly. "I’m not going to help you make Spencer forgive you. Ever."
Aiden paused at the doorway, then gave a small nod. "I know. And I’m not asking you to. I just didn’t want to lie to you anymore... or to him."
Aurora stared at his back for a mont.
Then she walked out of the classroom in the opposite direction.
But just as she was about to step into the hallway fully, she paused.
Tap. Tap.
She heard footsteps.
Her eyes darted left. Then right.
Nobody.
The hallway was completely empty.
A chill ran down her spine.
Did soone hear all that?
She frowned. Maybe it was just a student passing by... right?
Shaking the thought off, she walked ho and collapsed on her bed.
Her head was spinning with everything she had learned today.
She had just closed her eyes when her phone suddenly rang.
It was Mia.
Aurora smiled and picked up. "What’s up, baby?"
But Mia’s voice was not cheerful at all.
"Aurora—sothing’s wrong. You need to check the school forum. Now."
Aurora’s stomach dropped.
She sat up quickly, heart pounding, and opened the school forum on her phone.
At the top of the page was a thread.
Title: "Aurora and Aiden’s Secret Affair??"
Aurora’s eyes widened in shock.
She clicked the post, and imdiately, an audio started playing.
It was Aiden’s voice.
"I like you, Aurora... I can’t tell you everything... so stuff isn’t mine to say..."
Aurora’s jaw dropped.
What the heck?!
That wasn’t what he really said!
But the audio made it sound like he was confessing his love to her!
She scrolled down and saw the comnts.
"OMG!! AURORA’S TWO-TIMING SPENCER???"
"No way, I shipped her with Spencer!"
"She’s playing both of them. Classic pick- behavior."
Aurora’s hands were shaking.
Her chest felt tight.
Aurora didn’t care what people online were saying. Not the rumors. Not the jokes. Not the an comnts.
None of it mattered.
The only thing she could think about was Spencer.
Her heart was beating too fast. Her head was spinning. She felt like soone was holding her throat, not letting her breathe.
Spencer... what would he think after hearing that audio?
She didn’t want him to be hurt. Not even a little bit. Just thinking about him being sad made her eyes sting.
Without wasting a second, Aurora grabbed her phone and called him.
Once. Twice. Three tis.
No answer.
Co on, Spencer... please pick up...
She kept calling, over and over. For a whole hour. But then, his phone went switched off.
That’s when the real panic kicked in.
Her fingers moved fast on her keyboard. She tried to hack into Spencer’s phone to find his location. She had done it before, but this ti...
Nothing.
It didn’t work.
"What the—?!" she whispered, now breathing fast.
She sat up straighter. Her eyes scanned the screen.
Think, Aurora. Think.
She quickly started checking all the places Spencer might go when he was upset. The school rooftop. The library. The old music room. Even the park near campus.
She hacked the security caras in each of those places. She checked every fra.
Spencer wasn’t in any of them.
She was about to scream in frustration when suddenly—
Ding!
Her eyes lit up. The apartnt!
The one she had bought for him.
Aurora’s fingers flew across the keyboard, hacking into the apartnt’s hallway caras.
And then...
There he was. Spencer. Sitting on the couch. Alone.
Drinking straight from a bottle.
Aurora’s heart dropped.
She jumped up from her chair, grabbed her jacket, and ran toward the door.
But right at the entrance, Olivia stepped in front of her.
"Whoa, whoa," Olivia said, raising an eyebrow. "Where do you think you’re going?"
Aurora didn’t stop walking. "Sothing important ca up. I need to check on soone."
Olivia smirked and asked, "Is it Spencer?"
Aurora shook her hand away, clearly nervous. "It’s not Spencer. I told you, it’s sothing important."
She fumbled with her shoes, tripping a little. Her hands were shaking.
Olivia just raised both eyebrows, smiling.
She had figured it out.
Before Aurora could leave, Olivia leaned against the doorfra and said with a teasing grin,
"You should get him so Ferrero Rocher on the way."
Aurora paused. "What?"
"He loves those," Olivia said casually. "You used to give it to him when you were kids, rember?"
Aurora rolled her eyes. "Nice try. Not funny."
"Suit yourself," Olivia said, still smiling like she knew sothing.
Aurora didn’t wait. She rushed to the elevator, jabbing the button again and again until the doors opened.
As soon as it did, she ran in and took off to Spencer’s place.
Within minutes, she was standing in front of the apartnt door.
She typed in the passcode.
Beep!
It worked.
The door clicked open.
He hadn’t changed the code.
Aurora stepped inside the quiet apartnt, the door softly closing behind her with a click. The lights were off, and only a bit of light ca from a small lamp in the corner of the room. Everything felt still. Too still.
Her shoes made a soft sound against the floor as she walked slowly into the living room. Her heart was pounding like crazy.
She swallowed hard and whispered, "Spencer...?"
No answer.
The room looked empty at first, and for a second, Aurora thought maybe he had gone to the bedroom or the bathroom. But then—she saw it.
A shadowy figure on the couch.
He was sitting there quietly, almost like a statue. The bottle he was drinking from earlier was now on the table in front of him, and his head was leaning back against the couch cushion. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t really looking at anything.
Aurora’s stomach twisted. Her legs moved on their own as she rushed over to him.
She knelt down beside the couch and gently reached out, tapping his shoulder with her fingertips.
"Spencer," she said softly, her voice shaking a little. "Hey... It’s ."
Spencer slowly turned his head to look at her.
But when his eyes t hers... it wasn’t relief or happiness.
It was a confusion.
Like he didn’t believe what he was seeing.
He stared at her for a mont, then blinked and looked away. "Not again..." he mumbled under his breath. "I keep seeing you. Even when I know you’re not there..."
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