Wrongfully Claimed

Chapter Seventeen

                       Aurora

Aurora was in a trance-like state when Ryder nudged her awake and whisked her off to the bathroom the following morning to make her go take a shower before they set off for the trip.

He left her there and told her he was going to prepare breakfast and that he'd set aside some clean change of clothes in his room for when she got out.

She noticed once she came downstairs, he seemed to be in a contented mood this morning and more relaxed than she'd seen him in days.

He wasted no time in doting on her hand and foot, by making her breakfast and attending to her every needs -- the way a husband would be attentive towards his wife.

He was already dressed in a fern green check shirt, and black jeans and his scruffy brown hair had all been neatly styled back.

She could see he was still limping on one leg and he struggled to keep his balance as she caught him often having to lean against the wall or sit down every now and then because of how much pain he was in.

It worked in her favour because she knew it would have been easier for her to get away once she was out there. She just had to keep it together for now and not lose her cool around him.

But she wasn't going to lie, she was getting sick to death of having to keep up with this pretence much longer.

She was an emotional wreck most of the time and the worst part was Ryder could care less about what he was doing by keeping her there against her will and raping her, sometimes even two or three times a night when she was asleep and he thought she didn't know.

After last night, she swore to herself she would lose it if he touched her again.

Then there was the constant fear of those men coming back to finish what they started, or worse following them when they left this morning, worried this could jeopardize her plans.

She had been almost certain she'd seen a strange blue van drive past the house a couple of times during the time she'd been sitting there. But she couldn't see the driver because the windows were tinted.

Picking up her spoon like it was the hardest thing in the world to do, Aurora began eating her breakfast cereal while occasionally stealing glances at Ryder standing in the kitchen preparing the rest of their breakfast.

She didn't know why but this morning she felt more depressed than usual and just the mere sight of seeing him made her stomach turn.

Sebastian was seated at the far end of the table, eating his breakfast, but he kept peering up from his plate every few seconds to sneak a peek at her.

Every time, she locked eyes with his timid son, he would bashfully slide down to the edge of his seat and shy away in the corner, embarrassed that he'd been caught out.

"Say, lady, you real pretty," Sebastian mumbled under his breath, his pale cheeks going a vibrant shade of red, the harder he poked at his oatmeal with the back end of his spoon. " You remind me of an angel."

Aurora smiled sweetly and shook her head while she took a long sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Thank you. I think you are a handsome young man yourself."

Sebastian's alabaster skin intensified and went a deeper crimson-red colour as he continued to dig his spoon into his breakfast cereal.

Ryder returned loaded up with more juice and all Aurora could do was just sit there wondering what had gotten into him this morning.

He purposefully selected the chair, right next to hers, and sat down, but he soon became uptight when he realised Aurora stopped eating and barely touched any of the food.