Aurora''s face was icy, devoid of its usual calm elegance.
"Israel, even if you tell Ste now, she won''t believe you. Not only that, but if the truth doese out one day, your ''warning'' will have given her time to mentally prepare. Even if she doesn''t believe you, she''ll start thinking about it. After letting it simmer for a while, she might find an excuse to forgive Joshua.
Some secrets shouldn''t be revealed until they can have the maximum impact. It''s too early to tip our hand. Israel, Joshua is no ordinary man. When we strike, it has to be a killing blow. We can''t give him a single chance to recover."
Coleman listened, studying Aurora for a moment. Not long ago, Aurora seemed to look down on Joshua, not taking him seriously at all. How much time had passed for her to now consider him a formidable opponent?
As if sensing Coleman''s thoughts, Aurora said, "Coleman, Joshua yed a major role in Leonard and me getting to this point. He was the one behind the scenes, goading Simone into ruining my reputation."
As she spoke, a chilling frost filled her eyes.
"Israel, Coleman, we need to stop thinking about winning him over. He must be eliminated. The reason Star has grown so distant from us is likely because he''s been poisoning her mind against us."
Life was difficult for Aurora now. Although she had gotten Leonard''s shares, he was done helping her with her public image. From now on, they had nothing to do with each other.
Aurora had wanted to be free of Leonard for a long time, but she had worried about provoking him into doing something crazy, so she had maintained a hot-and-cold attitude. She should have been relieved that he was willing to stop pestering her and even give her three percent of the shares.
And yet, she wasn''t as happy as she''d imagined she would be.
Leonard''s attitude stung. He had loved her for so many years, and he gave up just like that? Had he ever truly loved her at all?
Just as Aurora was lost in thought, Coleman''s voice broke through her reverie.
"Aurora is right. We can''t act rashly and reveal this information when it won''t have any real impact on Ste and Joshua. Leonard clearly knows Joshua''s identity, and despite Kis deep hatred for the man, he hasn''t said anything. There''s no need for us to be the ones to stick our necks out. In any case, there''s a blood feud between Leonard and Joshua, We might as well let them fight it out and reap the rewards from the sidelines."
A sharp glint appeared in Coleman''s eyes.
"We can also start shorting Leonard''spany. We no longer have to consider his rtionship with Aurora like we did before."
Israel agreed with Coleman''s proposal, and the two began discussing their ns. After a while, Coleman noticed that Aurora seemed rather down. Having known her for years, he could tell at a nce what was bothering her.
Coleman said, "I''m not sure what Leonard is thinking, but the fact that he wanted that painting back proves you''re still special to him."
Israel chimed in tofort her,
"That''s right, Aurora. If you were in real trouble, he wouldn''t abandon you. A man like Leonard is actually the easiest to handle Just bat your eyshes, say a few sweet words, and he''lle running back."
Under Coleman and Israel''sforting words, Aurora''s mood finally improved.
Coleman said, "We can''t rely on
Leonard at all now, but we still have
Sellers willing to help. It was a blessing in disguise that Simone brotight Sellers to catch you in the act that day, allowing him to see for
in
himself that nothing happened between you two."
Aurora nodded lightly. "Yes. I''ve already arranged to have dinner with Sellers tonight."
...
That evening, Ste received another email from ''L.''
"Thank you for helping me let go of a long-held obsession. Also, the scenery in your painting is truly beautiful."
Lately, her correspondence with ''L'' had be more frequent than when they first started, with emails exchanged almost daily.