bChapter /bb119 /b

Aurora’s PO.V

iIt /i

immediately dawned on me that the words I had used so casually could actually trante to such a sexual meaning if you listen to it closely. I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment as Caroline continued to dry my hair.

“It’s alright,” she gave me a soft pat on the head. “You didn’t know.”

“I guess I need to be careful of what I say from now on.” I sighed. “Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize.” Caroline sighed. “By the way, when is your birthday, exactly? We never got around to discussing it with you. I just know that we’re

both underaged and I’m guessing that we have the same birth month? But what’s the date?”

I looked down at my hands on myp, the room suddenly growing tense as I felt

0

roat closing in. “1…I don’t…know.”

Caroline’s hand stoppedbing through my hair, just as the sound of the dryer died down as well. “You…don’t know your own birthday?” She asked, incredulity colouring her voice. “Aurora…?”

“I mean…it’splicated.” I sighed, running my hands down my face and I felt the bed dip bas /bCare came to sit in front of meb. /b

“Hey…talk to me.” She spoke softly, cing a reassuring hand on bmy /bshoulders. “What happenedb?/bb” /b

“I honestly…don’t know.” I shook my head. “I only know that my birthday is next monthb, /bbut…I never bknew /bbthe /bbexact /bdate. Every since I could remember, my birthday wasn’t really celebrated in the house.”

“Your parents…never celebrated your birthday?” She asked, stunned.

“My mom would sometime bring me a cupcake or something sweet, but each time, it was a different dateb, /band when she came to my room, bshe /bnever looked happy.” I shrugged, remembering those days as much as my memories allowed me. “I never asked her why she looked so sad…so distant, but every year, during June, my parents would fight a lot and my father wouldn’t return home for days, and my mother would grow distant too. So I stopped questioning them, because I didn’t want them to fight, I didn’t want my mom to be unhappy.”

Remembering those days were painful, but opening up to Caroline also gave me some semnce of peaceb, /bbas /bif a weight has been lifted off of bmy /bshouldersb. /b“And after Riley’s birth, mom passed away, and I forgot about my birthdaypletely. It wasn’t until you mentioned it now that I remembered that it falls on next month.”

“But why would your parents not want to celebrate your birthday?b” /bI could tell Caroline was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. “What about your ID? Doesn’t it have a date?”

“The date shows 16th of June, but I highly doubt that is the real date,” I sighed. “Because bthey /bnever celebrated it on the sixteenth. And… thest time I saw my father, before he left me with those men…he told me that I was the reason why their family fell apartb, /bwhy my mom died.”

“Aurora,” Caroline took my hands, giving them a reassuring squeezeb. /b“Don’t believe him, Don’t ever listen to anything he says. It’s not your fault! They were the assholes for not celebrating your birthday.”

“Care, I don’t want to say that about them,” I told her hurriedly. “They were my parents and no matter what, they still took care of me, fed bme /band paid for my education. I can’t me them. I don’t know what went wrong or what happenedb, /bbut in the end, all that matters is that I’m here and I’m with people who love me and care about me. I don’t need to know anything else.”

Caroline didn’t look convinced, but in the end, all she could do was sigh and pull me in for a hug. “I’m d you’re out of that toxic householdb, /bAura. And I’m d that you know how much this pack adores you and loves you. I know I do and so does Cal and his parents. And that’s all that matters, You’re home, Aura. Never forget that.”

I felt my eyes ze over as bI /bnodded against her shoulders, wrapping my hands tighter around her. “I won’t. I promiseb./bb” /b

She was right. I was right where bI /bbelonged now. I was home.

imed by My Bully Alpha