For Andrew Cai, everything followed routine and when that routine broke because his wife filed for a divorce, his life spiralled downwards.
For London Wan Liang, moving past her mother's death seemed impossible, especially when nothing in her life i...
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note: this is not a particularly heavy epilogue but damn, I kept tearing up while writing it. It was hard to say goodbye to these characters.
Be sure to check the afterword that follows this update, and as always be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section and vote if you liked this update <3
ENJOY IT ONE LAST TIME!
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Aurora Cai was in no mood for her father's babble, but of course, the man would not shut up.
Now, almost sixteen years old, Aurora was preparing for her GCSE's, in a hospital, the last place she thought she'd ever be studying in. Thankfully she didn't have an exam the very next day so she only brought her revision binder to the visiting area.
At the age of twelve, her father and step-mum had sat her down and asked her how she'd feel about being open to a bigger family. At first, she thought they meant getting a pet and she was over the moon because she'd always wanted a dog. A Siberian Husky to be precise. But they meant a child. A new brother or sister. She wasn't opposed to it but it unsettled her in the beginning. She'd been the star kid. Her parents' attention would be on this little infant. It hurt her to think she was not enough. It was a few days later, after her step-mum talked to her, did she realise she was enough. They just wanted to expand the family.
Three years trying, one dog later, and her step-mum, London Liang-Cai, had finally gotten pregnant. Nine months later, with Aurora's GCSE's looming above her, her step-mum went into labour. Poor baby Cai would have to be dead smack in the middle of exam season when her birthday rolled around. Aurora was thrilled to know she had a baby sister on the way and though the almost sixteen year age gap was weird, it would not stop her from being the best sister in the whole world.
Her father was a bundle of nerves when he walked out of London's room. He'd been with her when she went into labour and also saw his child, a bloodied mess apparently, and now he waited outside till his wife had a moment to herself and for the baby to get all cleaned up. His babble was not helping Aurora. She wanted him to shut up, not because she couldn't focus on her revision notes — no, she'd lived long enough with the man to tune him out when she needed to focus — but because his constant talking was making her nervous.
"Your sister is beautiful and you're going to love her," Andrew gushed, finally ceasing all that pacing and taking a seat next to her. "What do you think of the name Lina?"
"Lina as in after Mama's mother?" she asked. Aurora had never felt like calling her step-mum's mother her grandmother. She never knew the woman. She wished she did. Her grandfather, on the other hand, was pretty amazing. He'd retired and moved to Porte Orlands to be closer to his daughters, London and Gwen, and his grandchildren, Aurora and Dilshan. Aurora barely got along with Dilshan but for the sake of family she put up with his goofiness.
