Aurora pressed her lips together, her composure finally beginning to crack. "I just... I don’t want you to suffer because of ."
Mary pulled her into a fierce embrace. "You are our daughter. There is nothing in this world we wouldn’t do for you."
Aurora trembled slightly before allowing herself to rest against her mother’s shoulder.
Adam exchanged a look with Mary, silent but filled with determination.
They would fight this.
No matter the cost.
No matter what it took.
What they missed was a determined look in Aurora’s eyes.
Aurora gritted her teeth and muttered in her heart,
"No worries, I have the rebate system. I won’t let parents bear all the burden..."
A hint of sadness appeared in Aurora’s eyes before she quickly masked it.
Once the thoughts of financial burdens faded, Aurora’s feet and hands turned cold.
The thought of getting her kidney removed made her listless.
However, in front of her parents, she maintained a calm facade.
Once ho, Mary and Adam called back Lucas, Olivia, Adriana, and Theodore and broke the news to them.
As soon as Mary and Adam told them the news, the room fell silent.
Lucas clenched his fists.
His sharp mind was always ready to solve problems, but this... this was sothing he couldn’t fix with just a clever plan.
Olivia covered her mouth, her eyes filled with worry. "Aurora... does it hurt?"
Aurora shook her head quickly.
"No, not really. Just a little uncomfortable." She didn’t want them to worry more than they already were.
Adriana wiped her eyes. "This isn’t fair..."
Theodore, usually the loudest, was completely quiet. His face was pale as he stared at his little sister.
Finally, he swallowed hard and said,
"What do we do now?"
Adam’s voice was firm.
"The doctors will do more tests, and then they’ll remove the tumor. After that, Aurora will have treatnts to make sure it doesn’t co back."
Lucas’s jaw tightened. "And the cost?"
Mary gave him a look.
"We will handle it. That’s not sothing you kids should worry about."
Olivia sat next to Aurora and took her hand. "You’re going to be okay, right?"
Aurora smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "Of course. The doctor said Wilms tumor has a high survival rate. I’ll be fine!"
She made sure her voice was steady, but inside, her heart was pounding.
Adriana sniffled. "You better be. I won’t forgive you if you don’t fight."
Aurora laughed softly. "I promise I’ll fight."
Theodore, still pale, nodded. "Then we’ll fight too. We’ll do whatever we can to help you."
Lucas who was silent till, hugged Aurora. In a soft voice, he muttered,
"Everything will be alright."
Aurora felt a dampness on her nape, swallowed the lump in her throat, and smiled, she pushed Lucas away and patted his shoulder,
"Young man, don’t be so serious. Your handso face will have wrinkles if you frown too much."
Lucas blinked away the tears and smiled,
"Yeah."
Just then Theodore’s phone rang. He glanced at the number and after so thought, attended it.
"Hello? Yes. I have ti. Okay. Hm...so you want to pretend to be your assistant? I am sorry I don’t take such roles. Thank you."
Once the call was hung up, Theodore gave a smile to his family mbers and explained,
"I just received a phone call, they were asking to pretend to be an assistant."
Aurora frowned,
"Isn’t it good? You are finally getting so roles."
Theodore explained to her gently,
"There is a difference. I am not getting a role in a movie, I have to pretend in real life."
Aurora was surprised, "Does that happen too?"
"Yes. Very frequently. Many people hire other people to pretend as their assistants, boyfriends, etc." Theodore explained patiently.
Aurora’s eyes brightened.
An idea appeared in her mind.
She could hire soone and ask them to act like a rich man and give money to her family but in a legitimate way...
At night.
When everyone was asleep, Aurora sneaked to the desktop and turned it on.
Then she searched for "actors for hire to play rich businessn."
A long list of results popped up, and Aurora clicked on a few websites, reading carefully.
So places hired actors for fake etings, business deals, or even to impress family mbers.
"This could work..." she whispered, her fingers tapping the desk.
She checked the prices. So were expensive, but others were reasonable. Aurora made a note of a few nas, planning to contact them later.
Suddenly, a voice spoke behind her.
"What are you doing?"
Aurora nearly jumped out of her chair. She turned quickly to see Lucas standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
Her heart pounded. "Nothing! Just... looking up stuff."
Lucas walked closer, eyes narrowing as he glanced at the screen. He read the search results and frowned.
"Can you eat ice cream even if you have Wilms tumor?"
Aurora praised herself for being smart, she already switched the tabs she had prepared in advance and said with an innocent look,
"Brother, I am truly craving an ice cream."
Lucas sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Aurora, it’s the middle of the night. You should be sleeping, not thinking about ice cream."
Aurora pouted. "But I really want one... just a little bit?"
Lucas crossed his arms. "Mom and Dad will be mad if they find out."
Aurora batted her eyelashes. "You won’t tell them, right?"
"I will go to your bed. You can’t eat an ice cream now." Lucas said sternly.
Aurora pouted and shut down the desktop, before leaving.
Lucas shook his head and turned toward the desktop.
A glint appeared in his eyes.
.....................................
In an apartnt.
A young woman with fair skin, brown hair, and brown eyes, had a distressed look in her eyes.
The woman’s na was Emily.
Emily stood in the middle of the cluttered living room, a worn-out rag in her hand as she wiped down the coffee table.
The weight of her growing baby bump made her movents slow and deliberate, yet she pressed on, determined to maintain so semblance of order in the house.
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