Aurora

Prologue | Bobby

I went from getting married to the love of my life, to already married to a stranger and the love of my life turned around and ran.

With every blink, I can see Jared's face before he slammed the door in my face. And with that, my heart breaks all over again. He claimed I didn't value marriage if I married some random guy in Vegas, and maybe he was right.

So now I'm stranded in the middle of San Francisco with only one place to go. And that place is a tiny studio in the city center that's currently rented out to my best friend Sophia. I knock on the dark green door to the apartment and then suck in a breath, nervous that I'll be homeless in about 5 minutes.

I can only imagine her reaction to my news. I've never been so irresponsible. Sophia and I are in balance, this breaks the balance.

The door opens and Sophia's standing in the doorframe. Her hair is tied in a ponytail that's about to fall out of it. She's wearing a t-shirt that reaches her knees and she's barefoot.

She was about to go to sleep and I woke her up. I haven't looked at the time after I walked into Jared's place earlier today, so maybe I have woken her up. And fuck I feel so guilty doing so.

She doesn't say anything as she sees me standing in the hallway with all of my belongings.

"He kicked me out." I break the silence. Jared and I were the couple that were supposed to get married. We were the ultimate love story. Hated each other as kids because he was a boy and I was a girl, then became friends once we went to high school and we got together as the cherry on top. It was only two years ago, but I've known him all my life.

This marriage supposedly started three years ago. Way before I got with Jared, but because I've known him for so long, it still feels like I cheated on him.

I've thought I was in trouble with him before, but he's never told me to pack my bags and leave. And I've also never felt like kicking me out was justified until today. Sophia knows how serious it is if he kicked me out and I'm here with my belongings. She knows.

"And now you want to stay with me." It's not a question, it's what she knows I'm about to ask her. She knows me better than anyone and she can finish my sentences just by looking at me.

"Yes," I answer truthfully.

Her gaze drops to my hand. I gave the engagement ring back to Jared when he broke up with me. I know she notices it immediately. Her expression changes and she relaxes her shoulders.

"Oh," she whispers and she moves to the side to let me in. "Come in, my bed is big enough for the both of us."

Within minutes, my bag is unpacked and the studio just seems like two people were cramped inside of it forever. Sophia even took the time to cook dinner for the both of us.

"So tell me what happened." Sophia has the talent to bring up situations at the perfect time. If she'd asked me minutes before, I would've broken into tears – I still might though, who am I kidding.

"You know Jennifer? Your friend from college who studied law?" Saying the words out loud makes me realize how messy the story really is. Jennifer doesn't know Jared at all, so both of them in one story is chaotic. "I saw her the other day and I mentioned that I was engaged, and she offered to do something with the marriage certificate or something-" I pause, trying to remember exactly what she said.

"Did Jennifer find out he has a wife or something?" Sophia asks. My heart skips a beat. If that was the case things wouldn't have been so complicated. But right now, I'm the one at fault, I'm the reason Jared broke up with me and I'm the reason I'm in this mess. It's not on him, it's because of me.

"Worse. She found out I have a husband."