Chapter 34

Aurora slammed her foot down on the accelerator, and the black sports car shot forward like an arrow, leaving a trail of exhaust in its wake. One hand gripped the steering wheel tightly while the other roughly wiped her face. Grace’s furious expression and harsh words lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.

“You’ve completely disgraced the Walton reputation!”

“Do you even respect me as your mother?”

Each word stabbed into her heart like a poisoned needle, sharp and unforgiving. Aurora bit down on her lip and pressed the gas pedal even harder.

Right now, all she wanted was to escape from everything. Escape from that suffocating house. Escape from a mother who had always favored Tessa and treated her with nothing but indifference.

By the time she pulled up in front of Megan’s apartment, her palms were slick with sweat. Megan lived in a high-end apartment complex in the city center. Aurora parked her car with practiced ease and rang the doorbell.

“Aurora? What are you doing here at this hour?” Megan opened the door and immediately gasped in shock at the sight of Aurora’s swollen cheek. “Oh my God! What happened to your face? Who hit you?”

“My mother… she’s biased to the bone!”

Aurora grabbed a bottle of ice water from the counter and took a long, angry gulp. The icy liquid slid down her throat, but it did nothing to extinguish the burning rage inside her. “Can you believe it? She actually wanted me to apologize to that perverted scumbag, Chuck Mills!”

Megan nearly jumped in fury. “What?! That disgusting old creep harassed the female employees, and she expects you to apologize? Who the hell does he think he is?! Aurora, you did the right thing! That bastard had it coming! He’s been throwing his weight around at the company for way too long—someone needed to put him in his place!” She fumed as she spoke, but her hands were already gently cradling Aurora’s face, examining the injury with concern. “Ugh, your face is so swollen! It’s turning blue and purple! Does it hurt?”

Aurora waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing, just a small bruise.”

“Small bruise?! Are you kidding me? Look at you! What if it leaves a scar?! No way, we need to treat this right now!” Without giving Aurora a chance to protest, Megan dragged her toward the couch and started rummaging through her drawers.

“Damn it! I know I had a first-aid kit in here somewhere… where the hell did I put it?” Muttering to herself, she continued her frantic search, determined to find the medicine Aurora needed.

Aurora Walton let out a helpless chuckle. “It’s really not a big deal. It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

“No way! Your face is way too swollen—you need to reduce the swelling! How are you supposed to go out like this tomorrow?” Megan insisted, still rummaging through her drawers for medicine.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as if she had just thought of something brilliant. “Got it!” she smacked her thigh excitedly.

Aurora gave her a puzzled look. “Got what?”

Megan grinned mischievously and pulled out her phone. “I have a plan! Just wait!”

Aurora frowned. “What are you up to?”

Megan leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “I’m calling my cousin and asking him to bring over some medicine. And hey, maybe this will be a good chance for you two to bond!”

Aurora froze for a second. The last thing she wanted was for Lucas to find out about this. Seeing Megan about to make the call, Aurora immediately pressed down on her phone. “Megan, don’t call Lucas.”

“Don’t—”

Before Aurora could finish her sentence, Megan had already dialed the number and even put it on speaker. “Hey, Lucas! Where are you? Aurora’s at my place… she–she got hit!”

On the other end, Lucas was in the middle of organizing a meeting when he heard Aurora’s name. His heart clenched instantly. “What happened? Who hit her?”

“Ugh, don’t ask so many questions! Just come over! Her face is completely swollen—it looks bad! I don’t have any medicine here, so bring some when you come. Okay, that’s all, bye, cousin!” Megan quickly ended the call, completely ignoring the desperate looks Aurora was throwing her way.

Lucas, however, had already caught the key phrase “her face is completely swollen.”

That was all he needed to hear.

Without hesitation, he stood up. “Cancel the meeting—I have an urgent matter to take care of.”

“Mr. Carter, but… today’s meeting is extremely important…” his assistant reminded him cautiously.

“No meeting is more important than my wife.” Lucas’ tone was ice-cold.

Grabbing his coat, he strode out of the conference room, leaving his stunned employees exchanging bewildered glances.

Chapter 35