Chapter 52
Aurora scrutinized the white and gold invitation in her hand attentively. It clearly stated that today was the date when Alex and Nicole were getting married.
If Aurora wanted, she could attend the wedding party. However, since she had already made plans with Asher, she was now waiting for the right moment to visit and give a special gift to the newlyweds.
“Aurora, you okay?”
Asher had just arrived. Catching Aurora lost in thought, he quickly addressed her.
“What makes you think I’m not?”
Asher approached where Aurora was sitting. He even deliberately stared intently, locking onto Aurora’s shimmering eyes, then spoke with a feigned serious tone.
“Are you really okay?” Then his hand reached out, deliberately placed on Aurora’s forehead as if checking her body temperature. “No fever. Huh.” Asher raised his eyebrows. Then he looked back at Aurora. “Blood pressure okay, right? How’s your heart rate? If you feel any abnormal or problematic palpitations, luckily I have injection medicine in the car.”
“Gosh,” Aurora sighed, her face displaying annoyance. Why was her little brother acting so melodramatic? “Seriously, Ash. I’m fine. You’re checking me as if I’m having a heart attack or some serious illness.”
Asher burst into laughter. Even Rayyen, sitting next to Aurora, joined in, amused by Asher’s antics.
“Besides, you were so serious in your daydreaming. I was worried you’d suddenly faint or have a heart attack.” Asher teased deliberately. He knew Aurora must be feeling nervous right now.
“Ridiculous!”
“Then why so tense?”
Aurora gave him a sharp look. “Who’s tense? I’m fine. I’m just impatiently waiting to visit Alex and Nicole.”
Rayyen, sitting beside Aurora, set down the cup of tea she had been holding. There was something important she had been wanting to ask her two cousins for a while now.
“But, by the way, why don’t we just go see them now?”
Asher laughed. He casually responded to Rayyen’s question.
“It seems pretty obvious since the beginning of this case that you’re more excited than both of us.”
“Yeah,” Aurora agreed with a nod. “Can’t wait. Are you already missing Mama Savana?”
Rayyen gave her a sharp look. As if she’d ever miss Savana.
“Not really. If we go now, we could at least enjoy some good food at the event.”
Aurora shook her head. Among the many possible reasons for Rayyen’s insistence on leaving, her cousin was thinking about free food.
“Oh my goodness, Rayyen. If you’re hungry and want to eat, we can go to a restaurant first.”
Rayyen shook her head.
“It’s different, Aurora. Eating at a big event like a wedding is more enjoyable. Plus, it’s ‘all you can eat’, you can try everything until you’re full.”
“I purposely didn’t go to the event venue. Even though I’m already divorced, I don’t want this issue to become someone else’s gossip. So, let’s just calculate everything at their home.”
Their conversation continued flowing. Shortly after, someone Asher had been waiting for arrived and joined them.
“Aunt Senia.”
Asher and Aurora, surprised, quickly got up. They both approached, shook hands, then invited the guest to sit down.
“Sorry for being a little late. The traffic was terrible.”
Aurora nodded understandingly. Her face, which had been tense earlier, now showed joy and relief. As if a huge burden had been lifted.
“It’s okay, Aunt.”
Asher chimed in. “Aunt’s willingness to come here is more than enough. We both really appreciate Aunt Senia’s visit.”
Asher wasn’t exaggerating with his words just now. He remembered a few times before, how he struggled to convince and persuade Senia to provide assistance.
It all started with the confession of the man who impregnated Nicole that their cousin tried to attract Alex and his mother’s attention by claiming to everyone that she was an orphan.
Asher was curious as well. He also wondered if Nicole’s mother knew what her daughter was up to out there. Or perhaps, just like Savana, she supported their child’s affair.
That’s why Asher took the time to visit Senia at her rented house. He had to confirm things directly.
“It’s impossible, Ash. Nicole would never do such a thing.”
Asher had anticipated that Senia wouldn’t readily believe. What else could he do? Nicole indeed appeared to be a good, polite, and obedient child when in the presence of the extended family.
“But that’s the reality, Aunt.”
Then Asher took out his phone. He opened the gallery feature and played a video to show Senia.
“Take a look. This video is taken from CCTV footage in Aurora’s house.”
Then, Senia obeyed Asher’s command. She watched the video playing on her nephew’s phone, and shortly after, she was left gaping in shock.
“Oh my God.” Then Senia shook her head, visibly trying to deny what she saw on Asher’s phone.
“This is just part of the footage taken when Nicole and Alex were having sex at Aurora’s house. We never know what else they might have been doing out there. Especially since Nicole has been living freely.”
“Since working at your father’s office, Nicole has decided to live on her own. But Aunt didn’t expect her to do something so wrong. Every time I call her, she always says everything is fine. Her work is going smoothly. Even every month, Nicole never fails to send her monthly allowance.”
Asher smiled.
“Nicole has been fired from Lumire a long time ago. Even if she can still send monthly money, it’s definitely coming from Alex.”
“But how could this be? What I mean is, how could Nicole be so heartless as to hurt Aurora like this?”
Asher shook his head. He shrugged his shoulders. Not just heartless. But, according to Asher, Nicole had lost all sense of decency and gratitude.
“I don’t know. Aurora and Alex are officially divorced now. Aunt needs to know that Nicole is even pregnant and she claims Alex is the father.”
Senia was once again astonished. Bombarded with so much shocking news, she almost staggered and suddenly had a headache. “Nicole’s p-pregnant?”
“They’ll even get married soon. Didn’t Aunt know at all?”
Senia shook her head. Forget about marriage and pregnancy, just knowing about Nicole’s relationship with Alex, Senia had just heard from Asher.
“For God’s sake, Aunt didn’t know anything about this.”
“In that case, would Aunt be willing to help meet Alex’s extended family?”
Senia was startled. Perhaps thinking, what was the point of her meeting Alex and their extended family?
“Meet Alex’s extended family?”
Asher nodded.
“So far, Alex’s family has believed that Nicole is an orphan. This is also why they freely held the wedding party because they considered Nicole an orphan and didn’t need to seek approval from the extended family.”
“So, are you asking Aunt to meet them to cancel this wedding party?”
Asher shook his head suddenly. That wasn’t what he wanted.
“No, Aunt. Not that. We just want Aunt to help reveal the truth that Nicole is not an orphan.”
“And if this lie is exposed, it’s like Aunt humiliating Nicole?”
Asher took a deep breath. From this, he sensed that Senia was reluctant to grant his request.
“Asher and Aurora need Aunt Senia’s help. If Aunt is willing to help, we’ll wait for Aunt’s arrival next week.”
Asher thought there was no hope for Senia to help. For the past few days, he had been trying to contact her, but Senia seemed to be avoiding him.
However, that assumption was wrong. This morning, Senia suddenly called and agreed to Asher’s request to come. As expected, Senia’s presence was able to surprise Alex and Savana.
“So, you’re Nicole’s birth mother?”
Savana asked. Confirming what she had just seen and heard.
“Yes,” Senia replied. “I am Nicole’s birth mother. Still alive and well.”
Savana shook her head incredulously. She gave a questioning look to the woman who had become her daughter-in-law just a few hours ago.
“So, you’re not an orphan?”
“Mo… Ni-Nicole can explain all this,” Nicole stammered. “This isn’t what Mama imagined.”
“That’s not the only lie Nicole told.” Aurora deliberately interrupted. She smiled as she looked at Savana, Alex, and Nicole alternately. “There are still many facts Mama needs to know.”
Savana immediately looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“Mama needs to know that all this time, it’s not that Aurora couldn’t conceive. But, indeed, Alex had problems from the beginning.”
“That’s impossible.” Savana shook her head. She chuckled slightly while refuting the facts presented by Aurora. “Don’t look for justifications, Aurora. Are you so frustrated that you’re accusing Alex of all sorts of things?”
Instead of responding, Aurora appeared to smile. She took a white envelope from her bag and handed it to Savana. There were already plenty of supporting evidence she would present to her former mother-in-law.
“Please read it, Mama. Inside the envelope, there are results from Alex’s examination from two different hospitals.”
Savana then grabbed the envelope handed by Aurora. She opened it, then quickly read what was written there. Afterward, she was seen shaking her head again while grumbling.
“It’s impossible. This must be a mistake.”
Curious about what her mother was reading, Alex snatched the two papers given by Aurora. He read them carefully, and Alex was left speechless.
“This must be fabricated.”
Savana continued to argue, denying the facts that Aurora had presented. “It’s impossible for Alex to be sterile. This must be a lie!”
“That’s the reality, Mom.”
Aurora responded calmly, trying her best to provide explanations without letting emotions get in the way.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
“From the beginning, Aurora knew about the health issues Alex was facing. Aurora deliberately stayed silent and turned a deaf ear whenever various things were mentioned because she didn’t want to embarrass Alex and the Wildblood family by revealing this truth. But what’s your response?”
“Alex can’t be sterile. Look, Nicole is pregnant.”
Asher laughed loudly. Honestly, why did the people in front of him seem so foolish?
“Why not just ask Nicole directly? Is it true that she’s carrying Alex’s child or is it actually another man’s?”
Nicole, who was now the center of attention, immediately approached Alex. She reached for his wrist and held it.
“This is your child, Alex. You know yourself, we meet almost every day, and I spend my time making you happy and serving you. When do I have time to fool around with other men?”
“Oh, really?” Asher interjected impatiently. “Are you sure you’ve never been involved with another man?”
Then he left the house for a few moments. Seconds later, he returned with another man in tow to show everyone.
“If it’s this guy, you all surely know him, right?”
“Bastian?”
All three exclaimed, uttering the name of the man Asher had just brought.
“Yes,” confirmed Asher. “I’m sure Nicole is quite familiar with this guy.”