CHAPTER 313: CHAPTER 313: INVESTOR

The door shut behind them.

Olivia crossed her arms and looked at the invitation on the table. "I don’t know why," she said slowly, "but I feel like their intentions weren’t that pure. Maybe they planned to humiliate us at the party."

Aurora shook her head, still standing in place. "No," she said. "I don’t think that was it."

Everyone turned to her.

"The way they were acting," Aurora continued, "It didn’t seem like they were planning something bad at the party. It felt more like... the party wasn’t even the point. It was just an excuse. What really mattered to them was getting us to say yes. That’s all they wanted."

Olivia, Theodore, Adriana, and Lucas stared at her.

"Do you know something?" Lucas asked.

Aurora gave a small, mysterious smile. "Not much. But whatever I do know..." she paused and looked at each of them, "I can say one thing for sure. Things are about to get interesting."

For a moment, the room was quiet.

Olivia calmly looked at Aurora and shook her head. "You should stop acting like you’re in some mystery movie," she said with a playful smile.

"You always talk like you know everything and we’re just waiting for you to reveal some big secret. If you know it just spill it."

Theodore nodded seriously. "For the first time in a long time, I actually agree with Olivia."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. It would be better if we all just go and see what the party is about."

But the moment she said that, Theodore shook his head quickly. "No way. I have a shoot tomorrow. I can’t go."

Lucas raised his hand lazily from the couch. "I have plans already. Really important ones."

Even Adriana looked up from her phone and said, "Yeah. I have plans too. Sorry."

Aurora looked at all three of them, completely speechless. "You don’t even know what day or time the party is. How can you say no so fast?"

None of them answered. They just looked away or sipped their drinks.

Aurora sighed. It was strange. Really strange. But she didn’t argue. She looked at Olivia and shrugged.

"I guess it’s just us, then."

"Fine with me," Olivia said. "Let’s just get it over with."

Aurora checked the invitation card again. The party was scheduled for tomorrow night at 8 p.m. She put the card down and looked at Olivia. "We still have time. Let’s pick something nice to wear."

The two of them got up and headed to their rooms. They found some pretty garlands and laid out their dresses for the next day.

..................

The next evening, everything was quiet in the house as Aurora and Olivia finished getting ready.

Aurora was just about to follow Olivia to the car when her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Emily calling.

She answered calmly, "Hello?"

Emily sounded excited. "Aurora, I have good news. Your software is a huge hit!"

Aurora raised her eyebrow. "How big are we talking? In numbers."

Emily giggled. "Well, we already have over 100,000 users. And since the pricing you set was $1,000 per user, you’ve earned about 11.4 million dollars."

Aurora blinked. "That’s nice, I guess. But not a big deal. I already have around 500 million anyway. I gave Spencer 100 million too, so honestly, this doesn’t really change much."

There was a pause on the line. Then Emily asked in a confused voice, "Wait. What do you mean?"

Aurora replied calmly, "Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing important. I’m just saying, 11.4 million isn’t something I’m jumping about."

Emily tried to laugh, but she sounded a little nervous. "Okay, okay. But listen. Some big business owners have seen how strong your software is. They want to invest."

Aurora frowned. "I’m not looking for investors. I have enough money. I have the best developers. And I don’t need anyone else’s help."

Emily took a breath. "I understand. But one of them is offering 3 billion dollars."

Aurora’s eyes widened slightly. "Who?"

There was silence for a second. Then Emily answered quietly, "Victor Hawthorne."

Aurora laughed. "That guy? If he’s offering 3 billion, that means he sees a lot of value in it. That just makes me even more sure I don’t want investors."

Emily sounded worried. "But if you turn him down, won’t other companies start attacking your business? Won’t they try to copy your idea or steal your data?"

Aurora chuckled. "Let them try. Even if they hire the best hackers in the world, they won’t be able to break into my system."

She leaned back against the wall as she spoke, sounding completely confident.

’I’ve already climbed to the top of every hacker forum. Even on the dark web. I’ve challenged everyone worth challenging. No one beat me. So no, I’m not worried.’

Emily went quiet for a moment, then said with a relieved sigh, "Okay. I trust you. You clearly know what you’re doing. I won’t bother you anymore."

"Thanks," Aurora said and ended the call.

Olivia had been listening to music the whole time, wearing her headphones. She now pulled them off and looked at Aurora. "Done talking?"

Aurora nodded. She looked at her sister properly for the first time that evening.

Olivia was wearing a beautiful white gown. Her burgundy hair was tied into a neat bun, and her makeup was soft and elegant. She looked like a fairytale princess.

Aurora herself was dressed in a deep red gown. Her red hair flowed down her shoulders, and her bright eyes sparkled under the soft lights. She looked like a red rose in full bloom.

Aurora reached out and held Olivia’s hand. "Listen. If you meet some rich guy at this party, don’t go around flirting."

Olivia pulled her hand away and laughed. "You don’t understand, Aurora. If I marry a rich man, I’ll give you 25 percent of everything I get."

Aurora blinked. "You should’ve told me earlier. I would’ve helped you find someone by now."

The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. They both knew they were joking. That kind of joke had become their way of showing love.

They walked out of the house together, their dresses flowing behind them, ready to face whatever the party had in store.

The grand hotel stood tall like a castle, shining with golden lights. Expensive cars were parked outside, and men in black suits guarded the entrance. A long red carpet stretched from the doors to the edge of the steps, where photographers clicked pictures of important guests.

Aurora and Olivia stood at the edge of the carpet, holding their invitation cards. The cool evening breeze played with their dresses and made their hair sway gently.

"This place looks too fancy," Olivia whispered, eyes wide as she looked around. "Are we even dressed enough for this?"

Aurora glanced at her red gown, then at Olivia’s white one. "We look better than half the people here," she said, brushing imaginary dust off Olivia’s shoulder. "Don’t worry."

They walked up to the main entrance, where two tall guards stood on each side. One of them, with a serious face, held out his hand.

"Invitation card, please," he said.

Aurora took a deep breath and handed him the card. She didn’t know what to expect. Deep down, she thought the card might be fake or maybe the guard would tear it and laugh. After all, the people who invited them, Rose and Mrs. Lancaster, weren’t exactly their friends.

But to her surprise, the guard looked at the card, nodded politely, and stepped aside.

"Welcome, Miss Aurora. Welcome, Miss Olivia. Please enjoy the party," he said.

Aurora blinked. "That’s it?" she asked without thinking.

The guard gave a small smile. "Yes, miss. You may enter."

Aurora and Olivia looked at each other, confused but curious. Then, without saying another word, they stepped inside.

The moment the doors opened, warm golden light spilled out. A huge chandelier hung from the high ceiling, sparkling like stars.

The floors were shiny marble, and waiters in black vests walked around carrying trays of drinks and snacks.

There was soft music playing in the background, something slow and classy. The room was filled with people dressed in the fanciest clothes Aurora had ever seen.

Women in glittering gowns, men in tuxedos, everyone laughing and chatting like they had no worries in the world.

They stepped further inside. A waiter passed by and offered them drinks. Olivia took a glass with a polite smile, while Aurora just nodded and continued looking around.

"That’s weird," Olivia whispered again. "Where’s Rose? Or that woman, Mrs. Lancaster?"

Aurora scanned the room but couldn’t find them. "Maybe they’re hiding behind the curtains waiting to throw paint on us," she joked.

Olivia gave her a look. "Not funny."

Aurora laughed softly. "Okay, okay. Let’s just look around. We might as well enjoy the snacks before anything bad happens."

(A/n: That’s my primary concern too. Haha!)