Aurora's POV
I stared into the mirror; the reflection looking back at me was nothing like me. My face was pale, my lips still slightly swollen, and my eyes… they were red and full of unshed tears.
My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get enough air, no matter how hard I tried.
"Stop crying, you idiot. Stop crying," I hissed at my reflection, my voice trembling in the empty room. I roughly wiped the tears that had fallen off with the backs of my palms. "Stop being a pathetic bitch."
But the tears didn't care about my pride. They kept coming, hot and relentless, dripping off my chin and onto my shaking hands.
I didn't even know why I was crying. I should have been relieved. Raymond was leaving. He was going to France, and that meant the shadow he cast over my life was finally moving across the ocean. It meant I could finally breathe. It meant I could walk into the pack house tomorrow morning, look Alpha Oliver in the eye, and love him with the devotion he actually deserved.
