38. Aurora
38
AURORA
The phone buzzes against the nightstand, jarring me from my thoughts. Hannah's name flashes across the screen. My stomach twists before I even answer.
"Hey," I say, keeping my voice light.
"Aurora." Hannah's tone already tells me something's wrong. "Have you been on Instagram?"
"I haven't, why?"
"I think you should. She's posting again."
I don't need to ask who. The numbness begins at my fingertips before I start to move.
"Give me a second," I murmur and then pull my phone away from my ear.
Three taps and I'm on Sienna's IG profile.
And there it is.
The photo is from that night at Nikoforov. My face is contorted halfway between a plea and a snarl, but it's definitely me. I look down at the caption, and see a name of a girl that has been dead for seven years.
Meet Ruslan Dragunov's latest fling: Jamie Fields. Disappeared seven years ago and declared dead until I caught them together at Nikoforov under the fake name of Aurora Castellanos. I always knew this town was dirty, but I didn't realize just how dirty it really was.
Strange.
I expected panic.
Hyperventilation.
The familiar feeling of walls closing in.
Instead, there's just... nothing. A hollow space where terror should be.
"Aurora?" Hannah's voice pulls me back. "Are you there?"
"Yeah." My voice sounds disconnected from my body. Far away. Like I'm listening to someone else speak.
"What are we going to do? Should we call a lawyer? We need to get this taken down. Maybe Ruslan can do something."
"It doesn't matter," I hear myself say. The words drift from my lips like smoke.
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it matters! If he sees this!"
"I know."
Hannah falls silent for a moment. "Aurora are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."
"I'll be fine." The words come automatically, mechanical. Empty promises from a broken machine.
"You keep saying that, but you don't sound fine." Hannah's voice cracks with worry. "I know what this means. I know what you're scared of."
"That's true." My voice comes out even and flat.
"Aurora, please say something human," Hannah begs, her voice stretching thin with concern. "You're scaring me."
"I just need to think."
"No, you need to react! Scream, cry, something! This isn't like you!"
I stare at the photo and the caption again. But still, the familiar panic never comes.
"It wouldn't change anything," I say. "He was going to find me eventually."
"Aurora, don't do this. Don't shut down on me. Look, tell me where you are and I'll come over."
"No." I stare at my reflection in the dark window. "I'll be fine," I repeat.
"Aurora, please, we need to do something about this right now."
I feel strangely detached as Hannah continues talking. Her words blend together into background noise while my mind tries to process what's happening.
"It's fine," I repeat automatically. "Everything's fine."
Seven years of hiding. Seven years of looking over my shoulder. Seven years of being invisible.
All gone in a single day.
First Tamara announcing my real name at the reception, and now Sienna is broadcasting it to her millions of followers.
The universe has a twisted sense of humor.
"Fine? How can you say it's fine? There's nothing fine about this! She's literally exposing you to the world right now!"
I've been so careful. Changed my name, my appearance, my entire life. I've been a ghost for seven years until now.
All because of a jealous actress and a vindictive woman, both of whom are furious at me because I took what they both thought belonged to them.
A small giggle escapes my lips at the absurdity of it all.
The giggle turns into a full laugh. I can't help it. It bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me, uncontrollable and slightly hysterical.
I'm laughing so hard that tears are streaming down my face. But I can't stop laughing even if I wanted to.
"Aurora, what's going on?" Hannah sounds genuinely alarmed now.
My laughter rises, getting higher and wilder with each second. I can't stop. It's like something inside me has snapped, some invisible thread that's been holding me together all these years has finally given way.
I laugh until my throat burns, until I can taste salt on my lips from the tears streaming down my face.
Slowly, the laughter begins to change.
The sound twists, catching in my throat until it's not laughter anymore but deep, guttural sobs that tear through my chest.
"Oh god," I choke out, sliding down against the wall until I hit the floor. My knees pull tight against my chest, arms wrapping around them like I might fly apart if I let go. "It's happening. It's really happening."
My chest heaves as I struggle to breathe through the sobs. Each inhale feels like razor blades, and each exhale like surrender.
Gradually, my sobs begin to quiet, fading into hitched breaths and occasional hiccups. In the silence that follows, I become aware of the phone still clutched in my hand, Hannah still waiting patiently on the other end.
"Aurora?" Her voice is soft, tentative. "What are you going to do?"
"Ruslan will protect me," I say when I finally get my voice back under control.
"How, Aurora?" Hannah sounds skeptical. "How can he protect you with this information just now out in the public?"
I take a deep breath. My heart pounds against my ribs as I consider what to say next. Hannah deserves the truth after everything she's done for me, but the words catch in my throat.
"Hannah, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?" Suspicion edges into her voice. "What happened?"
"I married him."
Silence stretches between us like a taut wire. One second. Two. Three.
"You WHAT?" Hannah's voice rises so sharply I have to pull the phone away from my ear. "Tell me you're joking. Tell me this is some fucked-up prank because there's no way in hell you actually?—"
"I did." My fingers twist nervously. "Today."
"Today? TODAY?" Each word explodes with disbelief. "What the actual fuck, Aurora? You've known him for what, a couple of weeks? And you just decided to casually get married without telling me? Your best friend?"
"It wasn't like that."
"Then what was it like? Because from where I'm sitting, it sounds like you lost your goddamn mind!"
"It's complicated."
"No shit it's complicated! Did you even think this through? Who even does that? Was this before or after Sienna Voss tried to destroy your life? Jesus Christ, Aurora!"
I close my eyes and let her words wash over me. I deserve this.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Sorry you didn't tell me? That's what you're sorry about? Not the fact that you married a complete stranger who. Wait." Her voice drops suddenly. "What else aren't you telling me?"
"There's so much more I need to tell you. So much that I can't tell you over the phone."
"Then let's meet." Hannah's voice is firm, leaving no room for argument. "Right now."
"We can't." The words come out sharper than I intended.
"Why not?" The hurt in her voice stabs at me.
"Because..." I close my eyes, pressing my forehead against my knees. "Things are different now. My situation is different."
"What does that even mean?"
"It means I can't just walk out the front door anymore, Hannah." I glance toward the window where I know men patrol the grounds in the dark. "It's complicated."
"Aurora, you're freaking me out. Are you saying you're not allowed to leave?"
"No! No, it's not like that." I sigh and rub my temples. "Or maybe it is. I don't know how to explain this."
"Try," she snaps. "Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like you've gotten yourself from something bad into something worse."
"It's not." I hesitate. "Ruslan is just protective."
"Aurora, listen to yourself! You're practically under house arrest right now! How is that protective?"
"Because when I'm here, I feel safe!" My voice rises with frustration.
"Safe?" Hannah's voice drips with disbelief. "Aurora, nothing about this sounds safe."
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand! Because my best friend disappeared for over a week after we both saw someone get killed in front of us. Then suddenly she's married to a man she barely knows. And now she's telling me she can't leave his house? Do you know what that sounds like to me? It sounds to me like you've been kidnapped and forced into a marriage you don't want!"
"Okay, when you put it like that..." I trail off, closing my eyes.
"I'm coming over." Her voice softens slightly. "Drop me a pin?"
"I can't."
"The hell you can't!"
"It's not safe for you to come here," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "You don't understand what you'd be walking into. What if Kristofer is already in L.A.? I can't risk him seeing you!"
"Aurora, even if Kristofer saw that post, there's no way he's in L.A. right now. It's been less than an hour!" Hannah pauses. "And let's be real, you need someone who actually cares about you there right now."
"Ruslan does care about me." The defensive edge in my voice surprises even me.
"Not like I do." Hannah's response is immediate, cutting. "I'm your friend, Aurora. Let me help you."
"I'm okay, Hannah. Really."
"Stop it!" Her voice explodes through the phone. "Just stop! Stop pretending like what you're saying is normal! Stop pretending this is fine! None of this is okay!"
I close my eyes, the weight of everything crashing down on me.
"You're right," I whisper. "It's not okay."
Hannah goes silent on the other end of the line. The absence of her voice feels like a final punctuation mark to everything that's happened between us. Maybe she's hung up. Maybe she's tired of all this.
"I can't lose you." When Hannah finally speaks again, her voice is completely changed. Tiny. Frightened. "So don't push me away."
There's something about the tremor in her words that reaches past the numbness. A sliver of feeling wedges into the hollow space inside me.
"Hannah, please don't cry."
But she does. The soft, muffled sobs cut through the fog surrounding me. Real tears for the real me, whoever that is now.
"You won't lose me." My voice feels steadier now, more present.
"Then let me see you."
"I'll talk to Ruslan," I say finally. "I'll ask him to send a car for you."
"A car?" Hannah's voice rises with disbelief. "What are you, the mob now?"
The irony of her words punches me in the gut. If she only knew.
"It's safer this way. Trust me."
"Fine." A heavy sigh travels through the phone. "But I swear to God, Aurora, if I get into some black SUV with tinted windows and never see daylight again."
My fingers grip the phone tighter. "I'll explain everything when you get here. I promise."
"You better." Her voice softens slightly. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I know." The words feel inadequate for everything she's done for me. "I'll call you back with details."
I end the call and sit there for a moment, gathering my thoughts. My legs feel unsteady as I push myself up off the floor. I need to find Ruslan.
I step out from my room, wiping the last traces of tears from my face. The hall stretches before me, oppressively silent after the emotional storm I've just weathered.
And then I see him ascending the stairs with purposeful strides, his face set in hard lines.
Our eyes lock. His jaw tightens further, golden eyes flashing with something dangerous that should frighten me but somehow doesn't.
"You saw it," I say.
Ruslan closes the distance between us, his hand reaching out to cup my cheek. "Are you okay, zarechka ?"
"I'm fine."
His thumb brushes my cheekbone. "You don't have to lie to me."
I lean into his touch, drawing strength from the warmth of his skin. "I'm not lying. I think there's a part of me that always knew this day would come eventually." My shoulders lift in a small shrug. "At least I'm not alone when it happened."
Something flickers across his face. Pain, maybe, or understanding.
"I'll take care of it," he says. "I'll take care of you."
"I know. I believe you."
And I do. Whatever else might be uncertain between us, I trust in his capacity to protect what's his.
For better or worse, I am his now.
"Hannah called me," I finally say. "She saw the post and she's worried."
Ruslan's hand drops from my face, his expression shifting subtly. "What did you tell her?"
"The truth." I swallow hard. "That I married you."
His eyebrows lift slightly. "How did she take it?"
"About as well as you'd expect." I twist my fingers together. "She wants to come see me and make sure I'm okay."
I brace myself for his refusal, for the security concerns, for all the reasons why bringing an outsider here would be dangerous.
But he surprises me again when he says: "I can arrange for someone to pick her up."