Chapter 10

After that day, Aurora truly vanished from their lives. Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn hadn't expected her to disappear entirely. Based on her attachment to them, they had assumed she'd probably played along with their wishes the other day for show. Nevertheless, two weeks had passed, and there was no sign of her. That was when Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn finally realized that she was really gone. Without her around, life felt oddly hollow. One evening after work, Taylor absent-mindedly drove to the villa Aurora had used to stay. Inside, it was quiet and empty as if her absence had stripped it of warmth. He wandered into the art studio and glanced around at the easel, the chair, and the paint brushes. As he stood there, he found himself picturing not Danica, but Aurora peacefully immersed in her work. When Taylor approached the easel, he discovered a stack of sketches Aurora had left behind. Page after page, he saw his own face, carefully and lovingly drawn over and over again. She seemed to really like his face. On each sketch, she had signed with "my love." Taylor felt a sharp pang in his chest, unsettled by the tenderness he saw in her strokes. He mulled, "You knew I only saw you as a stand-in, Aurora. What did you love about me?" Meanwhile, Stellan had also arrived. He found himself drawn to Aurora's bedroom but stopped short at the door, suddenly wondering why he'd come at all. After all, he'd chosen Danica. So, why did he feel this gnawing emptiness? Why did it feel as though the only person who could fill it wasn't Danica? Then, Stellan noticed a box labeled with his name. He opened it, and his heart thudded painfully. Inside were birthday gifts Aurora had prepared for him, one for every year from age nine to 26, almost every year of his life. On each note, she had written "May Stellan always be loved." Stellan's hands trembled as he held a note, and an uncomfortable tightness spread through his chest. Flynn was the last to arrive. As he reached the villa, he noticed the rosemary planted in the garden. He remembered that Aurora had once gifted him a similar plant and claimed it would protect him because she knew how reckless he could be with his extreme sports. He hadn't cared much then and had probably tossed it aside somewhere. But as Flynn approached this one, he saw a protection charm hanging on it. On the charm was a handwritten blessing along with his name. Flynn was momentarily stunned. Just then, Taylor exited the art studio, and Stellan emerged from the bedroom. When they saw each other, all three of them instinctively hid the items in their hands behind their backs. "What are you two doing here?" Flynn broke the silence first. "Picking up something I left behind," Taylor replied. "Same," Stellan said. They left the villa without further questions, each wrapped in his own thoughts. But as soon as they were back in their cars, they couldn't hold it any longer and simultaneously made a call to look into Auror's whereabouts. … Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn searched for Aurora for an entire week, but it was as if she had vanished off the face of the earth. The longer she remained missing, the more agitated they became. Then, news swept through their social circles. It was said that the Merrick family's eldest son, who had supposedly died in a plane crash years ago, had returned. Overjoyed, the Merricks had invited everyone to a grand welcome-back gala in his honor. Naturally, Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn were on the guest list. The banquet hall buzzed with excitement as everyone eagerly discussed Louis's miraculous survival. "After the plane crash, everyone thought he was dead. His family even held a memorial." "I heard Louis had a fiancée. That girl threw herself at his coffin and bled." "Well, it's a happy ending now. I heard they're planning to announce their marriage plans tonight." While the chatter filled the hall, Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn sat off to the side, visibly uninterested. They'd never met Louis before and didn't have much of a connection with the Merrick family, who tended to keep to themselves in the sprawling social circles of Duskvale. Each of them was restless and distracted as they constantly glanced down at their phones, checking with their contacts for any updates on Aurora's whereabouts. Unfortunately, they all got negative responses and tossed their phones aside in frustration. How could someone disappear just like that? They'd always thought Aurora's attachment to them ran too deep for her to just walk away. Wasn't she supposed to love them? How could she just vanish? An abrupt wave of excitement rippled through the crowd as Louis finally appeared. Taylor, Stellan, and Flynn glanced over without much interest. But as soon as they laid eyes on him, their expressions froze. On Louis' face, they each saw fragments of themselves. His face, his eyes, and his beauty mark. Just as the shock set in, they noticed that Louis wasn't alone. Standing beside him, hand in hand, was a woman in an elegant gown, her dark hair cascading like silk, poised and beautiful. The three of them looked up in unison and saw the face they had been thinking about day and night. It was Aurora!