"Damn!"Aurora said, her mind clearly not in the moment.
The loud music resounded throughout the campus auditorium, bass vibrating against the walls and seeping into Aurora's skin.
Chandeliers and disco lights hung across the ceiling twinkled like stars.
This moment right here should have been magical ; the Spring Festival was a tradition that all students looked forward to all year , but tonight, something was ripping the edges of her happiness away bit by bit.
She stood near the refreshment table, absently swirling her cup of punch from which the main bowl was secretly spiked with alcohol by rebellious boys even after they were all instructed not to bring alcohol , her eyes scanning the crowd.
Her roommate, Mia, had dragged her here, insisting she needed a night out after the last two exhausting and dreadful weeks of exams. But even now, Aurora's mind wandered all over ,thinking about Ethan.
He had disappeared almost half an hour ago.
She shifted on her feet,adjusting her gown and glancing down at her phone.
No new messages. No missed calls.
A tiny voice whispered in her mind: "Maybe he's just in the bathroom. Maybe he ran into a friend. Maybe you're overthinking."
Aurora stuffed her phone into her purse and pushed through the crowd. She didn't want to be the overbearing girlfriend, didn't want to be "that" girl. But some instinct ; deep, raw urged her forward.
She walked till she got to a corner near the back of the auditorium, where the noise thinned into whispers. A darker figure shielded by velvet curtains caught her eye. Two figures were pressed against the wall, half-hidden by the shadows.
Aurora's heart slammed against her ribs.
It was Ethan. And he wasn't alone.
He leaned in, too close to a petite blonde wearing a tight red dress. His hand cupped her waist casually, familiarly , almost as if they've been together for a while.
The girl giggled, tilting her head as Ethan whispered something against her ear. His smile ….the same one that used to be reserved for Aurora curved wickedly across his lips.
For a second, Aurora froze.
It was as though time had stopped.
The world tilted.
The floor seemed to drop out beneath her.
She wanted to believe she was hallucinating. She hoped that the ground would just open up and swallow her up at that instant. She could feel her stress and fatigue level rising above normal at the sight of this nonsense. But when the girl's hand slid boldly across Ethan's chest, and Ethan didn't pull away …..in fact, he leaned closer ; reality shattered through her like broken glass.
"No!."
" No!, no!, no!."
Her pulse roared in her ears. Her fists curled at her sides. Every fiber of her being screamed to march over there, to tear them apart, to demand answers.
Instead, she stumbled back, unnoticed, slipping into the crowd like a ghost.
She needed air.
Pushing through the auditorium crowded with bodies of people dancing, giggling and whispering to each other, she burst out onto the well decorated balcony, gulping in the crisp night air like a drowning woman.
Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she forced them down.
Not here.
Not now.
Not where everyone could see.
The door creaked behind her.
"Aurora! There you are, babe. I was looking all over for you!" Ethan's voice rang out, fake concern lacing every syllable.
She turned slowly.
He looked so normal. So casual. As if he hadn't just betrayed her moments ago.
Aurora's stomach twisted with disgust.
"You were "looking" for me?" she asked, voice icy calm.
Ethan smiled, stepping closer. "Yeah. I thought we could grab some drinks together. You having fun?"
It was almost impressive, the way he lied so easily.
Almost.
Aurora clenched her jaw. For a moment, she considered pretending she hadn't seen anything. That's what she always did; forgiving, forgetting, excusing.
But not tonight.
Not anymore.
"You looked like you were already having a lot of fun back there," she said evenly.
Confusion flickered for a second across Ethan's face which he quickly masked, not knowing she saw it already. "What are you talking about?"
Aurora laughed , giving a sharp, bitter sound. "The girl in the red dress. Ring any bells?"
Ethan's mouth opened, then closed. A beat of silence stretched between them.
Finally, he scoffed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Oh, come on, Rory. It was nothing. We were just talking."
"With your hands all over her?" she snapped, her voice rising despite her trying to calm herself down.
He took a step forward, lowering his voice like he was calming a hysterical child. "You're overreacting. You always do this. Always reading too much into things."
Aurora's vision blurred with anger.
For so long, she had let him twist things …make her doubt herself. Make her feel like she was too much, too emotional, too jealous. But she wasn't crazy. She wasn't overreacting.
She had *seen* it.
"No," she said, voice trembling but fierce. "Not this time, Ethan."
He stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," she said, heart pounding, "we're done."
The words tasted foreign, thrilling, terrifying on her tongue.
Ethan's smile faltered. Genuine shock flickered across his face. Like the idea of her leaving him had never even crossed his mind.
"You don't mean that," he said, laughing nervously. "Come on, Aurora. You're upset. Let's just…"
"I DO mean it," she interrupted, louder now. "I'm tired. Tired of forgiving you. Tired of making excuses. Tired of feeling like I'm not enough."
Ethan's face darkened. "You won't find anyone better than me," he said, voice low and ugly. "You'll come crawling back."
Maybe once, she would have believed him.
Maybe once, she would have stayed.
Not anymore.
"I'd rather be alone than be with someone who treats me like this," Aurora said.
She turned and walked away, ignoring the curses he muttered under his breath, ignoring the way her heart cracked open inside her chest , desperately wishing this did not just happen and for somebody to pinch her back to reality.
Ignoring the voice that begged her to turn around, to give him one more chance.
She didn't look back.
Aurora didn't remember how she made it back to her dorm.
One minute she was pushing through the crowds of laughing students, the next she was staring blankly at her own door, keys clutched so tightly in her hand they left angry red marks on her palm.
Her hands shook as she unlocked the door.
Mia wasn't back yet , probably still inside dancing, not aware of the storm raging inside Aurora.
The second the door closed behind her, the mask slipped.
Aurora slid down against the door, her weak legs collapsing onto the floor, and buried her face in her hands.
The first sob ripped from her chest ….harsh, ugly, raw. It was like all the pain she'd bottled up for months, maybe years, finally exploded out of her at once.
Why had she stayed so long?
Why had she believed him every time he said "I'll change," every time he swore he loved only her?
Because she had wanted to believe.
Because she had loved him.
She pressed her forehead against the cool wood of the door, struggling to breathe through the overwhelming tide of emotion drowning her.
Her phone buzzed.
Through her eyes blurred by tears, she saw Ethan's name flashing on the screen.
Without thinking, she swiped to reject the call and threw the phone across the room. It hit the bed and bounced harmlessly to the floor.
Aurora curled into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees. Tears soaked her cheeks.
Minutes…. or maybe hours passed just like that with her still in that state.
The room was dark except for the faint streetlight glow and the moonlight filtering through the curtains. The world outside continued as if nothing had changed. But inside Aurora's heart, a war was being waged….grief against anger, regret against resolve.
The buzzing started again. Texts this time.
She ignored them all.
She needed... something. Some kind of lifeline to cling to.
Something to remind her that she was still herself , not just Ethan's discarded, heartbroken ex-girlfriend.
Slowly, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled toward her bookshelf.
Her fingers skimmed the spines of her favorite novels. Worlds she used to lose herself in before Ethan came along and demanded all her time, all her energy, all her love.
Her gaze landed on a familiar name: "Eleanor Gray"— the mysterious author whose books had taught her to dream bigger, love harder, fight stronger.
Aurora pulled the worn copy off the shelf and collapsed onto her bed.
The pages smelled like ink and memory.
She clutched the book to her chest and closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, she promised herself.
Tomorrow, she would start over.
But tonight... tonight she would grieve.
And maybe …..just maybe …..she would start remembering who she was without him.
The next morning dawned gray and damp, matching her mood perfectly.
Aurora showered, dressed in her softest jeans and a baggy sweater, and tied her hair back in a messy bun. She avoided the mirror. She didn't want to see the red rims of her eyes, the swollen sadness in her face.
Mia burst in just as Aurora was shoving her phone into her bag.
"Girl, where were you last night?" Mia demanded, tossing her heels off and collapsing dramatically onto her bed. "I looked for you after the fireworks but you were gone! Wait... are you okay?"