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NEW LIFE

AURORA'S POV

Life is never the same because it's impossible to keep up with the pace of life. So whenever anyone tries to control life by their own will, life gives them so many sorrows which is completely unexpected. So, it's better to accept reality instead of chasing the imagination which mostly not going to be true.

I always did what I thought would make everyone happy around me. I gave importance to the happiness of others that I forgot about my own happiness or wishes. But when I needed those persons, they showed me their backs. That's why now I live for myself as I understand that nobody cares for me.

I am Aurora Wilson, a divorcee who is trying to make ends to meet the needs of her life and to get rid of the memories of the past. Two years ago I didn't have any financial background because I wasn't allowed to work as it would have ruined my ex-husband's reputation. But now I don't need to worry about others reputations as I have my own business to run. Although my business is small, still I treat it like my child.

I run a bakery named Sugary Paradise which is a famous bakery in Atherton, a prestigious town of California. It is not a very crowded area but this town is famous for its wealth so I don't have to worry about fewer customers. I have two helpers who mostly take orders or look after the bakery whenever I need to run errands.

Currently, I am making a fresh batch of Raspberry Lemon Mascarpone Parfaits which is a specialty of my bakery and we always have to be prepared beforehand because of the constant demand of this particular dessert.

"Boss, a girl is asking about the owner of the bakery. Can you please go and meet her?" Claire, the new helper asks coming into the kitchen. I look up before nodding my head in response.

"Okay, I am going. Till then please start to make the Peanut Butterballs. Mrs. Smith will be here at 3 PM to pick up her order." I reply while wiping my hands on a towel before going out of the kitchen to meet the girl who is waiting for me. Upon reaching outside I smile seeing the beautiful olive-skinned girl who has become a good friend of mine over the few months she has been coming here.

"Welcome back Evelyn." I let out while she squeals loudly getting the attention of the customers.

"Aurora, you can't believe what happened." Evelyn says with excitement clear in her face.

"Yes, I can't believe because you haven't told me yet." I reply smiling at the silly girl.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot to tell you in my excitement. But here look." She answers before showing me her left hand's ring finger where a pretty big Diamond ring is situated making me gasp. I look at her for confirmation to know if what I am thinking is correct or not. But when she nods her in response I squeal in happiness before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Finally your dream has come true. I am just so happy for you girl." I tell her after pulling away from the hug.

"I still can't believe that Owen has asked me to marry him. But then I look at the ring on my finger and boom I realize that it's the truth." She replies with a big smile on her face.

"You just sit here and let me get you your favorite dessert." I tell her before going inside the kitchen to get the dessert for my friend. Soon, I put the freshly made raspberry lemon mascarpone parfait in front of her on the table and her eyes lip up like a child. She quickly eats a spoonful of the creamy dessert before closing her eyes while a satisfying look covers her face.

"Damn girl, no one can make this as delicious as you." She says while pointing at the parfait making me smile.

"Thank you for the compliment. Nevertheless sorry to tell you that I won't be able to chat with you for longer as I have to finish making some more dessert for other customers." I let out with a sigh.

"It's okay Aurora, I understand that you need to work hard, and believe me, I am not going to be angry with you for not spending much time with me. By the way, there is another reason for me to coming here." She replies while pulling out an envelope from her purse.

"This is the invitation for my engagement party and I am not going to take any no from you. You are going to come and that's final." She says making me gulp in anticipation. It's been a long time since I have attended any party or gathering so I don't know if I can go to the engagement party.

"Don't worry, I will be there and also you can bring anyone with you as your date." She suggests in which I shake my head as I don't have anyone to take with me.

"I can't promise that I will come but I will try my best to be there for you." I reply with a smile.

"Okay, I am not going to force you if you don't want to come. But I will feel better if you show up on my special day." She lets out making me sigh in relief.

We talk till she completes eating the dessert and then she orders a Chocolate meringue layer cake as it's Owen, her fiance's favorite cake to eat. After paying for the order she leaves the bakery while promising to come back soon. I look at the retreating figure of her and smile remembering the day when she first arrived here with tears streaming down her face.

*Flashback

I was wiping the kitchen counters when I heard the jingle of the bell indicating someone had entered the bakery. So I went out to welcome the customer but got confused when I noticed that a girl who looked like a model crying very loudly. I panicked not knowing what's wrong with the girl and went near her.

"Excuse me miss. But may I know why are you crying so much?" I asked making the girl looked at me with a sorrowful look.

"I a-m so-rr-y for cr-yi-ng." She replied while hiccuping.

I gave her a glass of water which she drank very fast. I then sat down across from her and rubbed her hand gently trying to ease her mind.

"I have always wanted to get married to my boyfriend but he is not proposing to me. Today, when I went to his office to surprise him on our anniversary I found a half-naked girl sitting on his desk. He tried to explain but I didn't listen to him and ran away from there. I didn't want to go to my brother because he would have surely killed my boyfriend for hurting me and that's why I came here to eat cold coffee to calm myself down. But I can not get the horrible image out of my mind and that's what making me cry so badly." She explained while a fresh batch of tears started to flow from her eyes. I wiped her tears with my palms before asking Parker, one of my helpers to bring a cold coffee for the weeping girl.

"Here first drink it and then you can talk to me more." I let out giving the cold coffee to the girl who nodded her head in response before taking little sips from of the coffee.

"It's easy to believe the things we see through our eyes but not everything we see is bound to be true. I don't know if your boyfriend has cheated on you or not. But I think you should at least let him explain the situation from his point of view." I told her.

"I think you're correct. I shouldn't have jumped to any conclusion without talking to him. I will go and talk to him right now." She replied and stood up from her place. She gave me some money for the coffee but I shook my head and told her that the coffee was on me.

"Oh by the way, I am Evelyn Moretti." The girl introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you, I am Aurora Willson." I replied with a smile.

End of flashback*

It's been more than six months since that day and over the months Evelyn and I have become good friends. Although she is three years younger than me, it doesn't make any dent in our friendship. She is more like a little sister to me and I feel like I can share anything with her. However, she still doesn't know about my divorce or my condition that lead to the divorce. I don't want to recall anything from the past because it only gives me pain.


After closing the bakery I start walking towards my apartment building which is only two blocks away so I don't need to take a cab or bus. I also don't have a car although I can afford it, but due to my working schedule, I don't go out much so I don't see the point to put my money on something which is not needed. If I need to go somewhere I take a bus or cab.

I smile at the guard of the apartment building who is a middle-aged man before making my way towards the elevator. It's neither a very luxurious building nor a cheap one so I can say that I live in a decent place. When the elevator stops on the fourth floor where my apartment is located I get out of the elevator before opening the apartment with the keys.

My apartment is in a good shape as it has a master bedroom and a small guestroom. The living room is not very big but it's a cozy place to sit. However, I prefer the balcony more as I love to read books while enjoying the fresh air. The kitchen is small but I am thinking of renovating it as I prefer to make different types of food every day and sometimes I feel like my kitchen is too small for me to move around freely.

I put my purse on the table that is situated across the couch in the living room before opening the windows to let the fresh air come inside.

I look at the sky which is full of stars before sitting down on the couch to relax after a hectic day. Just then my phone starts ringing so I take out the phone from inside the purse and smile seeing the called ID.

"Hey Dad, how are you doing?" I ask after receiving the call.

"I am doing good pumpkin. How are you doing? Are you home yet or not?" My Dad aka my ex-father-in-law enquires making me feel blessed to have someone like her and Mom in my life. They don't support what their son has done and though we don't have any legal relationship with each other they always call me to know about my well-being.

"Yes, I am home. What's Mom doing?" I ask and then I hear some whisper before Mom's voice drift through the device.

"I am making tomato spaghetti as per your Dad's request." She replies and I can imagine her rolling her eyes at dad.

"Oh wow, I really miss your cooking mom." I let out with a pout.

"Then why don't you come to visit us? It's been two months since we have seen you, dear." She says with a sad voice.

"I am just busy running the bakery but I will be there next weekend." I answer making her squeal in happiness.

"Jonah our daughter is going to be home next weekend." Mom yells to Dad who yells back that he is going to the grocery store to buy more things.

"Mom, tell Dad that I am not coming tomorrow so he doesn't need to go to the grocery store in such hurry." I let out while laughing loudly observing the crazy behavior of Dad.

"Let him be sweetie. You are the only one apart from Jacob who makes him this much happy so I don't want to ruin his happiness." Mom exclaims with a sigh making me understand what she is indicating. They were extremely heartbroken when they heard about Matthew and my divorce. They even tried to disown him as their son but I didn't let them as I didn't want to be the reason for their separation from their son.

"Are you there, sweetie?" I hear mom asks breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Ah yes, mom." I reply while getting up from the couch to go to my bedroom which is in the next hallway.

I hang my purse on the armchair available in my bedroom and get inside the washroom before opening the tap to fill the bathtub with warm water.

"Jacob is more likely going to be back home next week so I hope that you can also meet him too," Mom says making me smile thinking about the goofy boy who has always been more of a little brother to me instead of my brother-in-law.

"That's great to hear and I can not wait to meet him. He is finally coming back after three months." I reply excitedly getting a laugh from my ex-mother-in-law.

"Both you and your dad are the same hearing about Jacob's returning. By the way, I am cutting the call or the dinner won't be ready on time. Remember to eat something before going to bed. Bye, sweetie." She says.

"Okay, mom talk to you later then. Goodnight and bye." I reply getting a good night in response before I disconnect the call.

After that, I enter the washroom and get into the bathtub not before taking off my clothes. Finally, I feel like my stiff muscles are relaxing. Nearly half an hour later I leave the washroom and wear my comfy pajama set which I have gotten in my last month's shopping spree. I don't like to buy luxurious clothes but that doesn't mean that I don't go shopping because every person requires comfortable clothes.

I don't have the energy to make something for dinner but I haven't eaten lunch so I am kind of feeling hungry. So, I decide to hit up the leftover from yesterday which contains brown rice and garlic butter shrimp.

After hitting up the dinner I put it on a plate before filling up a glass with water. I take a seat in one of the chairs situated across the kitchen island before starting to eat dinner.

While taking a bite of the shrimp my mind drift off to my ex-husband Matthew who used to demand this particular dish very often. Suddenly, I feel hot tears roll down my face remembering my life two years ago. It may look like that I am completely fine outside but inside I am only a broken woman who is trying to forget every awful thing about one particular person who was supposed to be the reason behind my happiness. However, that same person didn't look behind after throwing me out of his house. He didn't even come to meet me in the hospital after my accident. He only showed up at the courthouse to confirm our divorce and to tell me that he was marrying his ladylove who would be able to provide him with an heir.

I wipe the tears with the back of my hand and put the plate into the sink because my appetite is lost completely. I don't know why still that man has so much effect on me, why I still can not help but think about the time we have spent together for three years. I may sound like a fool to others but one needs to put their foot in my shoes to understand where my feelings are coming from. I am not sure if I will ever be able to forget everything but one thing is for sure that I will not let my past control my future.

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