Page 79 of Code of Heart

To not hear the whispers trailing behind her.

To not see the curious glances or, worse, the pitying ones.

To not feel like a living headline every time she entered a room.

Her pace quickened as she headed toward Eleanor’s study, her sanctuary, praying Selene might appear and get this inevitable confrontation over with. But she found only empty corridors, the silence somehow louder than the imagined voices in her head.

It allowed the latest recurring thought to creep in…Eleanor would be so disappointed in me.

The sharp burn of tears threatened to rise again, but she swallowed them down.Not here. Not now.

Reaching the sitting room attached to the study, she snuck inside and closed the door behind her. Leaning backwards against it, she pressed the back of her head to the cool wood and inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breathing.

It took a full minute before she realized…she wasn’t alone.

Selene stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes full of fire.

And in that moment, every self-preservation instinct Aurelia had honed over years of survival kicked in. She started to shrink inward, to get ready for the storm, to apologize and beg forgiveness.Anything to stop Selene from being mad at her.

But Selene beat her to it.

“Save it,” Selene snapped, her tone frosty and eyes ice-cold. “You’ve hadplentyof chances to tell me about your sugar daddy—sorry,fiancé—whatever he is. But you didn’t. I had to find out like everyone else. From the goddamn news, Aurelia. You’re such a shitty friend.”

The words sliced through the air like a blade, and for a moment, Aurelia’s mind went completely blank.

Shitty friend.The phrase echoed in her consciousness.

The old Aurelia—the one who would grovel, take the blame, and make herself small—wanted to agree and apologize, anything to keep the peace.

But she didn’t.

Something fundamental inside her snapped.

Instead of cowering, Aurelia stood straighter as she studied her friend, her words still reverberating through her mind. Calm washed over her like a quiet resolve. The rush of fear dulled, replaced by something sharper, clearer. Her voice didn’t tremble. Her silence carried weight.

“You’ve had plenty of chances to spend time with me,” she shot back, her voice solid but tight. “I kept asking, and you kept blowing me off. Last time, I had to track you down at work because you ghosted me—you said your phone was broken, but somehow, you still managed to read my messages. So don’t stand there and act like I’ve been keeping secrets when you couldn’t even be bothered to answer a text!”

Selene blinked, her anger faltering under the weight of Aurelia’s words.

“And you know what?” Aurelia pressed on, her voice rising as she took a measured step closer. “You expected me to spill the most personal details of my life—ofsomeone else’slife, someone you’ve never even met—at work, of all places? For what? So the whole office could gossip about me, too?”

The raw emotion poured out of her, unstoppable now.

“The real shitty friend is standing in front of me—too busy to call, too busy to care, but not too busy to pass judgment the second she reads a headline!”

Selene stood rooted to the floor, stunned, her mouth opening and closing as if the words wouldn’t form.

For the first time in their friendship, Aurelia had put herself first. And it feltgood.

With a deep, calming breath, the fragile pieces of her composure slid back into place. “The ball’s in your court, Selene. If you want to talk—reallytalk—you know where to find me. But it’ll be outside business hours. I’m done being an afterthought on your schedule.”

She twisted toward the door…and froze.

Charles was leaning against the doorframe, his expression unreadable, but his eyes held a flicker of unmistakable amusement.

He had seen everything.

“Well, that’s one way to start the day,” Charles said with a bemused grin, closing the door behind him and settling into his chair like a witness to the opening act of a spectacular drama.