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As her eyes searched for Aiden, Aurora wondered how she was ever going to be able to find him in this rush.
She felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she was met with Aiden’s warm smile and beautiful eyes. Before she could even say anything, he enveloped her in a big hug, lifting her off her feet a little. Aurora hugged him tightly. She inhaled his scent, feeling his back muscles underneath her fingers. She had missed his hugs.
She kissed him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you more, babe.” He said, smiling at her. He kept a hand on the small of her back as he took her bags from her.
“What the hell is going on?” Ethan’s voice interrupted them. Aurora pulled away from Aiden in a rush. She was faced with the glaring face of her brother, standing at the airport, still in his work clothes. This was not how she had envisioned telling Ethan about them.
“I-”, Aurora stuttered, at a loss for words. Ethan looked at Aiden and for a moment Aurora was scared he would punch Aiden.
“What have you been doing with my sister behind my back?” Ethan almost growled, anger dripping from his voice. Aiden’s face remained almost calm, but she could tell he was flustered too.
“Listen, we wanted to tell you-”
“I can explain-.” Both Aurora and Aiden spoke at the same time but were cut off by Ethan.
“I thought I’d surprise you at the airport since my meeting ended early. But I see now there was no need for me to be here,” Ethan spat out. His eyes flashing with contempt, mostly directed at Aiden.
Aurora couldn’t believe that this was happening on her first day in New York. Tears filled her eyes. She knew Ethan was disappointed in her. She could only imagine how he would feel if he found out she was pregnant.
“Ethan, I’m sorry you had to find out this way. But I swear my intentions aren’t bad,” Aiden spoke, his tone urgent but calm.
“Aiden and I..we just bonded,” Aurora said, but she didn’t think she sounded convincing.
“Aiden, you haven’t been serious about a woman in god knows how long.” Ethan’s voice was controlled now but she could tell he was seething on the inside. To Aurora’s surprise, Aiden was quiet. Aurora felt a pang of hurt. Wasn’t he supposed to say he was serious about her?
“I’m out of here,” Ethan said, turning away from them.
“No. Wait, Ethan,” Aurora exclaimed, dropping her bag and following Ethan in the crowd. But he kept walking and didn’t turn around on her pleas. Eventually, Aurora lost him in the crowd. Dejected, she stood where she was, as people swarmed around her, not knowing what a mess her life had become. Deep down, she had always known that Ethan would react harshly. Ethan knew more about Aiden than she could. They were childhood friends and she got the feeling Ethan didn’t like Aiden’s track record with women.
Despite the weather being chilly, Aurora started to feel hot. Maybe it was the people, her pregnancy or just the episode that had happened or maybe all of them, but Aurora’s anxiety was getting triggered. Badly. She was having trouble breathing. Sometimes she had episodes of anxiety when she was overwhelmed and lost the ability to digest things happening around her. This seemed to be one of those moments. Afraid she would fall to the ground, she stooped, putting her hands on her knees to steady herself.
A hand touched her back, softly. She didn’t have to look up to know it was Aiden. She was getting used to his touch. He didn’t say anything but rubbed her back, in an attempt to calm her.
“Are you okay?” He said, coming in front of her.
“Yeah, I just can’t breathe properly,” she managed to say.
“Let’s get you to the car.” Aiden picked up her bag and suitcase, one arm on her back, as he guided her through the crowd towards the parking. He walked her towards his black Porsche that screamed luxury. Aurora had never ever seen such a car let alone sit in it. Regardless, she didn’t show her surprise. Aiden opened the car door for her and helped her get in. Aurora’s breathing was still not stable.
Aiden got into the driver’s seat and started the car. They were both silent as he drove towards her apartment.
“Do you have the exact location of your apartment?”
“Trisha sent it to me,” Aurora said, taking out her phone to send him the location. Aiden turned on the location on Maps and followed the route.
“Relax, it will take us some time to get there. New York has millions of people so traffic is bad,” Aiden said, laughing a little. But Aurora couldn’t bring herself to even smile. She remained quiet, and looked out of the window, focusing on her breathing.
She was upset with him. She wished he had defended their relationship more. Aiden had been so excited that she was coming to New York, she felt he was serious about her. But he hadn’t said that to Ethan.
She remained quiet, and looked out of the window, focusing on her breathing.
New York was all that she had hoped it would be. It was certainly worlds apart from her little town. The buildings rose as high as the eye could see, sidewalks and roads full of tourists and people going about their day. Aurora had never seen such hustle-bustle in her life. But she couldn’t enjoy the moment because of her inner turmoil. She wished Ethan hadn’t found out this way. How was she going to get him to come around? What did it mean for her and Aiden’s relationship?
Aiden tried to talk to her a few times, but she didn’t have the energy to respond properly to him. When Aiden got the hint that she wasn’t in the mood to talk, he stayed quiet. Her breathing went back to normal after about half an hour in the car.
Eventually, about an hour and a half later, the car rolled onto the Upper West Side of Manhattan where her apartment building was. From Trisha, Aurora knew not to expect much from the apartment since most building spaces in Manhattan were really small. That was what you got if you wanted to live in one of the most populous cities in the world. Of course, she couldn’t even afford this apartment. Her father had given her the college fund she was supposed to have if she ever went to college. But she still had to save and earn if she wanted to keep living in Manhattan. Hopefully, one day she would be able to return everything to her father.
