Chapter 1287

“What is it you want to say?”

Aurora looked at Grace, feigning confusion.

Just as Grace opened her mouth to speak, Aurora cut her off.

“I know already. You’re furious because you couldn’t get this project, so you came running to me, trying to snatch it back, isn’t that right?”

Aurora struck first.

Grace’s lips parted, her tone faltering. “Of course not…”

But under Aurora’s gaze, the words rang hollow and utterly unconvincing.

Aurora’s smile widened. “If you say so. But let me tell you the truth–you want this project simply because I mentioned it to you once, and from that moment you assumed it was yours. That everyone else should fall in line with your will.”

As she spoke, Aurora stepped closer and closer. “In your eyes, I’m nothing but a machine built to serve Walton Corporation. The moment I make a choice you don’t like, you make it your mission to punish me."

“Do you really believe that just because someone offers you a project, it automatically belongs to you? Can you not, just once, recognize your place? Not everything belongs to you.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Grace licked her dry lips.

But clearly, her words carried no weight at all.

Aurora only rolled her eyes and refused to waste another moment.

It struck her then just how laughable the family bond she had once longed for truly was.

Affection that was always tainted with an agenda–what good was it, even if she won it back?

Better to have nothing at all. Better to rip the bandage off quickly than drag out the pain.

She took Lucas’ hand and walked out without a backward glance.

Grace was left standing alone in the café, staring blankly at their retreating figures.

No one knew what she was thinking in that moment as her eyes lingered on Aurora’s back.

When Lucas followed Aurora out, he kept a cautious eye on her expression.

He couldn’t tell how much of what she had said inside was real, and how much was just for show.

Feelings were the hardest thing to untangle–harsh words could be spoken, but the heart wasn’t so easily controlled.

Lucas tried to steer the moment away. “Let me take you out for a walk.”

“No, the studio just opened, and there’s still too much that needs my attention,” Aurora refused without hesitation.

And she wasn’t wrong.

With the studio still finding its footing, and Daniel’s project now in their hands, there were endless matters that required her personal oversight.

Lucas didn’t agree. “No matter how busy you are, your health comes first. You need to keep your spirits up. Money will never run out of chances to be made.”

“But if I want independence, then I have to earn it. That’s what matters most.”

Of course, Lucas understood what she meant. He looked at her serious, determined face.

The words, “I’ll take care of you,” rose to his lips, but he forced them back down.

He knew Aurora too well. She was never meant to be a caged songbird. She belonged out in the wide, open world.