Aurora's POV

On our sixth anniversary, I had gone to Shawn’s office with an anniversary gift to surprise him.

My husband, Shawn, had been obsessing over a limited edition Lamborghini Revuelto. So I pulled every string, and finally got that car for him. The keys were wrapped in a black velvet box.

In my other hand was a pregnancy test with two pink lines because I wanted to also give him the good news that he was going to be a father again.

A wide smile was on my face as I walked into his office without knocking.

I almost wish I hadn’t, because what I found changed everything.

He was not alone. He was with my best friend, Tiffany.

Tiffany sat on Shawn’s desk like she owned it. Her blouse was open, and her lips were swollen. She dragged her fingers over his shoulder while he stood between her knees, his tie loose and his hand gripping her thigh.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

My best friend.

My husband.

I opened my mouth to scream, but it got stuck in my throat.

For a full moment, I couldn’t move or breathe. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My mind wanted to reject it, to pretend it was just a twisted nightmare.

Because it couldn't be true.

Tiffany, who had stood beside me in the delivery room when Jasmine, my daughter, was born. Tiffany, who had been my daughter's godmother.

And now she was sitting here, moaning in my husband's mouth.

The betrayal pierced through me like sharp knives.

My chest tightened. Tears gathered in my eyes, as I stared at the scene before me.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to storm across the room and claw her off him. But my body refused to move. I stood frozen in the doorway, the gifts still in my shaking hands.

Just when I thought it couldn't be worse than this, Shawn’s phone rang.

He groaned in irritation, pulling away from Tiffany’s lips to pick his phone. His hand remained on her thigh as he answered.

“What the hell do you want now?” he snapped into the phone. His voice was sharp and annoyed. “I paid you to keep quiet. Don’t test me.”

Tiffany pouted, running her fingers across his chest.

“I already gave you a huge amount for the transplant,” Shawn hissed. “You know how much I’ve spent to make this disappear.”

The word hit me like a slap. Transplant? What transplant?

My ears rang, but I forced myself to listen.

I couldn't hear the doctor’s reply through the phone, but Shawn’s response was sharp and furious. “I already gave you the money so that you would give the heart to Tiffany, not Jasmine. Jasmine is dead now, so why are you trying to threaten me?”

The ground tilted beneath me. My daughter's heart was given to Tiffany? My best friend? That didn't make sense.

I didn’t understand what I was hearing. I couldn’t process it.

Shawn’s voice was cold as he spat. “Do not call me again, Doctor. If this leaks, I'll ruin you.”

After he disconnected the call, Tiffany smiled softly as she ran her hand over his chest.

“You still can't believe you did all that for me,” she whispered, but it was loud enough for me to hear. “You really gave me her heart.”

Shawn pressed a soft kiss to her wrist, his eyes shone with admiration. “I told you, Tiffany. I would do anything for you. Aurora was too stupid to even notice. She signed the transplant papers herself. I told her it was a merger contract, and she didn’t even read the damn thing.”

A sharp gasp escaped me before I could stop it, but the sound was covered by Tiffany's giggles.

My chest caved in, my knees threatening to buckle as his words echoed.

Two months ago, a heart became available. It was a miracle because our daughter, Jasmine, had been on the transplant list for three years. But finally, after all the pain, the prayers, the sleepless nights beside her hospital bed, there was hope.

I remember the day that the hospital had called us to come.

“We have a perfect match, Mrs. Carter,” the doctor had informed us with a warm smile on her face.

I had dropped to my knees that day, sobbing with joy at that news, because finally, my baby girl was going to live.

Two days later, Jasmine died in surgery.

Shawn told me that there were complications. He blamed the hospital, and I believed him.

But he killed our daughter for Tiffany, and he used my signature to authorize it.

Tiffany had a minor congenital heart defect, something drugs could fix.

Shawn had used my signature to give our daughter’s heart to Tiffany, someone who didn’t even need it.

It was probably why she wasn't around for Jasmine's funeral.

My best friend. My husband's mistress. Jasmine’s godmother and murderer.

I trusted her with my life. She let me sob in her arms while my baby’s heart was beating inside her chest.

Aurora's POV

Tiffany leaned in closer to Shawn, her voice dropping. “But Shawn… what if Aurora finds out? Aren’t you worried about what she might do?”

Shawn chuckled coldly. “Aurora? Please. She’s nothing without me. She cut her family off for me, and now she has no one. She’s powerless. If she dares misbehave, I’ll toss her to the streets where she belongs.”

Tiffany giggled.

The gift box slipped from my hands, landing on the floor quietly, but neither of them noticed as they were moaning into each other’s mouths.

Tiffany was there the night Jasmine had her first heart attack.

She stayed up with me at the hospital, brought me food when I forgot to eat. She told me Jasmine was the light in her life.

A bitter laugh caught in my throat as I remembered her words. “Jasmine lives on inside me.”

She hadn't been lying.

Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled back, struggling to breathe. My world had shattered in a single moment.

I picked up the gift from the floor, tears running down my face as I walked out without making any sound.

By the time I reached the living room, my legs gave out, and I collapsed on the couch as I began sobbing.

The tears wouldn’t stop. My chest hurt, and my throat burned, that was when my phone buzzed.

It was a picture on Instagram, posted by Tiffany.

It was a photo of Tiffany smiling beside a man as his hand gently cradled her belly.

His face wasn’t visible, but I recognized that watch instantly. I had gotten it for Shawn at our last year's wedding anniversary.

He was kissing her stomach in the photo. “Counting down the weeks till we meet our little miracle (love emoji)”

I stared at the screen until my eyes blurred.

That was my husband, and that was my daughter’s heart, beating inside my best friend’s chest, my husband’s mistress.

I smashed the gift box against the wall and screamed until my throat burned.

My stomach twisted. I ran to the bathroom and threw up until my throat stung.

I wanted to claw my skin off. I sat on the cold tile, shaking as tears ran down my face.

This was my fault. I should have read the contract. I should have checked what I was signing, but I had trusted Shawn blindly.

Shawn had called me a nobody. He thought I had nobody.

But he was so wrong.

I reached for my phone and dialed a number I swore never to call again.

“Hello, Father. I’m ready to marry whoever you want me to. Come and pick me up in five days, after I finalize my divorce.” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

“Divorce? I thought you were hopelessly in love with Shawn Carter. Why the sudden change of heart?”

“He killed my daughter,” I replied. “And I want him to pay.”

My father's voice sharpened. “I warned you, Shawn was never worthy of you. He doesn’t deserve the dirt under your feet.”

I released a bitter laugh. “I know that now. And he’ll know it too, soon enough.”

My father’s tone hardened. “Then come home, Aurora. Your brothers have been waiting. And Shawn will learn what it means to make an enemy of the Redmonds.”

A tear slipped down my cheek at the thought of my seven brothers. They were overprotective, loud, and violent. But they had always loved me, and I had thrown them all away for Shawn.

They warned me. All seven of them.

They told me he was scum, and I screamed at them to shut up.

I slammed the door in my father’s face the day I chose Shawn.

“Tell them I’m coming home,” I whispered.

I hung up and looked around the house one last time.

In five days, I would be gone, but I will make Shawn pay.

He took my daughter’s heart to save his mistress. Now I’ll rip out his world, piece by piece. That wasn’t just a threat. It was a mother’s vow.

Shawn would finally understand what happened when you crossed a Redmond.

Because my father wasn’t just any man. He was Richard Redmond, the head of the Redmond empire, the most powerful empire in America.

Aurora's POV

I didn’t wait. As soon as I hung up with my father, I grabbed the first suitcase I could find and dragged it to the bedroom. My hands shook, but I forced myself to focus.

There was no time to think, because if I stopped or slowed down, I would probably fall apart from the weight of what I had just learned.

I opened drawers, pulled out clothes without any care, and stuffed them into suitcases.

As I folded a dress, my hands froze. It was the one Jasmine had loved, “Mommy, you look like a princess in this.” My chest tightened, and I swallowed hard. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back. Not now.

As I shoved another shirt into the suitcase, the door opened.

“Aurora?” Shawn asked from behind me. “What are you doing?”

I snapped the suitcase shut and turned to face him with a fake smile on my face.

“I’m just rearranging my closet,” I said lightly.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as he scanned the messy room. He opened his mouth, but another voice cut in.

“Hey, Aurora.”

I froze as my stomach twisted. Tiffany’s voice. I hadn’t realized that Shawn had come in with her.

My eyes glanced to her chest before I could stop myself, to the place where my daughter’s heart was beating. I had to resist the urge to lunge at her, to claw the heart out of her.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails pierced into my palms. My daughter’s heart was beating inside her chest, and she had the audacity to stand in my bedroom, smiling at me.

I said nothing. If I opened my mouth, I would scream in rage.

Then I noticed the bags. There were two designer suitcases behind Shawn.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Shawn noticed where I was looking, and before I could ask, he smiled as if he had good news. “Tiffany is going to be staying with us for a while.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

Before Shawn could explain, Tiffany interrupted with a little laugh stepping closer. “Didn’t you hear? I’m pregnant.”

Her hand moved to cover her belly with a wide smile as if she was expecting me to gasp and squeal, and hug her.

Instead, I raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Her smile faltered. For a moment, her mask cracked, and I saw the flicker of surprise at my cold reaction. She recovered quickly, her lower lips trembled as she tried to look sad. “I thought you would be happy for me, Aurora. I mean… after everything we’ve been through.”

Happy? The word burned through me. What was I supposed to be happy about? The fact that she had ripped away everything from me.

Before I could speak, Shawn’s voice cut in, sharp with anger. “Aurora, what the hell is wrong with you? She’s your best friend. You should be happy for her. Instead you’re acting jealous and bitter.”

I turned slowly to him with a sneer on my face. Jealous? Bitter?

“Jealous?” I repeated, my voice was cold and icy. “Why on earth would I be jealous?”

His eyes flashed. “Because she’s having a baby, and you—” He stopped himself, but the damage was done. His words pierced through me like daggers.

Because I lost mine. Because he killed mine.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and not explode. “Then tell me, Shawn.” I pointed at Tiffany. “Why is she moving here? Why does she suddenly need to live in my house?”

He stepped closer, clenching his jaw. “Because she shouldn’t be alone right now. She needs us. She needs help. That baby needs support.”

“Us?” I asked softly.

“Yes,” Tiffany chimed in quietly, trying to sound pitiful. “It’s just until things settle down. I thought you, of all people, would understand.”

Shawn nodded. “Exactly. She needs support. She’s family, Aurora.”

I snorted in sarcasm. “She’s not my family.” I spat.

Tiffany flinched, and Shawn frowned.

“Why are you jealous of her happiness, Aurora? Instead of celebrating with her, you’re acting like this.” He pointed toward me with disgust. “Do you hear yourself? It’s pathetic.”

Pathetic.

The word sliced through me, but I didn’t flinch.

I tilted my head, glancing between the two of them with a bitter smile on my lips.

“With the way you’re acting, I have to ask, Shawn,” I asked softly, “is it your child?”

The room went silent.

Shawn’s jaw twitched. Tiffany’s eyes widened in mock shock.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shawn snapped. “Of course it’s not mine.”

“Really?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Then why is she moving in with us? Why are you getting so defensive?”

“She’s alone, Aurora!” Shawn barked. “She has no one else, and she’s carrying a child. What kind of monster would turn her away?”

What kind of monster would kill his own daughter? I asked myself.

The words echoed in my head, but I didn’t let them slip out.

Instead, I turned back to the suitcase and deliberately zipped it closed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to finish rearranging my closet.”

Shawn murmured something to Tiffany, and together they walked out of the room.

The moment they were gone, my smile fell. My hands shook as I gripped the suitcase.