31. Aurora
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Aurora
My phone rang, the sharp vibration rattling against the counter where I’d abandoned it.
For a second, I just stared at it. I wasn’t sure I could take any bad news this early in the morning.
But the name flashing across the screen made my heart kick up.
Thomas Calloway.
I snatched it up, gripping it so tightly my knuckles ached. “Hello?”
“Aurora,” Thomas’s voice was steady, professional, but there was something lighter in his tone, “I’ve reviewed the documents you gave me.”
I held my breath.
“There’s enough here to challenge Hank’s claim in court.”
A sharp, sudden relief washed over me, like I’d been holding up a collapsing building and someone had finally taken some of the weight.
I braced myself against the counter. “You're sure?”
“Positive.” I heard papers rustling on his end. “The deed, the financial records, the letters—everything points to tampering after your uncle’s death. If we file an injunction, we can put a stop to Hank’s claim before he gets any further. It won’t be easy, but you’ve got a real shot here.”
A real shot.
I sagged against the counter, pressing my hand over my eyes. “Thank you, Thomas. You have no idea how much this means.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “This fight isn’t over. But at least now, you’ve got a weapon.”
A weapon. That was exactly what this was.
I ended the call, gripping my phone so tightly my fingers trembled.
This was a win. A small one, but still a win.
And yet I still felt like I was falling.
I turned and caught sight of my reflection in the window.
My face was pale, dark circles under my eyes from too many nights spent awake, running through every worst-case scenario.
I had nothing now. No job. No safety net. I wouldn't be able to keep my apartment in the city for much longer, not without draining my savings.
And what would be the point?
My boss had made sure I wouldn’t find another marketing position anytime soon. The industry was too connected, too ruthless.
One bad whisper—one hint that I was a liability—and I was done.
And I was a liability now.
I wasn’t the woman who had everything under control anymore. I wasn’t the polished, professional strategist who had her whole life mapped out.
I pressed a fist against my stomach, swallowing hard.
What was I supposed to do now? Who was I without the career I’d spent years building?
I glanced down at my phone, still gripped in my shaking hand.
A court case was coming. A battle for Page Turners.
And beyond that?
I had no idea what came next.
I needed air.
Actually, I needed them .
Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed my coat and keys, shoving my phone into my pocket.
The auto shop wasn’t too far—just a short walk through the quiet streets of Medford—but my legs felt heavy, my body drained from everything.
Still, I kept moving. Because I was done hiding.
The shop came into view, and my steps slowed.
Even in the dim evening light, I could see there was damage. Not lots, but enough to know that something had happened.
Something bad.
My stomach twisted.
I hadn't seen them since everything happened. Since Hank, since I lost my job, since I found out about the baby.
I had been avoiding them, locking myself away in my own head, drowning under the weight of everything. But I couldn’t keep doing this alone.
I stepped inside to find Ethan, Owen, and Mason gathered around a workbench, low voices rumbling in tense conversation.
They all looked up when I entered, their expressions shifting from frustration to something softer.
“Aurora.”
Owen was the first to move, stepping toward me with a cautious sort of urgency, like he wasn’t sure if I was okay.
I wasn’t sure either.
I let out a breath. “I needed to see you guys.”
Ethan crossed his arms, eyes scanning my face. “What happened?”
I swallowed. “I talked to Thomas.”
That got their full attention.
I shifted, feeling the weight of their stares. “There’s enough evidence to fight Hank in court. He doesn’t have a real claim to Page Turners.”
A beat of silence.
Then Mason let out a sharp breath, running a hand through his hair. “Holy shit.”
Ethan exhaled through his nose, his jaw tight. “So we have a way to stop him.”
I nodded. “It’s not over yet, but it’s something.”
Owen studied me for a long moment, like he could see past the words, past the thin layer of control I was clinging to.
He took another step closer. “And what about you?”
The question hit somewhere deep. I opened my mouth, then shut it again.
What about me?
I had spent so much time fighting, clawing for control, grasping at anything that would keep me from completely unraveling.
But right now, standing here in the shop with them, my hands cold, my body exhausted, I didn’t have the strength to pretend anymore.
My throat tightened. I looked away, focused on a patch of grease-stained concrete beneath my feet.
“I lost my job.”
Silence. I forced a shaky breath.
“They fired me. Said they didn’t want to be associated with someone in a legal dispute.” A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it. “And since the marketing world is a damn shark tank, I’m probably blacklisted now.”
Owen muttered something under his breath. Ethan’s jaw flexed, his fingers curling into fists. Mason let out a low curse.
I didn’t even realize I was shaking until Owen stepped closer, his warmth grounding me. “Aurora.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” The words cracked, the floodgates breaking open. “I spent years building my career, making all the right choices, climbing the ladder, and now it’s just gone. I know I’ve been a little torn, but having everything taken from me…”
A tear slipped down my cheek. I swiped at it quickly, as if that would somehow stop the rest from falling.
“I don’t have a plan. I don’t have a backup. This was never supposed to happen.”
Mason looked like he wanted to hit something. “So they’re just throwing you away? After everything?”
I let out a hollow laugh. “That's how it works. One bad headline. One wrong move. And you're done.”
The weight of it all came crashing down.
The job. The bookstore. The baby.
I had no guarantee that any of it would work out.
And yet, I had them.
Owen reached for my hand, threading his fingers through mine. His grip was warm, steady, unshakable.
Ethan exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face before leveling me with a look that was pure determination. “Then screw them.”
I blinked. “What?”
“If they don’t want you, then they don’t deserve you.” His voice was firm, unwavering. “That world was never good enough for you anyway.”
Mason nodded, his usual smirk gone. “You don’t need them, Aurora. You’ve got something real here.”
Owen squeezed my hand. “We'll figure it out.”
I sucked in a breath, my chest tight. They made it sound so easy. So simple.
But it wasn’t simple. It was terrifying.
Still, standing here with them, with their unwavering belief in me, I didn’t feel so lost.
I wiped at my eyes, letting out a shaky laugh. “You guys are really bad at pep talks, you know that?”
Mason smirked. “You're still standing here, aren’t you?”
I let out a breath.
Yeah. I was.
And maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t falling anymore.
Owen squeezed my hand, a slow grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Well, if marketing doesn’t want you, I guess that just means more time for The Adventures of Rosie and the Bookshop Dragon .”
I blinked at him.
He shrugged. “It needs a sequel.”
Mason cocked his head curiously to one side. “Huh?”
“Aurora’s book,” Owen countered. “Her uncle kept a copy in the store all these years.”
Ethan nodded, dead serious. “That sounds epic. I want to read it.”
A surprised laugh burst out of me, unsteady but real.
They were joking, but something about Owen’s words settled deep in my chest. My heart pounded.
I had spent years chasing stability, prestige, control. I had poured everything into building a career I thought would keep me safe, keep me successful.
Yet I had always wanted something else, hadn't I?
“I did always want to be a writer,” I murmured. “Before marketing got its claws in me.”
Ethan tilted his head. “So what stopped you?”
I chewed my lip, looking down at the grease-streaked floor. “Fear, mostly. It felt too risky. Too unstable. I wanted something I could rely on, something that wouldn’t leave me wondering where my next paycheck would come from.”
Mason nodded. “Makes sense.”
Owen’s voice was softer when he spoke. “But now?”
I looked at them—the three men who had somehow become my constants, the ones who had pulled me out of the wreckage of my carefully planned life.
And I thought about the bookstore. The place that had once felt like a burden but now felt like something else.
Maybe something more.
I took a shaky breath. “Now, I don’t know. But maybe the bookstore isn’t the worst idea. If I can keep it.”
Ethan smirked. “ When you keep it.”
Owen nodded. “Damn right.”
Mason grinned. “And when you do, we’re expecting at least three sequels.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
I was no longer just fighting to hold on to something. I was fighting for something I wanted.
I was so caught up in the emotion of the moment that the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“I’m pregnant.”
Silence.
The kind that stretched and thickened, wrapping around me like a vise.
My pulse thundered in my ears; my breath hitched in my throat.
I hadn't meant to say it. Not like this.
Not in the middle of an auto shop, surrounded by the scent of motor oil and metal, with my body still trembling from the weight of everything else I’d just admitted.
But there it was. Out in the open.
Owen was the first to react.
His hand, still wrapped around mine, tightened, his fingers pressing against my skin like he was grounding himself in the moment.
His lips parted, like he wanted to say something, but no words came.
Mason let out a sharp breath, running a hand through his hair. “Whoa.”
Ethan, ever the steady one, just stared at me, unreadable. His jaw flexed, his nostrils flaring slightly like he was trying to keep his emotions in check.
“You're sure?”
I let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “Pretty damn sure.”
Another beat of silence.
Then, all at once, their expressions cracked open, shock melting into something softer.
Owen exhaled, blinking rapidly like he was trying to process it.
Then, to my utter surprise, his lips curved into the widest grin I’d ever seen on him. “We’re having a baby?”
We .
Something inside me cracked at that word.
I nodded, my throat tight.
And then Mason was moving, letting out a breathy laugh as he surged forward and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Holy shit,” he said again, this time with something like awe. “Aurora.”
Ethan still hadn't moved, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed, but there was something in his eyes. Something deep and raw that struck me damn hard.
“And you didn’t tell us sooner because?”
I huffed out a breath, overwhelmed.
“Because I’ve been drowning in everything else? Because I just lost my job? Because I’m fighting to keep the bookstore, and I had no idea how to deal with this on top of all of it?” My voice cracked slightly, and Mason’s arms around me tightened. “And because I was scared.”
Owen shook his head, his expression filled with something so warm, so steady, it nearly broke me. “Aurora, you're not doing this alone.”
Ethan finally moved then.
He stepped closer, reaching out, his palm settling over the small of my back in a wordless show of reassurance.
“Come on,” Mason said, stepping back but keeping one hand on my arm. “Let’s get out of here. We need to talk, and I don’t feel like doing it under these damn fluorescent lights.”
Owen nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go to Mason’s.”
I hesitated. “Are you sure?”
Mason rolled his eyes. “Aurora, we just found out we’re having a kid. Pretty sure that warrants a sit-down conversation. And maybe a drink.”
Owen shot him a look. “Not for Aurora.”
“Obviously not for Aurora,” Mason deadpanned.
Ethan exhaled, then nodded. “Let’s go.”
And just like that, they were ushering me out of the shop, into the cold Medford night, toward something new.
Something terrifying.
Something that didn’t feel so impossible anymore.