After Mark left, Aurora''s friendly demeanor vanished the moment she turned to Joshua. A distinct chill emanated from the depths of her eyes.


    "What a move," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.


    "I''m still leagues behind you, Ms. Williams," Joshua retorted. "After all, you''re an expert at getting others to do your dirty work. I prefer to handle things myself."


    At this point, Aurora knew any chance of winning him over was gone.


    "If you nned to use me against Leonard Lerman, why not keep up the act?" she asked. "Why reveal your hand so soon?"


    "I don''t have your talent for ying nice with people I despise for so long," Joshua said tly. "Some people are so repulsive that even pretending is unbearable. Unfortunately for me, Ms. Williams, you''re one of those people."


    Aurora''s carefullyposed expression almost cracked.


    It was the first time anyone had ever shown such tant, undisguised contempt for her. The absurdity of it was almostughable. Everything this man did seemed calcted to test her limits.


    Plenty of people admired her, and just as many disliked her. The haters were a mix of men and women, though mostly women. The men who detested her usually did so because she gave them the cold shoulder, never offering them a sliver of hope. Their logic was simple: if you can''t have her, nder her. A smaller fraction simply found her irritating.


    Aurora had never cared about those who disliked her; she considered them beneath her notice. Their animosity couldn''t touch her, so she paid no mind to such insignificant people, never wasting a second nce on them. She knew that any time or energy spent on them would yield no return.


    But now, for some reason, she found herself wanting to know why.


    "Have I done something to offend you?" she asked. "Why do you hate me?"


    Joshua stared at her, his voice devoid of warmth. "Because all of Star''s suffering stems from you. Because of you, her childhood was spent without aplete family. While she was out in the world struggling, you were enjoying the life of a pampered heiress, living under her name. Later, it was because of you that her hands were ruined. You destroyed her ability to y the violin, to pursue the work she loved. Tell me, shouldn''t I hate you?"


    Aurora''s brow furrowed. "It''s not my fault our parents had problems. I was just a<fnbddb> The source of th?s content is Find1Novel</fnbddb>


    child. As for what happened with Leonard, I knew nothing about it."


    "The one who reaps the rewards is never truly innocent," Joshua shot back. "You''ve had every advantage which makes it easy to maintain your grace and dignity But if you were forced to endure everything Star has been through, could you still stand there so calmly and im. it was all your own doing, that it had nothing to do with anyone else?"


    "It''s unfair to me me for things that aren''t my fault," Aurora said.


    Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Fair? Ms. Williams, do you mistake me for some impartial judge here to serve you justice? What does your sense of fairness have to do with me? Was Leonard fair to Star? Did you really


    think the entire world had to be


    уё


    your side, that no one was allowed to favor someone else? Let''s be clear: you''re not as innocent as you


    im. But even if you were a victim, so what? I''m not here to dispense justice."


    His unabashed favoritism stunned Aurora. In that moment, she realized that


    Joshua and Leonard were cut from the same cloth.