Aurora didn't sleep. She sat at the small kitchen table in the guesthouse, divorce papers spread before her as the sky outside bruised from black to purple. The guesthouse was cold and sparse, a servant's quarters that had been her assigned corner of the estate-a physical reminder she had never been more than a temporary fixture.
With a hand that trembled only slightly, she signed her name: Aurora Stone. The ink was black and final. She slid the settlement check out and stared at the figure. Five million dollars. A hollow laugh escaped her. Three years of enduring their contempt worked out to roughly four thousand five hundred dollars a day. A bargain, really, for a "fat, scarred shield." The self-mockery was a clinical accounting that reduced her heartbreak to a line item, something she could file away. She shoved the check back into the envelope and dropped it in a drawer. She didn't want his dirty money.
She opened her laptop. Amidst the junk mail, one email stood out. The sender was Arthur Kensington, patriarch of one of Boston's oldest families and the anonymous benefactor who had funded her scholarship through medical school.
The email was a formal invitation. A fully-funded fellowship in advanced cardiothoracic surgery. At Massachusetts General Hospital. Here, in Boston.
A ghost of her old dream sparked within her. To be a surgeon. To be the best. Before Damian, before this sham, that was all she had ever wanted.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. She typed a single word: Accepted.
A decision made. A path chosen.
A wave of dizziness washed over her. Her skin was hot to the touch. The drenching, the emotional devastation-it had left her with a fever. But she couldn't be sick. Not today.
She swallowed two extra-strength Tylenol, the pills scraping down her raw throat. She had one last appointment to keep.
The wind outside the courthouse was biting. Ten o'clock came and went. Then ten-thirty. Damian was late. Of course.
At a quarter to eleven, her phone rang. It was him.
"What is it?" His voice was clipped.
"The court," she said, her own voice weak from fever. "Are you coming?"
A pause. In the background, she heard a soft, feminine voice. Seraphina. "Damian, my head hurts... I feel so dizzy."
Damian's tone immediately softened, directed away from the phone. Then, back to her, the impatience returned tenfold. "Seraphina isn't feeling well. We'll have to reschedule."
He hung up.
The dial tone buzzed in her ear. The final humiliation. He couldn't be bothered to show up to divorce her because his mistress had a headache.
Aurora started to laugh. A wild, unhinged sound that drew a strange look from a passing lawyer. Tears streamed down her face, but she was smiling. The absolute, absurd cruelty of it was almost funny.
She was free. He had just handed her the key.
She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. One by one, she took out the credit cards tied to his account. She found a pair of small scissors and, with methodical, vicious snips, cut each one into useless pieces of plastic.
She popped the back off her cheap phone, removed the SIM card, and snapped it in two. She tossed the phone and the broken pieces of her old life into a nearby trash can.
She didn't look back. She walked away from the courthouse, away from the name Blackwood, away from the ghost of the woman she used to be, and headed towards the airport.
The world went black.
THREE YEARS LATER
The ballroom of the Kensington estate glittered. Diamonds dripped from ears and throats. Champagne flowed. Damian Blackwood stood near the French doors, a glass of scotch in his hand, surveying the crowd.
Preston Sharpe sidled up to him, a smirk on his face. "Still can't believe you're not officially married to Seraphina. What's the hold-up?"
Damian took a sip of his drink. He didn't answer. In the three years since Aurora had vanished, he had filed for divorce in absentia. He had Seraphina by his side. He had everything he thought he wanted. Seraphina, stunning in a silver gown, looped her arm through his.
"Don't tease him, Preston. We're in no rush."
Preston shrugged. "Whatever. At least you got rid of that charity case. Wonder what happened to her. Probably got even fatter somewhere, living off your settlement."
An unexpected spike of irritation shot through Damian. He opened his mouth to say something sharp, but he never got the chance.
A hush fell over the ballroom. The low hum of conversation died as every head turned towards the grand entrance.
The great oak doors swung open.
