"You're kidding, right, Mr. Rockefeller? Life's like tasting wine—some vintages are meant to savor once and never again. I'm perfectly content with the one I have now." Aurora raised her glass, lips curved in a polite smile, though a glint of frost shimmered behind her calm eyes.
The words struck like a blade wrapped in silk. Grayson's expression hardened; his gaze slid away, and his elegant fingers tightened around his tumbler before he tossed back the liquor in one harsh swallow. That distant, formal "Mr. Rockefeller" cut deeper than any insult—just as it had the day she'd walked out five years ago with half a million dollars and not a backward glance.
A brittle tension settled over the table, chilling the air.
Marc faltered mid-smile as he noticed both Grayson and Leland wearing dark expressions.
"Since you've made it all the way here, Aurora, why not join us for a meal and chat for a little?" Marc gently steered Aurora toward the seat beside Grayson. "It's just a simple dinner, a friendly chat. If your fiancé won't even allow that, how will you manage working at a TV station? Come on, fill your glass and share a drink with Mr. Rockefeller."
While speaking, Marc poured her a brimming glass of strong liquor.
Her fingers trembling faintly, Aurora lifted the glass, her movement stiff. "Mr. Rockefeller, may I share a drink with you?"
Grayson's eyes flickered. He took the glass from her hand and downed it in a single swallow.
A crease formed between Aurora's brows as their fingertips brushed—just a fleeting touch, yet it tugged at a buried chord. Old memories slipped through the cracks—echoes of a love that had ended five years ago.
She remembered the girl she'd been back then: competing in academic contests, skipping meals to chase research deadlines, pushing herself until she landed in the hospital with stomach pain. Grayson had taken it upon himself to oversee her meals ever since—making sure she ate on time, kept a balanced diet, and steering her away from spicy food and alcohol. Just now, despite their breakup years back, he'd downed her glass of liquor to keep her away from alcohol.
Aurora's eyes shifted to Grayson in quiet observation.
His long, sharply defined fingers wrapped around the wine glass, and though his face remained calm and austere, there was a dangerous allure beneath that polished surface—an undercurrent that drew people in like a forbidden bloom.
She pulled her gaze back, forcing composure, and poured herself a glass of red wine. "Mr. Rockefeller, I'll take care of this one myself," she said evenly.
Before the words had fully faded, she tipped the glass back and finished it in one steady motion.
Grayson's hand, poised to stop her, froze awkwardly midair.
Aurora acted as if she hadn't noticed. Getting entangled with Grayson again was the last thing she wanted, and accepting his concern would only feel like another debt she'd never repay. Whatever warmth she once held for him had been buried five years ago. No familiar gesture of his could soften the resolve she'd built since walking away.
She knew Grayson belonged to a world far above hers—a realm of power and privilege she could never touch. She was just a girl from a modest family, and she wouldn't repeat the naïve mistake she'd made five years ago, letting herself believe they could ever stand side by side.
As dinner dragged on, Lana and Leland settled into an easy rhythm, kissing and caressing each other like a couple long past the awkward stage.
The sight only sharpened Aurora's awareness of her own solitude. Staying any longer would make her look like an outsider clinging to a table that wasn't hers.
When Grayson stepped away to answer a call, Aurora seized the chance to slip out quietly. Marc didn't bother to stop her from leaving.
To Marc, as long as the sponsorship was landed, that was what mattered. He didn't care whether it was Aurora or Lana who secured it.
Cool evening air brushed Aurora's face as she stepped outside, relief barely settling before her phone buzzed. A single message flashed across the screen. "If you still want a year's worth of sponsorship, wait for me at the door."
The domineering tone was unmistakable. Anyone else's arrogance she could've brushed off as a wrong number. But this—this was Grayson, exactly as he'd been back then.
Summer had just settled over the city, wrapping the air in warmth that broke now and then into sudden downpours.
Aurora stepped back beneath the porch roof, sheltering from the sheets of rain that swept across the street. Raindrops splashed against her high heels, streaking down her sheer stockings, as echoes of her earlier exchange with Grayson replayed in her mind.
A sleek Maybach eased to a stop at the curb. The tinted window slid down, revealing a face cut sharp as marble—handsome, composed, and watching her with unreadable eyes. "Get in." The command was short, cool, unmistakably Grayson's.
Aurora frowned. Five years apart hadn't changed him—still the same man who expected obedience, never requests.
Aurora lifted her handbag over her head, intending to make a run for it, when the driver appeared, unfolding a black umbrella. Without a word, he strode toward her and held it aloft, guiding her through the rain toward the waiting car.
Grayson's gaze drifted toward Aurora, seated quietly beside him. His eyes lingered on the delicate curve of her legs, still glistening faintly from the rain, her heels damp and her sheer stockings clinging to her skin with a shimmer of pale warmth. Without a word, he reached for a towel and leaned forward, his movements steady as he began gently wiping the moisture away.
The sudden contact startled Aurora; her muscles tightened beneath his touch. Reclaiming the towel, she murmured a courteous "thank you," her tone smooth but distant, like a polite stranger.
That cool detachment struck harder than any accusation—proof that the closeness they once shared had turned to ash.
A shadow crossed Grayson's face. He leaned back against the seat, eyes fixed on the streams of rain blurring the glass, his fingers absently tightening into slow, rhythmic twists. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled, and threaded with something unreadable. "Have you set the date for the wedding?"
Aurora hesitated before giving a faint shake of her head, signaling that no date had been set yet.
Outside, rain slicked the roads, and traffic crawled. The driver eased the car forward, wipers sweeping rhythmically as the city blurred past in streaks of gray.
A quiet settled over the car, broken only by the soft patter of raindrops. After a long pause, Grayson's low voice cut through the silence. "Is he good to you?"
Her breath hitched, expression briefly faltering before she answered, "He is."
"How good?" His tone was steady, but his gaze remained fixed on her.
Aurora's fingers tightened around the hem of her coat. "He treats me like I'm the most precious thing in his world," she said evenly. "His love is real—devoted and constant."
Grayson said nothing more. Every word she spoke about her fiancé echoed like a quiet reproach aimed straight at him. His hand, once idly twisting his fingers together, curled into a fist against his knee.
Neither spoke after that.
The hum of the engine filled the space between them until, at last, the rain tapered off.
Aurora turned her head toward the window, letting the blur of streetlights and passing buildings hold her attention rather than prying into Grayson's life. Five years had gone by, and he still occupied that lofty, untouchable world—so far removed from her modest existence, from a paycheck barely scraping fifty thousand a month.
The luxury car eventually rolled to a stop in front of the small two-bedroom apartment Aurora had bought with painstaking savings. She didn't bother asking how he'd found her address—or how he'd gotten her number. For someone like Grayson, such things were trivial.
Her hand reached for the car door handle when his voice broke through the quiet. "Why didn't you continue in IT? What made you switch to broadcasting?" He still remembered she'd graduated at the top of her class as an IT major.
Aurora's hand froze on the handle as she turned back to meet his eyes. "Mr. Rockefeller, I'm not the kind of person who clings to the past. Once IT failed me, I cut it loose and chose a path that truly fits who I am now."
Her tone carried a quiet sting that didn't escape him.
Just as she was about to step out, Grayson called her name—but no words followed.
She leaned down slightly, her reflection glinting in the dark glass, voice cool as frost. "You once told me it'd be best if we never crossed paths again, remember?"
Without waiting for an answer, she shut the door with finality and walked off, heels clicking against the pavement in steady defiance.
Grayson sat there watching her silhouette fade into the night, the tension draining from his clenched fist until it dropped uselessly to his side. She'd left with the same unshakable resolve as she had five years ago.
