Chapter 56
1026words
An engagement.
She huffed, feeling the need to choke someone. Her phone beeped again and when she glanced at it, she saw that it was a text from Ryan. She hadn't been able to respond to his text ever since the announcement last night, for some reason, there was a niggling guiltiness tugging at her heart.
Although, she desperately wanted to speak to him, she couldn't find it in herself to.
"Rory?"
There was a light rapping sound against her door and her attention flickered towards that area. She frowned, wondering why her father was here this early."
"Rory?"
Aurora sat up and sighed, climbing down from the bed, slowly trudging towards the door. She twisted the door handle and pulled it open,
"Yes?"
Her father looked immaculate this morning, his hair was combed and gelled away from his face and the suit he donned was pressed neatly.
"Aren't you going to school? It's past seven," Harry queried, eyeing her with a nervous stare.
She cocked her head to the side. Did he come all the way here to ask her that?
Her shoulder raised in a light shrug, "I called in sick today."
He frowned, "What's wrong? Do you need me to call the doctor-"
"It's not that kind of illness, I'm disgusted with the impending arrangement."
He rolled his eyes, giving her a backhanded stare, one that she returned. When he realised that she wasn't going to back down, he exhaled, gesturing with his head to come out,
"Get dressed and come down," He stormed off without even giving her the chance to explain herself.
Aurora debated if she should just lock the door and stay in throughout. But then her father had given her that look, the one which said she had better do whatever he asked. So with a begrudging sigh, she quickly put on a simple tee and jeans pants, deciding to leave her hair down, she slipped on black flats, picked up her phone and purse before walking out.
Her father was in the living room when she got down, he threw her a comforting smile but she didn't bother to return the gesture, walking past him and out the door.
"Where's mom?" She asked, sliding into the car.
Her father had settled onto the driver's seat and slipped the key into the ignition, "Work, they needed her in today."
Now wonder she didn't get disturbed earlier. Her mother mustn't have known that she was skipping school.
As they drove, Aurora took the time to relax her head against the window, staring bleakly at the houses and trees that they drove past. She caught her father shooting her concerned looks from the corner of her eye and she resisted a huff,
"What is it?"
He smiled, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel, "It has been ages since we got to spend time like this."
"We've never spent time with each other, dad. We find each other insufferable."
Aurora shot him a deadpan look and his smile fell instantly. She rolled her eyes and continued gazing out the window, she honestly didn't understand why he was trying to fix their severed bonds.
It was a little too late for that and even if it weren't, his decision to marry her off to Matt already ruined his record.
Finally, they arrived at their destination and her brows knitted together. Aurora sat up straight as the car stopped in front of the large building, two well-dressed men running towards them.
"Why are we were?" She questioned, shooting him a dubious look as he retrieved his key from the ignition.
Her father chuckled softly, "If you're going to take over the company someday, might as well start teaching you the ropes now," He climbed down the car, closed the door and walked over to her side, pulling open the door, "Come on."
Aurora breathed out, taking his hand and climbing down, one foot before the other. The large glass building towered over them tremendously, she had to squint upwards but even then, she couldn't see the top.
Her father handed over the key to one of the men and ushered her in. The moment they walked through the front doors, all eyes fell on them. Everyone either bowed their heads in recognition or greeted softly.
She could remember the last time she was here and that was about two years ago. Back then, her father had employed her in the tax department as a summer job. Although, her mother wasn't too fond of the idea, she surprisingly let them be. It hadn't been a fun job and she wasn't used to sitting behind a desk all day but she enjoyed sorting out taxes, going on lunch breaks with her colleagues and taking as much coffee as she needed.
Back then, nobody knew who she was. But it could have been because of the disguise she pulled. With Rosa's and a few stylist help, she dyed her hair black, a difficulty that wasn't easily achieved since her original hair color was a blazing red, then she used blue colored contacts and donned on large glasses, twice the size of her face.
The only person who'd known her true identity was the head of department but he was sworn not to tell anyone. Her father had demanded that she got the full working experience. They argued a lot then, because she didn't understand why she had to work if the company was already hers. But she stayed and it was one of the things that she never regretted doing.
Now, after so much time had passed, she was back. She tipped her head sideways to face her father but he was already looking at her, a sentimental emotion in his eyes,
"Welcome back, darling."
