Chapter 8
Ethan had gotten involved too.
“Do they know it’s me?” Aurora asked, her tone slightly cautious.
She didn’t say it directly, but Alexander understood what she meant. Did Lilian know that Rory was actually her?
“No. I’m certain they don’t,” Alexander answered right away.
Aurora fell silent.
Cars passed by one after another, and she watched the clouds drift slowly across the sky. Then, she made up her mind.
She called her doctor and confirmed that the appointment could be pushed to the afternoon. After that, she told Alexander she was on her way.
“Alright. Come as soon as you can.”
After hanging up, Aurora turned her car around. She stopped to pick up a few things, then drove straight to Alexander
Records.
After parking, she put on a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, and walked into the building.
With a soft ring, the elevator doors opened.
Wearing her Dior heels, Aurora stepped into the office.
“Rory, you’re here,” Alexander greeted her first.
He noticed her changed appearance and raised a brow slightly, but didn’t comment. He simply helped her to a seat across the long conference table.
Across from her sat Ethan and Lilian.
When Lilian saw her enter, she stood up at once.
“Hello, Rory. I’m Lilian. I don’t know if you’ve heard of me.” Her voice was soft, her expression fragile and delicate.
She said, “I truly want to buy your song. I hope you’ll consider selling it to me.”
Aurora didn’t reply immediately. She glanced at Ethan.
He didn’t even look at her. All his attention was focused on Lilian.
Alexander, seated beside Aurora, spoke first.
“Miss Hart, this song is not for sale. I’ve already told you that.”
But Lilian ignored him and turned red-eyed toward Aurora.
“But Miss Rory, I really love this song.” She paused, then suddenly frowned, as if she were enduring some kind of pain.
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Ethan’s brows drew together, his eyes filled with concern.
Still, Lilian just shook her head with a brave smile and looked back at Aurora.
“Miss Rory, I only have six months left to live. I hope you’ll be willing to grant me this one last wish before I go.”
Aurora let out a soft laugh.
Another “dying wish.”
When Ethan had asked for a divorce, he’d said that Lilian’s final wish was to marry him.
Now she had another.
Aurora had always respected illness and the sanctity of life and death. But the person paying the price here was her.
She didn’t feel the need to respect the woman who had intruded on her marriage.
Did they think her guilt would be triggered just because Lilian might die in six months?
“What if I say no?” Aurora asked in a low, hoarse voice.
Lilian was stunned.
“Miss Hart, I’ve heard about your situation,” Aurora continued in that same quiet tone. “The well-known floral artist with a
terminal countdown-your story has been all over the internet lately. But whether I sell the song or not is my decision. I’m
not obligated to fulfill your ‘dying wish.’ And honestly, I don’t even understand what you want the song for.”
She paused for three seconds, then continued.
“Are you planning to use it for a live-streamed farewell… or as the soundtrack to your funeral?”
“You-!” Lilian was so enraged she broke into a coughing fit.
Ethan immediately reached out to pat her back, trying to ease her breathing. At the same time, he shot Aurora a cold,
disapproving glare.
It was the first time since Aurora entered the room that Ethan had even looked at her.
“Miss Rory, don’t you think that was going too far?” he said, frowning, his voice icy.
His brows were tightly drawn, and his deep eyes were sharp. His lips pressed into a firm line-displeasure clearly written
across his familiar face.
Aurora looked at him.
He had changed clothes. It wasn’t the outfit from yesterday.
It looked like one of the sets she used to coordinate for him in the walk-in closet of their villa.
So, he had already gone back to their marital home.
He must have noticed by now that she’d moved out.
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D
And clearly, he didn’t care.
Maybe that’s better.
Aurora withdrew her thoughts. Her eyes, hidden behind the sunglasses, dropped slightly, but she didn’t look directly at
Ethan.
“I think forcing a sale is worse,” she said. “If you’re going to do this, then you’d better be prepared to hear things you won’t
like.”
Ethan’s frown deepened. His displeasure became even more obvious.
“Ethan, let me handle this,” Lilian interjected gently before Ethan could respond.
The warm office lighting cast a soft glow, but Lilian’s white Celine suit only made her look more pale.
“Miss Rory, I truly love this song,” she said, looking at Ethan as she spoke. “It really spoke to me.”
“It describes the hidden feelings of falling in love with someone-the passion, the secrecy, the touch of inferiority.”
“The joy of giving, the warmth of receiving, and then…”
Lilian’s gaze dimmed slightly.
“…the despair of knowing your days are numbered.”
“That deep, bone-deep despair.”
“Miss Rory, that feeling has haunted me. It nearly broke me.”
“But what moved me the most was the final line-the letting go.”
“It’s just like me now. I’ve accepted everything. I’ve let go. I just want to live my final days in peace.”
She spoke softly, her voice trembling at times and calm at others, like someone who had seen and accepted the
harshness of life. It was meant to evoke sympathy.
Aurora saw it worked.
When Lilian described her pain, Ethan’s eyes clearly filled with sorrow.
Aurora had never seen that look from him-not once in seven years.
Her seven years of marriage couldn’t compare to Lilian’s one minute of acting.
Aurora watched them like an outsider looking at a devoted couple brought closer through tragedy.
What a shame.
She was the legal wife.
And still, she felt nothing.
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It was the wrong moment to feel anything, anyway.
“Miss Rory, this song perfectly reflects everything I’ve been going through lately. I truly understand the emotions behind it. And I think… maybe you’d want someone who truly understands to own this song.”
Lilian kept going, confident that after all she’d said, Aurora would relent.
After all, if the song was going to be sold anyway, selling it to someone who understood it did seem like the right thing to
Unfortunately…
Aurora almost wanted to laugh.
Because this song-
It had been written about falling in love with the wrong person. About betrayal, heartbreak, and letting go.
It was about her love for Ethan, about the joy she felt after marrying him.
About the crushing despair of discovering his affair, and the painful process of moving on.
And now Lilian was trying to use it as a tear-jerking story of her romantic struggles?
What a joke.
Aurora couldn’t help it-she laughed out loud.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Miss Rory, if Lilian was able to even see this song, it means you were planning to sell it in the first place,” he said coldly, his tone calm and calculated, as if he were presenting a case.
“If you’re refusing now, it means you’re either dissatisfied with the buyer-or the price.”
He stared straight at Aurora, but all he saw was the reflection of himself in her dark sunglasses.
“Top-tier songwriters can charge over a million. A hit can generate tens of millions in royalties per year.”
“Ten million,” Ethan said. “I believe that’s a fair offer.”
But Aurora just smiled.
Ten million?
That was far more than she was worth now.
Rory was not a popular composer nowadays. A few hundred thousand would already be a generous price.
Ten million was for Lilian’s sake.
Aurora laughed so hard her eyes welled with tears.
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Lilian, confused, was starting to lose her temper too.
“Miss Rory, this is already a very generous offer,” she said. “You’ve probably heard about VocalNight, that new music reality show. I plan to use this song as my main performance. I think-”
Before she could finish, Alexander finally lost patience.
He slammed the table. “I said she’s not selling! Ethan, don’t push it!”
Ethan remained seated, his gaze icy as he looked at Alexander. Even sitting down, his presence easily overpowered
Alexander’s.
Aurora wiped away the tears from laughing and gently tugged on Alexander’s sleeve.
“I’ll sell,” she said.
VocalNight was the very show Aurora was about to participate in.
C
