Selena stiffened slightly. "Watch your words."
Aurora's smile remained gentle, but there was a spark in her eyes. "I'm only saying what I truly an. If you're offended, then maybe you're being narrow-minded."
Mia imdiately understood what was happening. Her chest ward at the sight of two people fighting on her behalf.
She stepped between them quickly. "I know you both love ," she said softly, "but I don't want to see you fight."
At her words, both Aurora and Selena cald down.
Aurora cleared her throat. "So, when's the engagent?"
Mia relaxed and replied, "We don't have many relatives, so we don't plan to do anything grand. Just exchanging rings in a small courtyard."
Aurora paused. 'How could I let my best friend's engagent be that simple?' She smiled slowly. "Invite , but let arrange the venue beforehand."
Mia frowned slightly. "It's just a nearby courtyard."
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "I'm not changing the destination. I just want to find a quiet, beautiful courtyard. It's an important event."
Mia and Selena felt a lump rise in their throats. They nodded silently.
Just then, the door of the private room was pushed open. Dorothy stepped in. The mont she spotted Aurora, her face lit up. "I finally found you."
Aurora stiffened. "What are you doing here?"
Dorothy smiled mysteriously. "I'm here with a proposal. If you're interested, just say the word."
Aurora paused, then gestured toward the door. "Let's talk outside."
She excused herself and left. Mia and Selena exchanged curious looks, tempted to follow, but ultimately chose to respect her privacy.
Outside, Dorothy turned to Aurora and said eagerly, "If you agree to help this ti, I'll give you a thousand dollars every single month."
Aurora froze. She stared at Dorothy in disbelief. After all, Dorothy loved to fake wealth and hated spending money on anyone but herself.
This offer was more shocking than anything she had expected.
Dorothy caught the fleeting change in Aurora's expression. How can she not? Aurora was the only girl she had ever told everything and personally taught her the twist and turns of faking everything.
'She's been caught off guard,' Dorothy thought, and a trace of smugness curled at the corner of her lips.
Tilting her chin slightly, she spoke with deliberate ease, "This ti, the position I'm applying for pays almost…"
She lifted a single finger between them.
Aurora blinked, the heat prickling at the back of her neck, and blurted out, "One million dollars?"
Dorothy's eyes hardened. Her gaze slid over Aurora with open disdain as she replied,
"At the very least, you shouldn't act your way through a fake role so badly that you can't even tell the difference between one hundred thousand and one million."
Aurora inhaled softly, realizing her slip. A small, composed smile returned to her lips as she countered,
"Even if a hundred thousand is a lot of money, aren't you ashad of yourself for offering only one thousand?"
The words landed heavier than Aurora expected. Dorothy fell silent, her lips pressing together, the usual sharp retort nowhere to be found.
The sudden quiet felt wrong, almost suffocating. Aurora imdiately sensed the shift, a faint unease crawling up her spine.
She studied Dorothy's face and smiled lightly, though her eyes searched for cracks. "What are you hiding?"
Dorothy remained quiet, fingers curling slightly at her side.
After a mont, she seed to steel herself, deciding that even though Aurora was her ex-classmate, there were still things she could reveal comfortably.
"After all," she added calmly, "I already taught you everything I could."
Aurora couldn't help but nod in agreent. mories stirred, old and vivid.
Back in pre-school, she hadn't been a beloved child. Attention rarely reached her, and affection even less so.
Because she was sickly and bore an unusual hair color, whispers followed her, and isolation beca routine. 'I was always the odd one out,' she thought.
Back then, Dorothy had been the opposite... popular, radiant, surrounded by followers even at that young age.
If Aurora hadn't stumbled upon Dorothy's secret, perhaps their paths would never have crossed.
Yet even after Aurora learned the truth, Dorothy hadn't shown a shred of worry. She had always carried that attitude, even as a child... fake it until you make it.
Aurora still rembered little Dorothy crouching beside her and whispering, "Sotis, pretending is the smartest choice."
They might be called liars when their dreams failed to materialize, but one day, if those dreams ca true, people would look up and admit that even liars could make it. That thought had shifted Aurora's entire world back then.
She had clumsily copied a few tactics, nearly exposing herself, drawing scorn from others.
Yet Dorothy had stepped in without hesitation, defending her so fiercely that Aurora herself began to gain attention... first in preschool, then steadily through school.
Until middle school, Aurora had lied her way into a brighter image, polishing herself until everyone saw only what she wanted them to see.
Now, with Dorothy's words echoing, those mories felt fresh again. Aurora chuckled softly and looked at her. "So what happened?"
Dorothy smiled, though it trembled at the edges. "My mother is fighting cancer."
The world seed to stall. Aurora froze, her breath catching painfully.
Dorothy still wore that familiar confident smile, but this ti Aurora could see it... the faint sorrow swimming behind her eyes.
"I really don't have enough money," Dorothy continued evenly. "I'm thinking of taking two jobs at once. That's why I need Dana to pull so strength for . If she does, I can get into a company for the night shift while keeping my day job."
Aurora stared at her, stunned. "And your sleep?"
Dorothy smiled again, as if it were nothing. "As long as my mother survives, sleeping three hours a day isn't a big deal."
Her smile stayed firm, but Aurora felt a wave of sorrow crash through her chest, cold and heavy.
'If Dorothy hadn't appeared,' Aurora thought, 'I might never have seen this other version of myself.'
Dorothy was exactly like her. The only difference was this... Dorothy's mother had cancer, while in the original storyline, it had been Aurora's sister, Olivia, suffering from stomach cancer.
Back then, Aurora had faked everything. Now, standing before her, Dorothy was doing the sa.
Aurora steadied herself and looked at Dorothy. "So what's the proposal?"
Dorothy answered imdiately, "Dana wants to get acquainted with you. She's willing to pull strength on my behalf."
Aurora frowned slightly. "Did you agree on my behalf?"
Dorothy shook her head and let out a small chuckle.
"Even if I think we're close, I'd never use that friendship. You don't owe anything. If you're uncomfortable, I'll find another way."
As she spoke, Aurora's gaze drifted to Dorothy's pale complexion, the exhaustion she tried so hard to mask.
Aurora paused, then let out a soft laugh. "I can't accept your proposal."
For a heartbeat, disappointnt flickered in Dorothy's eyes before she smoothed it away.
She smiled calmly. "Then I won't force you. It's your decision."
She reached out, patting Aurora's shoulder gently, the touch light and fleeting. "I'll head out first."
With that, Dorothy turned away, walking off quickly, because she didn't want Aurora to see the tears finally welling up in her eyes.
Aurora watched Dorothy's retreating back, and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. Her voice carried just enough to stop Dorothy mid-step. "You're really leaving without letting compete?"
Dorothy's shoulders stiffened. Tears had already welled up in her eyes, blurring the path ahead, but she blinked them back quickly, forcing them to retreat.
Turning around, she faced Aurora with a grin that was a little too bright to be real.
"Are you teasing now?" she added lightly. "Does that an you're agreeing after all, or you just want to catch up? Hey, your sister needs to act more, so she can't co with you for now."
Aurora shook her head slowly, a calm expression settling on her face. "Dana isn't a good person."
The words hit harder than expected. Dorothy's smile faltered, weakening at the corners, though she kept her posture steady.
In a composed, almost resigned tone, she replied, "I know." Her fingers curled unconsciously, nails pressing into her palm. "But there's nothing I can do. Right now, I need her help."
Aurora studied her, then laughed again, this ti softer, without mockery.
"I know how desperate you are," she said gently, her gaze sharp yet warm. "That's why I have an offer for you."
Dorothy lifted her eyes, a flicker of guarded hope passing through them.
Aurora continued, her voice steady as the sumr air brushed against their skin.
"You can help advertise my company and join as one of the actresses in advance." She paused, letting the weight of her next words sink in. "In return, I'll cover your mother's treatnt fees."
Hearing those words, Dorothy froze, staring at Aurora as if she had suddenly grown two extra heads.
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