Chapter 8
Aurora sensed their malicious intent and immediately refused: “I don’t play these childish games!“||
But as she backed away, one of the young men suddenly stood up and, before she could react, slapped her hard across the face.
Raucous laughter erupted around them: “Serves her right for hitting Evelyn!”
Evelyn smiled innocently “Rory, don’t take it personally. We’re just having
Beside her, Grayson watched coldly, simply spinning the bottle again and uttering one word: “Continue.”
In that moment, Aurora finally understood why she’d been invited.
Clearly, kneeling in the rain wasn’t punishment enough
She had slapped Evelyn once, and Grayson intended to have her publicly repay it tenfold.
And so, the spinning bottle pointed at her again and again
Ten times in total
When the final slap landed sharply, the bodyguards released their grip on her
Aurora felt a ringing in her ears as she gingerly touched her swollen face.
“Grayson, you promised to bake my birthday cake yourself tonight, Evelyn suddenly pouted
Grayson smiled softly and stood up. “Wait here. I’ll go to the kitchen.”
Before leaving, he stared deeply at Aurora but said nothing
With his departure, Evelyn dropped her gentle, vulnerable facade.
*How does it feel, Aurora? Enjoy being slapped?”
But Aurora completely ignored her provocation, merely curving her lips into a meaningless smile before walking away.
She knew this heiress, drunk on her first taste of victory, would definitely follow her-
Sure enough, as Aurora stepped onto the yacht’s upper deck, she heard the sharp click of high heels behind her.
“Evelyn Reed, do you really think… you’ve won? Aurora suddenly spoke, stopping at the railing. “Did you know that Grayson says once you’re fully recovered and he’s repaid his debt to you, he’s going to throw you out of my home..”
“Shut up!” Evelyn had never tolerated such defiance. “You pathetic little caretaker, you’re not worthy of being my rival.“]
She approached step by stop umil Aurora suddenly turned and grabbed the lace collar of her couture dress]
“That night, was my mother like this too? She merely touched your couture dress, and you.“[]
The rest of her words drowned in Aurora’s choked sob.
Her pain only fueled Evelyn’s sadistic pleasure: “Yes, you’re right. She accidentally touched my dress and refused to kneel and apologize. Once 1 realized she was your mother, I had to teach her a lesson.”
“You should have seen her with broken hands, her mouth gagged so she couldn’t scream. It was pitiful,”
“Right under your feet on this very deck–her blood dripped into the sea, I was actually planning to break ber right leg too, but she struggled to stay alive and fell overboard, dying completely.”
Her boastful words ignited hatred in Aurora’s eyes: “You murderer
But Evelyn just laughed airily: “So what? Grayson believes me. He even protected me in court!”
Aurora’s grip on her collar tightened: “Don’t forget. I’m still Mrs. Hart! Grayson will never divorce me. As long as I exist. I’ll always be Mrs. Hart!”
Her deliberate provocation ignited Evelyn’s fury like a flame to kindling.
hold
In that instant, she grabbed Aurora’s throat in a vicious h
As the pressure on her neck increased, Aurora’s face vurned red, her words broken: “Let… go! Are you… going to kill me? I’m telling you as long as I don’t die, you’ll never..”
In that moment, Evelyn slammed her against the railing with unexpected force. The impact numbed Aurora’s back, and her wedding ring slipped from her finger.
As she struggled. Aurors found herself hanging halfway over the railing, suddenly losing her footing and plummeting from the third deck
The noisy second–floor party drowned out the sound of her hitting the water]]
As the frigid seawater filled her lungs, Aurora strangely folt a sense of warmth
These waters were where her mother had been
So she wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t be afraid.
As she slowly closed her eyes, a tiny red light flashed from the second button of her dress]]
There, hidden, was a miniature camera||
The truth submerged beneath these waters would eventually be exposed to the light
