The Reverence of a Man on Fire (BOOK II)

Chapter 18- Hanging by a Thread

--Aurora POV--

"That man is unfairly gorgeous. Why is he so damn hot?" One of the ladies stated from around the circle of people that I was currently speaking to.

"Who is that person he's talking to?" I curiously asked, eyes pinned on the lady that was currently grinning at him from ear to ear as if amused by his personality. The sight left an odd feeling in my chest, one that I didn't like, but I'd never let him find out.

"I think her father owns some sort of trading company, but that's about it. Why?" Petra curiously asked, nudging me with a mischievous grin as I rolled my eyes before turning back to the group of women that were all still ogling at Gio ever since he walked into the party.

"Just curiosity, I guess," I mumbled, confused on how to feel, but brushed it off as I stretched a smile across my face once more, and continued to talk to them.

"It's a beautiful party," Another lady, Nyra, someone I could never get along with, complimented. 

We went to the same school as children, and she was always nit-picking my every move, she's hated me from the moment she met me for the sole reason that her father's company was under my father's control.

"You have to thank my father for that. It was all a surprise for me," I replied. She made it her life's goal to annoy me, but unfortunately for her, it never worked. I never let her words get to me, or her actions hurt me, and I lived life for myself, uncaring towards her.

"Say, what happened to that boyfriend of yours, Aurora? He used to be stuck at your hip whenever you were in public," She curiously asked as I suddenly felt the pang of disgust that hit me at the mention of his existence.

"I broke up with him," I decided to simply answer.

"Oh my, really? Why? Did he do something wrong?" She asked, and it didn't take a miracle for anyone to notice how bad she was at acting. It was all an open secret, that this woman is the one that helped him cheat on me. She's just lucky I never cared enough to call her out on it.

"Why don't you tell me?" I asked, looking down at her with a small smirk, having had enough of her toying. She thought I didn't expose her because my reputation was on the line, her naivety was almost commendable.

"Pardon?" She batted her eyelashes, confused.

"You slept with him, I caught you both that day, remember? Or are you too ashamed of the memory that you've suddenly got memory loss?" I took a step forward, smirking as she blinked in surprise at seeing me stand up for myself.

"Don't act so smug about it, you've not done anything great. On the contrary, if I were to tell my father about how disgusting of a human you are, where would that leave your father's company? A company that solely relies on the Vandenburg conglomerate," 

And all of a sudden, the all-knowing look dripped off her face, revealing the fear that's always been hiding there. Her jaw hung open as she looked at me with wide eyes, surprised by my words which, to be honest, should have been spoken much sooner than now.

"That's what I thought. Be grateful that I didn't kick you out of my home the moment you dared to show your face to me today. I'll let you off this time, but I'm getting bored of you and all your games, Nyra. There's only so much I can take before my patience runs dry," She visibly gulped, watching as the smirk fell off my face to be replaced with the emotionless yet intimidating look that dared her to speak up against me.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got better places to be," And flicking my hair in her face, I spun on my heels, leaving that group without an added thought as Petra followed behind with a proud smile, which was enough to cause a small smile of my own to creep onto my face.