Chapter 4 Searching for Aurora

"Find her, Ethan!"

Margaret Blackwell's voice thundered through the opulent dining room. The soft clinking of silverware came to a halt. The servants who had been quietly serving dinner bowed their heads and backed out of the room without a word. The atmosphere turned heavy in an instant.

Ethan sat still, eyes lowered, his hands clenched tightly around his fork and knife. The food in front of him remained untouched.

"I already said," Ethan finally spoke, his voice flat. "I'm not going to look for her. She left. That was her choice."

Margaret threw her napkin onto the table. Nathan, his father, simply watched in silence, knowing this storm was not his to stop, but only to witness.

"Choice? You pushed her away, Ethan!" Margaret snapped. "You humiliated her. You handed her money like she was some cheap woman and told her to go!"

"That's not how it happened," Ethan replied, voice rising. "I did it to protect her. I didn't want her to get stuck with someone like me-someone still haunted by his past."

Margaret narrowed her eyes, rising from her chair with slow but sharp movements. She walked toward her son, every step like a hammer pounding Ethan's conscience.

"You know what hurts the most in all this?" Her voice was low now, which somehow made it cut even deeper. "Not that you divorced her. But that you knew who she was. You knew how much she tried to accept your family. How much she endured. And yet, you discarded her like she meant nothing."

Ethan shot up from his seat. "I didn't discard her!"

"Then why haven't you looked for her?!" Margaret shouted, pointing a trembling finger at him. "If she were just some gold digger, she would've fought for something-money, sympathy, attention. But she left silently. And you... you don't even know where she is."

"I regret it enough already!" Ethan's voice cracked. "She haunts me every night! But looking for her won't fix anything. She hates me, Mom. Didn't you see how she looked at me the last time? I... I broke her."

Margaret stepped closer, her face now inches from his.

"If you have a heart," she whispered sharply, "then go and make it right. But if you choose to sit here wallowing in guilt without doing a damn thing... then you are no son of mine."

Ethan clenched his jaw, closing his eyes to hold back the rising emotion.

But Margaret wasn't finished.

"If you don't start looking for her within three days," she said coldly, "I'll make the decision for you."

Ethan turned to her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Margaret stared him down. "I'll remove your name from the Blackwell family registry. You'll no longer be part of this family, this business, or this legacy."

The room fell completely silent.

Nathan flinched. "Margaret..."

"This has gone too far, Nathan," she said firmly. "I won't let my son turn into a coward who runs from the consequences of his own actions."

Ethan stared at his mother, shocked. The woman who had always protected him now delivered the most brutal ultimatum of his life.

"You're not serious..."

"I'm deadly serious," Margaret said, grabbing her purse and preparing to leave the room. "And if you truly believe Aurora isn't worth finding... maybe she was never meant to be yours in the first place."

---

That night...

Ethan sat alone in his study, dimly lit by a desk lamp. The breeze from the open window stirred the curtains gently. In his hands was the signed divorce paper. But tonight, it felt heavier than ever.

A small photograph had slipped out of the envelope. A candid shot Margaret had taken not long after their wedding. Aurora was arranging white roses in the garden, her expression peaceful, her world still whole.

"Why was it so easy to let you go..." Ethan whispered.

A knock on the door broke the silence. It was his father.

"May I come in?" Nathan asked.

Ethan nodded. Nathan sat opposite his son and leaned back against the cold wooden chair.

"Margaret sounded harsh," he said softly, "but she's hurt, Ethan. She truly cared for Aurora like a daughter. And while you sit in guilt, your mother's carrying a deeper pain."

"I'm scared, Dad..." Ethan murmured. "Scared to see her face again. Scared she'll never forgive me. Scared she already hates me."

Nathan looked him in the eye. "Fear is not an excuse to let go of someone good, Ethan. It's the reason you should act-before it's too late."

Ethan gripped the divorce paper tighter.

"You can't undo the past," Nathan continued. "But you can have the courage to say sorry. In front of her. That's how you show her you've changed."

Ethan closed his eyes, then slowly stood. "I'm going to find her."

Nathan smiled faintly. "That's a decision you'll never regret."

---

The next morning...

Margaret was sitting on the veranda, sipping tea, when Ethan stepped outside wearing a beige blazer and crisp slacks. He looked composed, but the storm still lingered in his eyes.

"Mom," he greeted.

Margaret turned to him, her gaze still hard, though a flicker of hope shone beneath it.

"I'm going to find her," Ethan said simply.

Margaret studied him for a moment before letting out a soft breath. "I'm not asking for a miracle, Ethan. I just want to know you truly want to make things right."

"I'll start with the places she used to go. The boutique, the city park, the old library she loved."

Margaret walked up to him and gently touched his arm. For the first time in days, there was warmth in her gesture.

"When you find her," she whispered, "don't ask her to come back. Show her... that you deserve a second chance."

Ethan nodded. "I don't know if she'll want to see me. But I'm going to try. This time... I won't run away."

Margaret gave him a faint, emotional smile. "That's enough for me."

---

Elsewhere...

Aurora walked through the narrow hallway of a small café where she now worked. After a month of leaving her old life behind, she had found a new rhythm-simple mornings, fresh coffee, quiet smiles, and the ache of a healing heart.

But today, something felt different. Unease stirred in her chest.

Maybe it was the dream she had last night-Ethan standing at her door, holding white roses, eyes full of regret.

Aurora shook her head. Just a dream.

Men like Ethan... they don't come back.

But... was she absolutely sure?