Chapter 47 - Played
Xander and Elara were all over Aurora the second they stepped in.
Elara kept showering Auri with loud, dramatic kisses while Xander suddenly scooped her clean off the floor.
“Put me down... Xander, I swear—” Aurora snapped, already drained from the noise.
He only laughed and spun her around, forcing Aurora to grab his shoulders before she fell. She yanked his hair and smacked his shoulder, but that only made him laugh harder.
Oma giggled like she’d been waiting for this.
Elara wandered off first, drifting toward Gemma and Melvin. The resemblance between Gemma and Elara’s mother was so striking that it almost looked like Gemma had given birth to this girl herself.
Gemma squealed, kissing Elara’s cheek; Elara kissed Melvin’s in return.
Melvin smiled softly, patting her head. “Welcome home.”
Meanwhile Aurora was still fighting Xander, who finally set her down.
Then Elara noticed the pile of gift boxes stacked in the living room.
“Oh my God— you GUYS!” she squealed, already diving toward them.
“Careful!” Gemma laughed.
Aurora smacked Xander’s cheek. He winced dramatically.
“You’re abusing your three months seniority,” He complained.
Aurora rolled her eyes and dragged herself upstairs.
Oma stayed, joining Elara on the floor. Elara screamed every time she opened a new box. The gifts were exactly her vibe.
Xander leaned in, eyeing the pile.
“Where are mine?”
Elara whined when she found a box with a boy’s name on it.
“Finally,” Xander snatched it. “Obviously mine.”
Oma kept making “aww” sounds as Elara pulled out designer after designer.
Then Xander turned to Oma with a smug, flirty grin. “You miss me or what?”
Oma didn’t even blink. “Back off.” She shoved a hand in his face. “I have a boyfriend now.”
Xander froze. “WHAT?! You refused me, but you have a boyfriend?!”
Oma rolled her eyes. “You weren’t serious. And I wasn’t ready. Plus, you live in London, and I’m not doing long-distance. Also, Aurora is literally my sister, so that makes us practically cousins. I’m not dating you. Ew.”
“Screw all that,” Xander muttered. “So you didn’t even have a tiny crush on me?”
“No.”
Gemma watched with a warm smile; Melvin just sighed like he could already see the chaos forecast for the next few months.
Elara, still staring into a gift box, called over:
“Xan, chill. Leave Oma alone.”
Then the doorbell rang.
Gemma clapped twice excitedly. “More gifts!” she sang as she rushed to the door.
Elara’s head snapped up. “REALLY?!”
Gemma smirked. “Not for you.”
She grabbed the delivery herself, refusing Nanny Mira’s help. Returning inside, she glanced at Oma.
“And of course I got you something too. You’re sleeping over.”
Oma pouted and hugged her. “I love you so much.”
Melvin headed upstairs. “Dinner in a bit. Everyone get ready.”
Gemma handed Nanny Mira a few boxes. “Please take these to Aurora.”
Oma started tearing into her gifts immediately.
Elara suddenly pointed at her. “Oma, you have so much to fill me in on. College, hot guys, drama, especially Auri’s drama. I’ve missed everything!”
Xander was busy opening his own.
“Hats… watches… bracelets… Damn! This is sick.”
Elara squealed over hers. Oma squealed with her. Xander cursed and admired his. The knuckle rings Gemma bought sparkled in all three of their hands.
Gemma went upstairs too, calling, “Hurry up! Dinner in ten!”
And the three of them stayed where they were, surrounded by boxes, shiny gifts, loud reactions, and the kind of chaos that only meant one thing:
The twins were back… and peace was officially over.
Aurora closed her bedroom door and exhaled, long and annoyed. The noise downstairs was too much, Xander shouting, Elara squealing, Oma giggling like she just won a trip to Paris.
The Raven Mansion had turned into a carnival.
She walked to her bed and dropped onto it, sitting cross-legged, her big shirt draping over her knees. Her room felt calm, finally. Quiet. Controlled. Exactly how she liked it.
Out of habit, she checked her phone.
Still nothing.
Not even a hacked message.
Not even one of those creepy silent texts he somehow squeezed in even when he was blocked.
Interesting.
She stared at the blank screen for a second, then placed it face-down beside her, a dry, irritated scoff leaving her throat.
So that’s how he wanted to play it.
Her jaw flexed slightly.
Did he get bored?
Was she just another warm body he could toss aside the moment he was done?
Just another girl he touched and walked away from?
Her stomach tightened, not with sadness, but with disgust. At him. At herself for even giving him access. At the whole stupid situation.
She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, fingers tapping against each other slowly as she thought.
No calls. No texts. No hacking. No nothing.
The same Leonard who once couldn’t stand going a few hours without trying to invade her space… suddenly silent?
Pathetic.
She clicked her tongue.
“Childhood sweetheart,” She muttered under her breath, mocking the idea. “What a joke.”
Friendship? History?
Him being “different” with her?
All lies. All illusions.
Did he use her? He actually did. She did end up like the others. He wanted to prove she was indeed like the rest.
That was the only explanation that made sense in her head. He used her like he used the others. She wasn’t special, she wasn’t different, she wasn’t anything.
And honestly? Let him stay gone.
Her irritation simmered under her skin, strong enough to keep her awake. A clean, sharp kind that made her posture straighten.
She blocked him. She removed him. She cut him off.
If he couldn’t handle that, good.
Screw him and the family ties, screw his pretence, screw her stupidity or whatever she thought was starting happen to her.
She's done with all his b?llshít.
Downstairs, she heard Elara scream over another gift, followed by Xander yelling something back. Oma laughed loudly.
Aurora sighed through her nose. Drama everywhere.
Let Leonard stay missing. If he wanted silence, she could do silence better.
★COLETTE CHARLOTTE'S PLACE★
Colette sat in front of her mirror, running a brush through her red hair for the tenth time, but her eyes weren’t even seeing her reflection. She looked… haunted. Annoyed. Like her thoughts were chewing her alive.
The door burst open.
Charlotte walked in grinning like she’d just won a luxury vacation. Shorts, tiny crop top, glossy lips, and a heartbeat full of Perry.
“You will NOT believe what Perry did for me today,” she squealed immediately, flopping onto Colette’s bed.
“He’s literally spoiling me. Actually spoiling me.
.. I mean, listen! This isn’t just a relationship anymore.
I think I’m in love. I can’t wait to see what he gets me tomorrow for Valentine’s. .."
She paused.
Because Colette wasn’t listening. At all.
Charlotte snapped her fingers in her face. “Hello? Earth to Lettie? What is wrong with you?”
Colette inhaled sharply, then slammed her brush onto the table. She got up swiftly.
“Are you blind?” She snapped. “I’m NOT happy, Charlotte. I barely see Aurora anymore. She’s always, ALWAYS, with Leo. She went into his villa at his birthday party. HIS. VILLA.”
Her voice cracked with frustration.
“And tomorrow’s Valentine’s party? I’m not ready to see whatever happens there. I even dyed my hair red for her and she hasn’t noticed me once. Not once. What the actual hell?!”
Charlotte stared at her, then groaned dramatically.
“Oh my God, Colette. LET HER GO. Leo will finish you. FINISH. YOU. If he can threaten Mr. Thorne, a literal teacher, what chance do you think you have? Use your brain, please! Aurora is not your property. Get over her before you get yourself murdered.”
Colette grabbed her perfume bottle, not even thinking, and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud crack. Charlotte flinched.
Colette stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Charlotte stood there, massaging her temples.
“You’re causing problems for me too, Aurora,” she muttered under her breath.
But then… she remembered Perry. Valentine’s tomorrow.
And she smiled, lips curling, cheeks warming.
She walked out humming.
★WILSON HOUSEHOLD★
The Wilson house felt empty.
Mrs. Wilson sat on the couch holding Nicole’s photo. She kept staring at it like she was waiting for Nicole to smile or move. She looked tired… tired in a way that didn’t come from lack of sleep, but from losing someone you can’t get back.
Mr. Wilson walked around the room, restless. Hands on his waist. Rubbing his forehead. He looked just as lost.
“She was our little girl,” Mrs. Wilson said quietly. “She didn’t deserve this.”
“I know,” He replied, voice low.
She shook her head. "How did he just vanish? How did the Caspian murderer vanish? And what was so special about that Leonard? Why did she go to that hotel?... Why?..."
Mr. Wilson sighed. “Someone is hiding him. That’s the only explanation.”
Mrs. Wilson finally looked up at him, eyes full of frustration. “And Leonard didn’t even take the blame like we hoped.”
Mr. Wilson stopped walking. “He’s smarter than we thought.”
“We only wanted the truth to come out,” She said. “But now we look desperate. And Caspian is still missing.”
He sat beside her. “We’re not giving up. I’m still searching. I’ll find something. I have to.”
Mrs. Wilson looked back at Nicole’s picture, thumb brushing over it. “She shouldn’t be forgotten. Not Nicole. Not my baby.”
“She won’t be,” Mr. Wilson said firmly.
The house fell into silence again and Mrs Wilson clenched Nicole's photo tighter to her chest.
Rage and pain burning inside her.
★RAVEN MANSION — DINNER★
Ten minutes felt like ten hours.
The twins wasted time arguing upstairs about whose room was cooler. Oma literally had to drag Elara down by the wrist.
Xander took his sweet time coming down on his own, humming like nothing was happening.
Now they were all seated at the long dining table.
Aurora wasn’t talking. But she was eating, fast.
Stabbing through her food like it personally offended her.
Gemma and Melvin exchanged a look.
Xander raised a brow. “Are you pregnant?”
Oma gasped. “Shut your freaking mouth.”
Aurora froze. She put her spoon down. The clink was louder than it should’ve been.
“This mouth of yours…” Elara muttered. “You punk.”
Gemma reached over, touching Aurora’s hand gently. “Ignore him, darling. Eat.”
Aurora slowly lifted her eyes to Xander, who suddenly didn’t look as bold. He gulped.
“Why do you ask?” she said calmly, which somehow scared him more than if she’d yelled.
Melvin stayed silent.
“Well… it’s been years since I saw you eat like this so I just—”
“Just what?” Aurora cut in.
Xander shrugged, looking away. “Never mind. Keep attacking your food.”
“Xander.” Melvin warned, voice firm.
“I’m just saying,” he mumbled.
Oma sighed and went back to her food.
Elara moved on quickly, she was buried in her plate, tearing into her chicken like someone was going to steal it from her. Her mom once banned her from eating it because she “got too chubby.” Elara never forgave her for that.
“Just eat, Auri,” Melvin said quietly.
Aurora didn’t answer, but she kept eating, face blank.
---
UPSTAIRS — AURORA’S ROOM
Dinner was over fast.
Aurora escaped to her room. Oma followed. Elara followed even faster, hyper and chaotic as always.
Elara sat cross-legged on the bed. “Auri, tell me everything about All Elites. Everything. I need full gist.”
Aurora rubbed her forehead. “You’ll see when you resume tomorrow.”
Elara pouted like a child.
She and Xander had begged Gemma for a night drive, but Gemma shut that down immediately.
Xander barged into the room without knocking. “I hope All Elites has pretty girls. New York is so hot.”
Elara looked at him. “Tell me, did you fight anyone? I know you. You beat people up a lot.”
Oma laughed. “Trust me, you have no idea.”
“Then gist me now,” Elara whined.
“No,” Oma groaned. “I’m tired. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. I’ll add you to the group chat.”
“What group chat?”
“You’ll see. Rosie would adore you.” Oma smiled.
Elara squealed.
Aurora leaned back on the pillows. “Can you all leave my room? Go somewhere else.”
“That’s right,” Elara said, immediately standing and dragging Oma with her. “Come to my room.”
“I swear, there better be fine girls in your school,” Xander stretched. “I’m sick of blondes. They almost ruined my life.”
“Close the door, moron,” Aurora snapped.
Xander stuck his middle finger up at her, then kicked the door open louder than necessary.
Aurora groaned.
Nanny Mira appeared almost instantly, turning off the lights with a soft smile before stepping out. She shut the door gently.
Darkness.
Silence.
Aurora let out a long, controlled breath.
She stared up at the ceiling, and it felt like a projector was playing above her, every scene with him flashing through her mind.
The first time they locked eyes.
The dance.
His stupid smirk.
She hated him then. She hates him more now.
She thought about the day he carried her on his shoulders at school… how he tapped her àss… and she let him.
A different kind of anger curled in her stomach, this one for herself.
Oma was right.
What version of herself had she been giving Leonard?
What made him think he could treat her like that?
Touch her like that?
He won after all.
A small, mocking laugh slipped out of her mouth in the dark.
“You got played, Noelle.”
TBC...