When Aurora arrived breathlessly at Julian’s side, he immediately noticed something was amiss in her expression. “What happened?”
He was familiar with every subtle expression on Aurora’s face. A layer of fine sweat covered Aurora’s forehead, and despite her calm demeanor, her brows were tightly furrowed. “I can’t hide anything from you, let me drink some juice first,” she said, lying down on a nearby sofa to rest.
She was drenched in sweat, which wouldn’t have been surprising if she had run all the way from the villa. Julian handed her a glass of orange juice, watching as she gulped it down quickly.
“Slow down, it’s all yours,” he said. Thirsty and no longer concerned with appearances in front of Julian, Aurora quickly finished the juice. As soon as she put the glass down, Julian tenderly wiped the juice from the corner of her lips.
“Can you tell me what happened now?” Julian sat beside her as Aurora got up from the sofa. “Let’s sit by the sea,” she suggested, needing to stand to see the ocean around them. “Alright,” he agreed since they had some time before their meal. They walked hand in hand to the beach.
Aurora sat down on the soft sand and with a strong pull, dragged Julian down with her, rolling together into the sandy heap. “You naughty girl,” Julian chuckled, content to lie beside her as the sea breeze blew over them.
The sound of seagulls and waves mingled together, and in the distance, the sunset slowly descended, casting a golden hue across the sky. The beauty of the sunset by the sea was breathtaking, and Julian finally understood why Aurora loved the ocean so much-it was truly beautiful.
Turning to look at the woman beside him, her hair dancing in the wind, he realized she was the most beautiful scene in his eyes.
“I ran into Hayden just now; it seems he has moved here too, luckily he doesn’t know exactly where I live,” Aurora began to explain.
“Now that he knows you’re here, it would be easy for him to find out where, but with me here, even if he does, it won’t matter.” Julian wasn’t particularly concerned about Hayden; he knew that Hayden could never pose a real threat.
“Until now, he still thinks there’s a chance we might get back together, thinking I’m with you just to get back at him. I don’t know where he gets his confidence, creating such an illusion.” Aurora felt disgusted remembering the words he had said when she left; she could never be with him again in her life.
“Little Bunny, there’s something I think I need to tell you,” Julian said seriously, rising from the sand. Aurora, seeing his seriousness, also stood up slowly. “You can tell me, Julian.”
“I once told you Hayden has always liked to model himself after me, but I didn’t tell you something then because I was afraid it would hurt you.”
“I’m not afraid of anything now, Julian. Tell me, I can handle it.”
Julian pulled out a wallet, and Aurora, who had never looked through his wallet before, didn’t know why he suddenly showed it to her. He opened the wallet, revealing a photograph of a girl smiling sweetly. She remembered the photo-it was taken when she graduated from junior high. “How do you have this picture?”
“In fact, I have photos of you from every age, I had a special status back then and was afraid you’d despise me if you knew.”
I’ve never been one to care about what others say, but I was afraid that you would look down on me like they do. That’s why I never told you about my identity on the boat, even though I had many chances. I could only watch you from the shadows. One day, Hayden saw this picture and uncovered the biggest secret I had hidden in my heart.
“Julian, are you saying that Hayden had seen my photo before he met me?” Aurora suddenly recalled some things.
“Yes, he saw many portraits of you in my room. If I hadn’t been so fond of you, why would I have placed your photos in every corner of my room?” Julian chuckled at his own foolishness back then.
His days with the Alvarez family were not as good as others imagined. Whenever he felt like giving up, he would look at Aurora’s photo, which seemed to give him the strength and reason to persist. He wanted to stand out, to present himself to her not as a bastard, but in a brilliant and dignified manner.
“You mean he imitated you in everything, aiming to surpass you, even going after the woman you liked…” Aurora didn’t finish her sentence. She felt a chill down her spine, realizing that the three years she thought were filled with joy were merely a tool in Hayden’s strategic game.
She remembered the day they first met. Genevieve had the driver take Ivy and Zachary to school first, telling Aurora that there were no cars available at home.
Aurora had to take a taxi, carrying many bags on her own to handle the paperwork. When she arrived, some older boys were overly enthusiastic, making her uncomfortable.
It was then that Hayden appeared. Unlike the typical campus novel scenario where the heroine meets a cold-hearted devil, she met a prince charming instead. Dressed in a white shirt, with his bangs softly on his forehead, he looked clean and gentle. He made his way through the crowd towards her, “Are you a new student too? I just enrolled. I can take you there.”
“Tha… Thank you.”
“No need.” He took her suitcase like a gentleman. “Are you staying on campus?”
With Genevieve at home, how could she dare to stay there? She would just go home on weekends. Aurora nodded, noticing a surprised look in the boy’s eyes.
“Which class are you in?”
“Class D.”
“What a coincidence, I’m also in Class D. Looks like we’re classmates.”
On the shady path, Aurora met his gentle gaze, and her lips curved into a light smile. The dappled sunlight fell on them, blending with the delightful music, and that day, her heart soared. She was finally free from Genevieve and Ivy. High school was bound to be unforgettable.
Now, recalling those feelings, Aurora still remembered that pure joy. Thinking of Hayden’s expression back then, she knew he had already recognized her and knew her identity. Aurora had thought his closeness was due to her being an heir to the Montgomery family.
After hearing Julian’s words, she realized it wasn’t so. Well… what did it matter? After all, it was all just an accident.