Chapter 32 Back Then
Aurora finished washing the painting tools and found Sion was still standing still in the living room, deep in thought.
“Are you… OK?” They just had a fight the day before, and she didn’t feel comfortable to talk with him again.
Sion suddenly raised his head and said, “It’s your birthday today.”
Aurora was down and said, “Forget that. You know I don’t celebrate my birthday.”
After that, she put the stuff back to the storeroom and didn’t intend to talk with him again. When she came out of the storeroom, she saw him waiting at the door, which had freaked her out, “Hell! What do you want!”
“Let’s talk.”
Clearly, Aurora knew what he was gonna talk about and refused it from the bottom of her heart. She lowered her eyes and said, “No need.”
Sion knew she’d cowered back and simply dragged her out to the couch.
“What are you doing!?” Aurora shook off his hand and said without looking at him, “I have to work tomorrow. I must go to bed now.”
“You never go to bed so early.”
Sion exposed her lie and said a little slowly, “Look at you! Professor Robertson didn’t want to see you like this.”
All at once, Aurora felt deeply wronged and felt like crying. “I’m fine the way I am.”
“Oh really?” Sion looked at her scared face, “Then why don’t you dare celebrate your birthday?”
Aurora pursed her lips without saying a word and dared not look at Sion in the eyes. He had seen her through. How could she get over it? They wouldn’t have driven in the heavy rain that night if she hadn’t asked her father to make it home in time to celebrate her birthday.
Sion sighed lightly, “Professor Robertson wouldn’t be happy to see you live with guilt.”
“Whoever is gone is gone, and there’s nothing we can do to bring them back. But we’re still alive and we should get over it and move on. Your father didn’t want you to live with guilt and pain.”
Aurora listened to him, buried her face in her hands and wept quietly. Sion had hit the nail on the head, and Aurora had no choice but to face up to it.
“But I can’t do it.”
“I don’t want to be like this. I’ve tried but I just can’t do it.” she said dully.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
“Take your time.”
“It takes time, but you’ve gotta take the first step, anyway. Your father would be happy and rest in peace if you get over it.” Sion said powerfully.
Aurora raised her head slowly and said carefully, “Can I do that?”
Sion looked at her, felt relieved and confirmed, “Yes, you can do it!”
Then he added, “Hold on.”
He went over to the dinning room quickly, took out the candles and put them in the chocolate hazelnut cake. He then lit the candles ad returned to the living room with the cake.
All at once, the ceiling lamp in the living room was out, and only one wall lamp besides the TV was left on. Aurora looked back and saw Sion coming up to her with the chocolate cake. His face looked extremely tender in the candle light.
“Start from celebrating your birthday.” he said.
Aurora felt things suddenly brightened up, and she was less depressed. The chocolate hazelnut cake was like a key to the past. It encouraged her to face up to it and she didn’t cower back again.
“Make a wish.” Sion sat down next to her and said mildly.
Aurora stared at him for a while and then closed her eyes to make a wish.
“Let’s blow the candles.”
Aurora cut the cake and began eating. Suddenly, something crossed her mind. She looked at Sion seriously and said, “Sion, in fact, I didn’t blame you. I was just too impulsive. I just blurted out without thinking.”
Sion stopped eating the cake and looked at her. The soft light shone on her pretty face, and her eyes looked as bright as the twinkling stars. The cream on her lips seemed very sweet and tasty.
Sion couldn’t help himself and tied kissing her. Aurora saw him leaning close, and reached out her hand to stop him.
“Well… today… Thanks.”
Aurora took back her hand and dared not look at Sion in his eyes. She was afraid that she would be lost in his charm once she did.
“I won’t cower back again. I’ll face up to it. Thanks. You helped me find myself again.” She said it and ran back to her room.
Sion stared at her back and said with a light smile, “Happy birthday.”
Aurora had a good sleep that night probably because she’d worked it out. She would definitely have nightmares if it was before.
She clocked in and said hi to the colleagues who she’d met.
“Good morning, Celyn.”
“Abigail, nice lip gloss! Love it!”
Alex saw her smiling all the way, which had made everything in the office look nicer.
Undoubtedly, Aurora was in a good mood, and she worked harder than usual. She was humming a tune and sorting the data when Alex came to her office desk.
“Hey, Alex. What’s up?”
Alex looked at her smiling face and teased, “I see you’re happy today. And I’ll make you happier.” Then he shook the invitation letter in hand, “Good news!”
Hearing it, Aurora looked more excited and said with expectation, “What is it?”
“The invitation letter of Starry Night Fashion Design Contest. It’s for the new designers in the field. We’ve got two seats. After discussion, you and Leah are chosen to run for the contest.”
“No kidding?” Aurora took over the invitation letter and couldn’t believe her ears.
“No kidding.”
Alex saw her happy face and smiled along with her, “Good for you! Go home early to pack your stuff. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“OK.”
Aurora read the introduction on the invitation letter, looking excited and worried. This was gonna be the first contest in her career. It wasn’t large-scale, but it was good enough for her to cheer for a while.
Alex could tell she was kinda nervous and encouraged, “Don’t worry. You’re good! You’re gonna kill it all!”
“Yeah. You’re right!” Aurora nodded to agree, as if she was also cheering for herself, “I must have confidence in myself. I’ll go all out for it!”
“Go for it!”
Indeed, Alex had a high opinion on her. And, Aurora was absolutely a good designer.
“Gotta go. See you at the airport tomorrow morning.”
“OK.” Aurora watched him leave and fixed her eyes on the invitation letter again. She started to feel the stress.
In the CEO’s office in the top floor, Cory knocked at the door, came in and saw Albie standing by the French window. Albie looked out of the window and had a bird-view of the whole city. The sunlight reflected from the tall buildings and shone dazzlingly. The lake far away was glittering.
Cory put down the documents on his desk and held his glasses a little. “Mr. Doyle, here are the final list of the new designers to compete in the Fashion Design Contest as well as their personal information. Please take a look.”