Clara

“If you need anything, call or mind-link me, okay? I’ll do my best to get back as soon as possible. When I return, we can decide where to go on our vacation,” Damon murmured, wrapping his arms around me.

I smiled and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you,” I murmured. After he left, I bathed, got dressed, and left the room.

Today, I was going to talk to Dimitri. I needed to be cautious, in case he was truly the psychopath everyone said he was.

I didn't know where to find him, but I suspected he would come to me if he saw me. So I went outside and sat in the garden, waiting.

“I almost didn’t notice you, you blend in so well with the beautiful flowers, buttercup,” I heard his voice behind me. I smirked. He arrived faster than I expected.

“Were you waiting for me to leave the house?” I asked as he came into view.

“As much as I’d like to say that, I just happened to be passing by when you walked out, and you looked lonely, so I came to keep you company,” he said. I nodded, folding my arms.

“Good, because I came out here for you,” I replied. He stared at me for a moment, then chuckled.

“I know I’m the handsome and better brother, but I won’t steal my brother’s wife,” he responded. I rolled my eyes.

“But you stole Aurora?” I asked. His face turned serious, but in a blink, he was back to his usual bubbly self. “Well, I wouldn’t say I stole her, but whatever floats your boat,” he replied. I frowned.

“I want to talk about your relationship with Aurora,” I said, and his smile faltered.

“Well, it’s just like they told you. I fell for her, and she claimed I raped her because she wouldn’t give me a chance,” he said. I scoffed.

“I know that doesn’t sound right. I know there’s more to it, and I want you to tell me,” I said. He tilted his head.

“But there’s no story to tell, Clara,” he murmured. This was the first time he’d called me by my real name since we met, signifying he was getting serious.

“I’m suspicious of Aurora, Dimitri, and I feel like she came here for a reason, and you know what that reason is. It’s no coincidence you arrived a week after she did, is it?” I asked. His eyes darkened.

“Telling you the truth might get you into trouble, Clara, so I think it’s best you leave everything to me and avoid Aurora as much as possible,” he muttered. How could the truth possibly get me into trouble?

“I still want to know. I need to know,” I urged. He stared at me, sighed, and sat beside me.

“As you know, Damon, Aurora, and I were inseparable. We did everything together. I won’t deny I fell for Aurora; in fact, I liked her first, but she never looked at me. All she wanted was Damon. Truth be told, Damon never liked her the way she thought he did. In fact, he was sleeping with other women while he was with her, but he gave her more attention than the others. I loved my brother, and when I saw Aurora and him getting close, I distanced myself so my feelings for her would die. At first glance, Aurora seemed like an angel. If only I’d known how wrong we all were about her…” He paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

“Later, Aurora showed interest in me. If she fought with Damon, she’d run to me, saying I was better than him and that she wished she were with me instead. I was young and foolish, so I believed her. We started having an affair, and I confessed my feelings. She said she liked me too, but I knew she didn’t. Over time, I noticed her obsession with Damon. She stalked him, and slowly, the women he slept with were murdered, one by one,” he revealed. I gasped.

“She killed them?” I asked. He nodded.

“She didn’t want anyone close to him. She tried to get rid of Levi, but she had nothing against him because he kept his distance. But she did manage to get rid of me,” he said. My eyes widened.

“She lied about you raping her?” I asked softly. He laughed humorlessly.

“She drugged me and set the whole thing up. If anything, she raped and molested me that night, and made it seem like I was the one. Damon immediately believed her because she’d been telling him I was stalking her and all sorts of nonsense. He immediately shunned me and forbade me from being near him or Aurora,” he informed me. I nodded slowly, processing everything.

So she had raped him, not the other way around? That was devastating.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

“It’s okay. The truth will come out soon,” I murmured. He stared at me, then grinned.

“It will,” he responded. I released his hand.

“By your words, Damon didn’t banish you after the incident, and I assume Aurora did something worse,” I said. He frowned.

“Yes, she did a lot of bad things, but the worst was making my mother sick. Aurora is the one who gave my mother her illness, and why she almost died in the past…”