From a distance, the two men watched as the women entered the lingerie store-a place they usually passed without a second glance. Now, as they saw Aurora walk in, their eyes lingered involuntarily on a model at the entrance wearing a black lace dress, imagining Aurora in that attire.
Julian, who had previously savored Aurora’s charm, had fantasized similarly the last time he saw Ivy in lingerie. He was well aware of Aurora’s personality; she would never wear such clothes. It seemed he would have to resort to some seductive persuasion in the future.
After a while, Aurora and Alison emerged, laden with large and small bags. Julian, noticing Aurora also carrying a bag, swallowed hard.
“Did Little Bunny buy something too?” he wondered. Another possibility struck him: perhaps Aurora was merely helping Alison carry her purchases, but both men could guess her underlying motive. She must be aiming to use Alison to get close to Paul for a paternity test with Ivy. Now that Paul had been dismissed from the company, Aurora’s chances to approach him were slim, making Alison an ideal candidate for her plans.
Alison, having shopped for lingerie, then went for a manicure-a long overdue activity for Aurora, who hadn’t shopped with a female friend in ages. Given her current status, she didn’t need to shop for herself; every season, someone prepared new clothes for her. Alison had seemingly forgotten her animosity towards Aurora, occasionally linking arms with her-an astonishing sight given their past antagonism at the company.
“Aurora, I truly envy you. You’re beautiful, wealthy, and you come from such a distinguished background. My life has been very different, living in a small apartment from childhood,” Alison remarked, not addressing her as ‘manager’ but simply by her name, which Aurora found refreshingly carefree.
“Good? There’s no absolute fairness in this world. You see the glamorous side of my life, but you don’t know how often I’ve hovered between life and death,” Aurora said with a self-deprecating laugh. How long had it been since she had opened up like this to someone? It was unexpected that Alison would be the one she confided in.
“Do you know why I hate mistresses so much? I had a perfect family, but a mistress shattered my fairytale world,” Alison thought of Magnus’s respectable face at the company, never imagining he would behave like Paul.
“It seems few men can resist temptation,” Alison chuckled.
“You have every right to hate me; mistresses do ruin many families.”
Aurora didn’t respond further. Everyone’s values are different, and Alison had compromised her own dignity by choosing to be a mistress.
“Where to now?” Aurora asked.
“The presidential suite at Grand Belcourt. This is the last thing you’ll do for me-book the room,” Alison was already dressed to the nines.
“Alright, let’s go now,” Aurora and Alison took a taxi directly to the hotel. Once inside the presidential suite, Alison took a bath and put on a very seductive makeup.
Aurora checked her phone repeatedly; Julian’s flight should have landed by now, but why hadn’t he called? She felt utterly unsettled, and Alison, noticing Aurora’s unusual demeanor in the mirror, commented while applying bright red lipstick, “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me a man dumped you?”
“No, just a small quarrel,” Aurora said, glancing aside.
“It must have been something you did to make a man angry,” Alison asserted confidently.
“How can you be so sure?” Aurora gave her a quick glance, having never shared her issues with Julian.
“It’s because of your cold demeanor; any man with you must be accommodating you,” Alison analyzed.
“From our conversation just now, it’s clear you’re not well-versed in matters between men and women. So, seeing you like this, I guessed you must have upset your man and now he’s ignoring you. Since earlier, your gaze has been unfocused, often lost in thought-that’s how I figured it out.”
Alison’s business wasn’t doing well, but she seemed quite adept in these matters.
“Yes, he’s been really good to me, but I hurt him in a moment of caprice,” Aurora said with a self-deprecating smile.
“He was so upset he flew to New York without a word.”
“That’s easy then, since he loves you so much, just lower your pride, act sweetly, and all will be well,” Alison, clearly experienced, assured her.
“Men are easy to appease.”
“It sounds easy, but he has never been like this with me before,” Aurora smiled faintly.
“Let me teach you a trick-if he still loves you, just wear the outfit you bought earlier, take a photo with your phone, and I guarantee he’ll fly right back. Do you believe me? Of course, if he doesn’t love you anymore, even if you stood naked in front of him, he wouldn’t care. You should see how I do it,” Alison said as she finished her makeup.
Aurora watched Alison change into a revealing black outfit, complete with a choker around her neck.
“Take a photo for me,” Alison handed her phone to Aurora, “a close-up would be best.”
Aurora took her phone; Alison really knew how to seduce a man, posing provocatively in such a short time.
Aurora blushed, unsure whether to describe the woman as promiscuous or genuinely uninhibited.
Her tongue teasingly licked her lips, her legs suggestively positioned, her lingerie barely visible.
This was real seduction. Aurora now understood why so many men strayed-the tactics of these women were just too compelling, drawing men in with little effort.
Aurora thought of Julian, superior to those men, and wondered if he could resist someone as formidable as Alison.
With these thoughts, Aurora’s mood dampened. She finished taking the photo, and Alison promptly sent it to Paul’s phone.
“Will this really bring him back?” Aurora had thought Paul, once burnt, would be cautious, and she had prepared to have Alison employ a more desperate strategy.
“Men don’t change, no one knows better than I how fixated he is on sex; he will come,” Alison stated confidently.
Aurora couldn’t deny it; it was a true test for men. Soon enough, her phone buzzed with a message.
“Stop sending these, we’re done.”
“If he really was over it, he would have just deleted the message-that’s a signal,” Alison asserted even more confidently.