Dinner was served shortly after.
Seeing the delicious food on the table, Everett suddenly felt glad to be alive, as though he’d survived some great calamity.
"Tobias, book me the earliest available flight tomorrow," Everett said blandly.
Tobias exchanged glances with Will and the others, then cautiously lowered his head. "Young Master, that person... wasn’t joking. If you stay with Miss Wilson, I’m afraid—"
"Are you out of your mind? Since when is it your place to meddle in my business?" Everett’s voice abruptly turned icy, sending chills through the air. Will shrank back, not daring to speak.
Tobias shot Will a cold look. "Young Master, please reconsider carefully!"
"Very well, your salary and bonuses for the next two months are suspended. Will, you book the flight for me."
Will glanced at Tobias helplessly. The Young Master was stubborn; once he made up his mind, nothing and nobody could change it.
Tobias looked miserably at Will, secretly lamenting the loss of his salary. But seeing the Young Master ready to chase Aurora without even considering his own life, how could Tobias not feel gloomy?
Everett’s appetite suddenly improved, forcing Tobias to recount every detail of the past few days’ events.
Listening carefully with knitted brows, Everett couldn’t help but curse under his breath when he heard Aurora had gone to the appointment alone: "Such a foolish woman!"
What if something had happened to her? What if that person really had malicious intentions?
His appetite vanished in an instant; he managed to eat only half a bowl of rice before losing all interest.
Picking up his phone, Everett dialed Aurora’s number repeatedly, even though he knew she was currently on a plane and it was impossible for her phone to be on.
Yet it was as if he’d developed an obsession—when the calls didn’t go through, he simply switched to sending texts.
After half an hour, Everett raised his head, his eyes glinting coldly. "Did you find out who Grandma Carter dated when she was young?"
"Not yet," Tobias replied cautiously. "Miss Wilson’s Grandma Carter was exceptionally beautiful when she was younger, and many pursued her passionately. However, she chose an ordinary man—Miss Wilson’s current grandfather. We haven’t found leads about the other pursuers yet."
"The old man is really becoming useless. Can’t even uncover one person’s identity," Everett scoffed disdainfully. He had his own pride; after this incident, he’d be even more cautious, even more meticulous!
He would never allow that person to strike again, nor would he permit anyone to harm Aurora.
"Young Master, I exchanged tickets with someone and managed to get four tickets for tonight’s flight to Country S!"
Will returned with this good news. Everett glanced at him calmly. "Excellent. Transfer Tobias’s withheld salary and bonuses from these two months to your account, doubled!"
Will tasted bitterness on his tongue. Money was great, but Tobias would probably hate him for this.
Tobias only snorted coldly. Though displeased, he didn’t dare utter another unnecessary word.
Aurora stared at the floating white clouds outside, eyes rimmed red. Her heart was filled with unwillingness, but what could she do?
She couldn’t stay with him. Her presence would constantly put him in danger.
Dominic softly asked her, "Aurora, would you like to have the in-flight meal?"
It had been 8 o’clock in the morning when they boarded, yet Aurora hadn’t touched her breakfast, claiming she had no appetite. Dominic didn’t know how to persuade her.
Aurora shook her head. Her heart felt hollow and terribly uncomfortable. She had absolutely no appetite, especially for something as unappealing as airplane food...
"What’s going on, Aurora? Did you... get into a fight with Everett?"
Dominic asked cautiously.
Aurora shook her head. "No... it’s not that," she replied softly, not wanting to let her emotions show.
Dominic pursed his lips. Seeing how down she looked, he didn’t push further and gave her some space to be alone with her thoughts.
Aurora clutched her phone tightly. It was already turned off, but her nose still tingled and her eyes kept flashing back to the image of Everett asleep—so handsome it hurt to break away from the memory.
But what else could she do? If she truly wanted what was best for him, she couldn’t stay by his side.
Mrs. Wilson was right—she really was a curse. Everyone close to her ended up suffering.
Her parents died young. And since Everett met her, he’d been dragged into trouble again and again. Now his life was even in danger...
Overwhelmed and hopeless, Aurora suddenly felt like she didn’t have the strength to keep going.
Her mind was in chaos. The plane flew steadily for ten and a half hours before finally landing at the airport in City SS, Country.
But the moment she, Dominic, and Nerida stepped out of the airport, they were swarmed by a huge crowd of fans yelling her name.
She was this famous now?
Aurora was stunned. Her music video hadn’t even been released yet. Apparently, fame didn’t need a reason—it just took a mix of luck and talent.
"Aurora! I love you!"
"Goddess, can I get your autograph?"
"Miss Wilson, were you visiting Everett?"
It wasn’t just fans—there were reporters too. Aurora just kept her lips pressed together, offering occasional polite smiles to the excited crowd.
They finally made it into the car, but a bunch of young male fans whistled at them like they were sending her off with a party.
Aurora was speechless.
She was the serious type. Even as a singer, she didn’t quite get the mindset of these diehard fans. Did they not feel the least bit embarrassed acting this way?
"Aurora, you’re seriously famous now. The company changed your official site’s background music to your new song, and boom—overnight success!"
Dominic’s eyes sparkled as he spoke. Being Aurora’s assistant came with perks, and her rise in fame meant a likely bump in pay for him too.
Aurora gave a faint smile. Eleanor had mentioned it to her earlier, and she’d agreed, so the company had temporarily set her song as the background music for trial listening.
"Eleanor said there’s going to be a promo event next Sunday. ’Losing You’ will be the first song released. It’s not really one of those tracks you save for the holidays." Aurora took a deep breath. She could already tell the next stretch of her life was going to be insanely busy.
There were still several music videos to shoot and more songs to record. If she could finish everything by New Year’s Eve, that would be a miracle.
"That’s a great sign, though! The company must’ve seen how well the previews did—your site’s getting billions of hits a day after the sample went up!"
Dominic’s eyes sparkled again. "Aurora, you’re blowing up! Don’t forget to ask for a raise for me, okay? Pleeeeease?"
Aurora’s heavy mood was slightly lifted by Dominic’s silly attempt at being cute.
"Okay, okay—cut it out. You trying to act cute is just... off. Doesn’t match your whole tough-girl vibe." Aurora smirked, and from the front seat, Nerida burst into laughter.
Aurora turned her phone back on. It started vibrating like crazy, followed by a constant stream of chimes.
She waited until the flood of alerts stopped, then checked her inbox—and nearly jumped.
There were hundreds of messages.