𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙶𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

     Aaron had called me to his office that night, and the nerves were eating at my stomach. He did not call me unless something was wrong.

    I stepped into his room, seeing that he wasn't in there. I took a deep breath before I entered his office. I was relieved to see it was just him.

"What's going on?" I questioned, pacing over to his desk. He sighed, turning his chair to face me. "That was a bit, dramatic, don't you think?"

    He didn't say a word as he pulled up security footage on a computer, turning the screen to me. My face fell.

    It was the cameras in the hospital wing. I was sitting on an empty hospital bed with a nurse, Zoey. Zoey and I met each other in our training together.

    We weren't exactly friends, but there was something about her that drew me to her. I felt my face go red as I watched the footage of her leaning in and kissing me.

    I looked away, not wanting to watch a video of me frenching some girl. Aaron raised an eyebrow at me before shutting the computer.

"Am I not allowed to have a personal life?" I demanded, my jaw clenching.

"Not when Father can see everything that goes on around here," he pointed out. "I personally have no problem with you having a relationship with that girl. He, however, will."

"Then delete the footage," I suggested.

"I will," he promised. "I just called you here to provide you with advice. I believe you should cut it off with her. If our father finds out, you could be putting her safety at risk."

"Her safety?" I demanded, rolling my eyes.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You are still expected to marry Adrien Mishkin. And you know how our father feels about your attraction to women."

"Yes, he's made it very clear," I sneered. "It's not fair."

"No, it's not," he agreed. "But there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. So, I suggest you end things with this nurse."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I was reading my book out loud to Aaron as he worked. He appreciated the background noise, and I enjoyed it.

"Are you even paying attention?" I said as I placed the book on my lap, taking a break.

"Yes," he said, though it wasn't convincing. I smiled, shaking my head as I laid sideways across the chair.

"I like it when we aren't fighting," I observed. We fought a lot recently.

"Me too," he agreed with a smile, finally looking up from his work for the first time. I didn't see him genuinely smile very often anymore.

The door opened, and both of us stopped smiling. I sat up all the way in the chair and cleared my throat as Aaron went back to his paperwork.

"Aurora, leave," Dad instructed. "You're distracting your brother."

"Yes, sir," I nodded, standing up and leaving the room.

"She actually keeps me focused," Aaron muttered, not looking up from his work. I smiled, grateful for the words.

"Aurora, don't smile," my father reminded me.

"We aren't in public," I pointed out, crossing my arms.

"No, but if you smile too often in private, it will become a habit, and then you will forget yourself in public," he explained. I rolled my eyes.