Page 46 of Falling for My Billionaire Fake Date

I run into my room. Pain, anger, and, of course, embarrassment cut through my heart, squeezing it with pain and anguish. I flop on the bed, not even trying to hold the tears back from falling now. After what seems like an eternity, I’m able to stop sobbing and go to the sink to wash my face and get myself under control.

I register that Brittney is not here, thankfully, as I can’t talk with anyone right now, not even my closest and dearest friend. Devastation covers me inside and out.

My phone rings and I see an unknown number flashing. I stare at the phone dumbly until it stops ringing, when I see alot of notifications for texts and missed calls from an unknown number. I feel my heart skip a beat at the thought of an unknown person desperately trying to reach me that many times. That cannot be a prank.

Still, I feel a hint of fear trickle down my spine as I dial the number back. The person answers on the first ring and I’m met with silence from the phone.

“Hello, are you there?” I ask tentatively, but there is no response. The reply I get is a shaky breath from the other side of the phone.

“Hello?” I call out, but there is no response. I feel myself getting angry more than I already am at the thought of getting scared over a prank call. I’m in no mood for getting prank calls from a group of little delinquents who like to waste other people’s time. I move the phone away from my ear, about to end the stupid call, when a voice speaks up.

“Bunny?” asks a soft voice cautiously, and I feel the remains of my heart drop down onto my feet in a bloody mess, my already bruised heart having no strength to take the hurt anymore.

“Bunny? It’s your mom.”

I want to yell sarcastically that I know it’s her, that she’s the only one on planet Earth who calls me Bunny. But I go mute, the shock numbing my tongue. I place a finger on the red button to end her call, but her next words have me going in shock, and the phone falls from my hand, bouncing onto the floor.

Faintly I hear: “Don’t hang up, Aurora. Please.”

“Mom?” I ask, in a broken voice. Can I get a break today already? “Why are you calling me?” I ask, a steely edge to my voice. “Did you call to ask about the money grandmaleft in my name?” I spit out bitterly, knowing the question will cause her pain.

Dad, being the only son of rich parents, I grew up to receive my share of old family money, which became accessible to me after college. The money now stands in the places of my three shops. I’ll forever be grateful to the woman I never met, but who thought of me before I was born, contrary to my own mother, who left me and my father without a backward glance.

“No, Aurora, that’s not it,” mom says in a low tone. “Please, listen to me,” she continues, sadness and desperation tinting her voice.

“What then?” I ask impatiently.

“It’s your father. He’s been in an accident.”

Apparently, no, I can’t get a break today. Because the universe has more in store for me. I feel my world crumbling down.

Chapter thirty

Aurora – The Bad News Doesn’t End

It’s dark outside, and I’m huddled in a car pulling my coat around me as tightly as possible. I blink blankly at the dashboard time, absentmindedly registering the number 8:30 flashing back at me as if to hypnotize me from the pain and the anxiety threatening to pull me down. Hot tears roll down my eyes, and I see Alex glance at me through the blurry haze that’s my eyes.

He tries to hold my hand but I swat his away, not needing his support. Not now. Not ever. I can only be really appreciative of the fact that he’s driving me to the city at breakneck speed right now.

I hold my breath, praying with everything in me that I’m not too late, and that it’s nothing serious at all.

The sharp veering of the car and blaring of horns jolts me back into reality. Alex curses under his breath, and he glances at my hand. “You gonna get that? Your phone has been ringing non-stop for the past five minutes. It’s beginning to irritate me.”

I say nothing, but I glance at my phone, tapping the screen to see the notifications. I have several texts from Brittney, Ryan, and Bella. Brittney and Ryan asking my whereabouts and if I’m okay.

Jake has the most texts, telling me he’s sorry, and what I saw wasn’t the truth. The rest of his texts consist of desperately wanting to know my whereabouts, with the last one asking if it’s true, what he heard, that I left the hotel with Alex. neitheranywhere

I feel a wave of pain wash over me, and I rub my chest, hoping it’ll soothe my aching heart. I feel another flood of tears fill my lids, and they come rolling down in warm rivulets. Bella’s message is the last I tap on. She keeps on apologizing that she really just didn’t want me to get hurt. That she didn’t betray me.

“Aurora! Aurora!” I hear someone yell my name, and I blink back into focus, my vision hazy and teary. “We’re here,” Alex says softly. He makes to hold my hand but retracts his hand, seeming to rethink it.

The bright lights of the hospital momentarily blind me, but I make no move to shield my eyes. I had fallen into a light sleep. More like a dark memory lane. The events of the day are trying to fill my mind with images I’d rather not remember.

Slowly, I unbuckle the seat belt, and Alex does the same, leaves the car, and comes jogging to my side of the door. He opens the door for me, and I step out, the cold hitting me square in the face. It feels like the bite of a thousand ants. I blink at him, willing to find my voice to at least convey my gratitude, but Ican’t. I haven’t uttered a single word since he guided me to his car back at the hotel.

I take an unstable step forward, moving towards the hospital’s entrance. My phone rings again and I numbly look at the screen, the unknown number flashing at me.

Alex searches my face to ask for permission to answer the call and I nod at him. He sighs deeply and answers the call.

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