Chapter 13
“Sterling!”
Scarlet called his name again.
And again.
But he didn’t move.
She clenched her teeth, panic rising as the whispers in the audience grew louder.
The emcee tried his best to cover the awkward silence, chuckling nervously, “Looks like our groom might be a little overwhelmed from all the excitement–or maybe just exhausted from the long days of wedding prep! Let’s give him a moment.”
Still nothing.
Scarlet’s expression stiffened.
In a flash of desperation, she reached out and lightly nudged Sterling’s arm.
He blinked, jolting back to reality as if waking from a dream.
“Oh. Sorry.”
He forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur.
They exchanged rings going through the motions, hollow and mechanical.
When it came time to toast the guests, Sterling leaned in and murmured, “I’m not feeling well. I
need a moment.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked off the stage, leaving Scarlet standing there with
a forced smile frozen on her face.
Her fingers tightened around her wine glass, fury rising beneath her composed exterior.
Still, she kept up appearances.
“Sterling drove overnight yesterday,” she said smoothly to the waiting guests. “He’s a little tired. We’ll join you all shortly.”
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She raised her glass, offered a toasting smile, and took a sip.
The guests nodded politely, but the undercurrent of tension was unmistakable.
Backstage, Sterling’s assistant was waiting with the small box in his hands.
Sterling opened it slowly.
Inside was a small cassette tape and a folded document.
His fingers brushed over the words at the top of the page.
Termination of Parental Relationship.
His chest tightened.
Aurora cut ties with her family?
He frowned.
He’d always known Mr. and Mrs. Wyndham doted on Scarlet–but this?
Why would Aurora go so far?
Then his eyes fell on the cassette.
He recognized it immediately.
Aurora had tried to give it to him once–multiple times, actually. Begging him to just listen. And
every time, he’d brushed her off, convinced she was just trying to stir up trouble.
Now, for the first time, he felt the urge to hear it.
He found a computer, inserted the cassette, and clicked play.
A burst of static filled the air.
Then-
A familiar voice.
His voice.
Reading a bedtime story. Calm, patient, soft. Just like he used to.
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He felt his stomach drop.
He had only ever recorded those stories for one person.
The one who stayed with me when I was blind… the one I couldn’t see… the one I trusted implicitly….
But if Aurora had this-
His hands trembled.
It couldn’t be…
Was it possible?
Was Aurora the one who had stayed with him all along–not Scarlet?
Had he been wrong all this time?
He fumbled for his phone, heart racing.
Dialed Aurora’s number.
No answer.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Frustration rising in his throat, he grabbed the cassette and strode back toward the ballroom- straight for Scarlet.
She was in the middle of a toast when he reached her.
Without ceremony, Sterling grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the backstage area, staring in stunned silence.
the
guests
“Sterling!” she hissed. “What the hell are you doing? I’m in the middle of-”
He didn’t stop.
He didn’t care.
Once they were out of sight, he turned to her, his face tight with urgency.
“Scarlet,” he said, his voice low and cold. “Tell me the truth. Were you really the one who stayed by
my side when I was blind?”
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She blinked.
“What kind of question is that?” she laughed, but her voice wavered.
“Of course it was me. Who else would it have been?”
“Then you remember the stories I used to tell you?” he pressed.
“Of course I do,” she snapped, eyes darting. “It’s just been a long time. I might’ve… forgotten a few details.”
He stared at her.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Her hands fidgeted.
She looked… afraid.
His stomach dropped.
She was lying.
All this time–she’d been lying.
Scarlet wasn’t the girl from the darkness.
Aurora was.
The girl who had sat beside him day after day, whispered stories, wiped his tears, placed her cold hands in his when the nights grew stormy.
The girl he had sworn to see first, once his eyes healed.
The girl he had promised his future to.
And he had let her go.
No–he had pushed her away.
His heart plummeted.
He had married the wrong woman.
Chapter 13
