That year, she was still young and he was still by her side, and she remembered her first night away from home, waking up in the morning. He was dressed in a white shirt like he was now. “Aurora, breakfast is ready. Come and eat.” He beckoned to her.
“Wow, it’s spaghetti. It looks so appetizing.” Aurora couldn’t wait to try a bite, repeatedly praising his cooking skills.
“If you like it, then I’ll cook for you for a lifetime,” Hayden said with a smile as he watched her.
This scene overlapped with a memory, as if there had never been a separation between them, and he had always been by her side. She was wearing a white dress, one she had worn before, making them look as if they were still sixteen or seventeen.
Seeing her in the dress, Hayden didn’t see the cool, sexy demeanor she had in recent encounters. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, just as it had in the past. He walked over to the dining table and pulled out a chair for her, just as before.
“Try it. It’s been a long time since you’ve had the spaghetti I made for you.” He smiled as he placed the dish in front of her. Aurora’s eyes flickered with complexity, and even before tasting, she felt a bitterness in her mouth.
“What are you waiting for? It’ll get cold. Let’s see if my cooking skills are rusty,” he said gently. Aurora took a bite, and although it tasted the same as before, something felt different.
Perhaps it was her state of mind. When she used to love him, she thought every dish he made was the best in the world. Now, without love, all she could taste was bitterness. Hayden asked, “Is it good?”
Looking at his face, somewhat resembling Julian’s, Aurora thought of another man, whose cooking was terrible, yet who had made her a strange concoction to ease her pain when she had menstrual cramps. Why did she so easily think of Julian now? Seeing her distracted, Hayden felt a pang of pain.
She had changed so much, the most significant change being how easily distracted she was, and he wondered who she was thinking about. In fact, men’s intuition was as accurate as women’s. Who was the ‘prince’ Aurora had been calling out to in her sleep last night?
“Aurora…”
“Huh?”
“I asked if the spaghetti tasted good,” he repeated.
Aurora took another bite before she replied, “It tastes the same as before. But over these years in America, my tastes have changed. Although it’s still good, it doesn’t suit my palate anymore.”
Hayden felt a chill to his bones upon hearing this. Her words hinted at an underlying message. Could they really not go back to how things were? Aurora glanced at the time. It was nearly half past eight.
“Do you need to go back to school? I’m free, and I can take you.”
With his current status, how could he possibly be free? Aurora didn’t expose this. “Actually, I need to pick someone up from the airport. You can take me there.”
“Who are you picking up?”
“Someone very important to me, whose flight is at ten. We should head out now,” Aurora urged.
“Alright.” Hayden drove her personally, clueless about who it could be. At the airport, Aurora asked him to leave early. Hayden hadn’t even seen the person important to Aurora. How could he bear to leave?
“Since I’ve brought you here, I can take you both back later.”
“No need. I’ve already called a car, but if you want to stay, that’s fine,” Aurora said, unable to stop Hayden.
When the time came, a man emerged from the VIP channel. He was dressed simply in a white T-shirt, slim-fit capri pants, and casual shoes.
He wore sunglasses and a dark brown cap, under which curly flaxen hair peeked out.
Even in a crowd, he stood out, attracting all attention.
However, he wouldn’t spare a second glance at anyone, his eyes fixed only on a figure in white at the entrance of the corridor. He strode toward Aurora with buoyant steps.
As Hayden wondered if this man was the one Aurora was waiting for, the man tightly enveloped Aurora in an embrace.
“I’m glad you came pick me up,” the man said, clearly overjoyed, even lifting Aurora in his arms and spinning around.
Aurora did not push him away, apparently used to his hospitality, acquiescing to his audacity.
This scene made the bystanders stop and stare, some even capturing this touching moment with their phones.
To the onlookers, they seemed like a couple who had been apart for a long time, though they would be shocked to know it had been less than a month since they last met.
Hayden stood dumbfounded, ready to separate them but decided against it. What right did he have now? Aurora wasn’t averse to the man’s embrace, and she had already mentioned that this man was very important to her.
“Aurora, can you introduce me?” He couldn’t bear to watch it any longer and finally spoke up.
Aurora turned to look at him, and only then did Asher notice the man standing beside her was Hayden.
Asher knew Aurora’s past. Surprised at why she was with Hayden, he smiled as he removed his sunglasses.
Beneath the sunglasses were beautiful blue eyes, a color like the azure sky, and his features were well-defined, flawless even to Hayden’s critical eye.
“Hello, I’m Asher. Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to Hayden.
Although Asher appeared stylish and young to Hayden, he had a resolute expression, a playful smile playing on his lips as he sized Hayden up. In Hayden’s eyes, Asher was not as simple as he seemed.
“I’m Hayden Barnet.” They shook hands, both instinctively tightening their grip.
“Mr. Barnet, I’ve heard so much about you. After all, I know all about Rory’s past,” Asher said with a smirk, though Aurora felt his smile was rather annoying.
Hayden also found his smile irritating, thinking the man was definitely doing it on purpose, as he called Aurora in such an intimate way.
“May I ask what your relationship with Aurora is?” Hayden said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“My relationship with Rory? How do I put this? We used to share a bed,” said the man, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously.
Aurora’s lips twitched at Asher’s ambiguous words.