Aurora quickly unlocked her phone and opened the text message. The number was unfamiliar, different from the previous one—clearly another disposable number.
"Miss Aurora, have you made up your mind? If so, you must come alone to Room 10 at the Penglai Inn in Shaniola Town, Y City, at exactly 8:10 PM on the eighth night of Everett’s coma. I will have you do something. If I’m satisfied, you’ll receive the antidote for your lover."
The message made Aurora’s hands tremble.
They wanted her to come alone?
It was obvious now—the real target was her.
If it were just about the Langston family, there would be no need to involve her; she wasn’t part of the Langston family at all.
Dragging her into it would serve no purpose unless the person was after her specifically, using Everett to threaten her.
Aurora tried replying, unsure if the person would even receive it.
There was no hesitation. She had gotten Everett into this, and even though she briefly considered secretly telling Tobias and the others, she didn’t know what consequences that might bring.
Just as she was thinking this, another text came through.
"Don’t tell anyone. If you do, you won’t get the antidote. Your man will sleep forever."
Today marked the sixth day of Everett’s coma.
That meant two nights from now, she would have to keep the appointment.
Time seemed to crawl. Aurora wished she could rush there immediately, confront whoever it was, and demand to know why they were targeting her.
But it was pointless—the person behind this was too cautious. They wouldn’t risk arriving early at the inn.
Aurora looked up the Penglai Inn online. It was a small hotel owned by someone from Country S, popular among tourists visiting the town.
It was known for its authentic Country S street food, the kind you couldn’t find elsewhere, and its old-world charm. Even locals from Y Country liked it a lot.
Aurora read a lot about the inn, at least getting somewhat familiar with it.
After receiving the message, she no longer needed to keep her phone close. She showered, dried her hair, and padded around the soft carpet, her mind a mess.
If she didn’t come back...
She realized she should probably write some farewell letters.
Aurora opened her laptop, plugged it in, and first wrote a letter to Jesse, setting it to send automatically two weeks later.
If she died, Jesse would receive it then.
She started writing a letter to her grandfather too but stopped—he was so old now, reading a letter from her would only break him more.
Lastly, she wrote to Everett.
She spent over an hour but only managed two lines.
Every time she wrote something, it felt overly sentimental, and when she deleted it, she didn’t know how to continue.
Eventually, sleep overcame her. Aurora glanced at the clock—it was already 11:50 PM.
She shut down the computer, dove into bed, and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Having made up her mind after receiving the message, she felt surprisingly free of hesitation or endless overthinking.
What’s meant to come will come. What’s meant to go will go.
She decided she should get a good night’s sleep—after all, after tomorrow night, she might never see another sunrise.
The next day, Aurora deleted the mysterious text from her phone.
Tobias called to check on her. Aurora didn’t tell him about the message, only saying that the person hadn’t contacted her again.
She couldn’t afford to fail this time—not even Tobias could know.
Aurora spent a full day and night in anxious waiting. By the eighth day, Everett still hadn’t woken up.
Which meant the mysterious person had lied to Gianna.
As a result, Gianna was beaten severely by Mr. Langston—a man who had never before raised a hand to a woman. His fury was clear.
Luckily, Ophelia didn’t know about any of this. She thought Gianna had just gone abroad for another vacation.
That morning, Dominic came bouncing over to Aurora and said excitedly, "Aurora, you’re amazing! Director Z posted a picture of you and Everett looking at each other on Twitter. His followers shot up by 100,000, but yours jumped by over a million! And Everett’s? Even crazier—he gained several million fans overnight! They’re calling him the ’androgynous god’ now... and tons of the new fans are guys, like, real grown men... seriously, how weird is that? Everett’s not even bi!"
Aurora listened quietly, barely able to breathe.
It didn’t matter what people were calling him now. Everett was still lying unconscious in a hospital bed, completely unaware of anything happening outside.
No label they put on him made any difference. If only Aurora Alexander had given up on him sooner, maybe he wouldn’t have been dragged into all this.
Dominic noticed her strange mood and frowned. "Aurora, what’s going on with you? You’ve been totally off the last couple of days. Are you hiding something from me?"
He walked over and shook her by the shoulders. Aurora had never acted superior with him, so Dominic treated her casually too.
"I’m fine. Just in a bad mood," Aurora said, brushing his hands off, her nerves stretched thin and making her feel exhausted. "Dominic, get me a coffee, would you?"
"I just... need to calm down," Aurora muttered. Her nerves were so tense she felt like she might snap. She needed to relax if she wanted to face what was coming with a clear head.
4:00 PM on the eighth day.
Aurora checked the time and got ready to leave.
Dominic saw her grab her phone, her purse, and a coat, and quickly followed her out. "Aurora, where are you going?"
Aurora turned back calmly. "Stay at the hotel. I’ll be back soon."
Dominic blinked. "Going to the Langston family’s place?"
"Going to see Everett."
Her steady tone made Dominic drop his suspicions immediately.
Aurora left the hotel with a bodyguard, but when they got to the parking garage, she tapped on the rental car and said, "Nerida, stay here. I’m just meeting a friend—you don’t need to come."
Nerida, her bodyguard, looked at her in surprise. "But... Miss Aurora, I’m your bodyguard. Eleanor said you’re not allowed to go anywhere alone."
"Who said I’m not? I went out alone a couple of days ago, didn’t I?" Aurora replied breezily. "Relax, this isn’t Country S. We don’t have crazed fans here. I’m not gonna get mobbed and forget how to find my way back."
Nerida frowned. Eleanor trusted him enough to put him on Aurora’s detail, and he had ten years of spotless security work behind him.
But Aurora seemed so casual about it... She had gone out just the other day and made it back fine, even when reporters spotted her.
"Nerida, seriously, I’m just going to visit Everett. I won’t tell Eleanor about this, okay? And Y City’s got some fun spots—you should go explore."
Nerida still looked conflicted. Aurora’s smile started to fade.
"What, you think Everett’s gonna eat me or something?"
The words came out a little suggestive. Aurora realized it too late, her face flushing a bit. Nerida had no choice but to step aside.
"Alright, Miss Wilson. Please be quick. Don’t make Dominic worry."
Aurora nodded, opened the car door, and got in. She was shockingly calm now—maybe because she had already accepted the worst outcome deep down.