<h4>Chapter 691: Waiting for Her, Stubbornly</h4>


    What kind of love could drive someone to dream with that kind of heat?


    In her dream, Everett was intense and obsessed. He broke through her resistance, his passion melting her into a puddle of spring water.


    When Aurora woke up, she was drenched in sweat.


    Winter in Country S was much warmer than in Country Y. She’d gone to bed in thick thermal pajamas, so waking up sweaty wasn’t exactly surprising.


    Frustrated, she sat up and smacked her forehead.


    "Damn it, what kind of dream was that?"


    A steamy one—no doubt.


    Aurora felt a wave of embarrassment. Seriously, what kind of perv dreams like that? Was it just because it had been too long... since she’d been with a man? Or maybe... she just missed him that much?


    They’d never even truly been together, and Aurora was sure that whatever feelings they had would eventually fade with time.


    Everett arrived in Country S the following evening.


    But Aurora refused to see him.


    He ended up standing outside her vi for a full 24 hours. Aurora kept peeking through the gap in her curtains, watching his tall, lonely silhouette under the streetlight. Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart—but she couldn’t go out.


    She couldn’t see him.


    "Sir, let’s go back. It’s almost midnight. You haven’t slept for over a day."


    Tobias, concerned and exhausted, risked getting chewed out again and stepped out of the car to beg him.


    Everett leaned silently against amppost, eyes fixed on the ck sky above.


    "The clouds rolled in at sunset—it’s probably going to rain. Sir, why don’t you wait in the car ande back out tomorrow morning?"


    Will joined in, trying to reason with him.


    "Shut up." Everett shot them both a cold nce, his tone sharp with irritation.


    "Keep talking, and you can both forget about keeping your jobs."


    Clear as day—he was threatening to fire them.


    Left with no choice, Tobias and Will exchanged a look, then quietly got back into the car.


    Aurora’s phone was still off—no chance of calling her out.


    They’d tried reaching Eleanor and Dominic too, but all they could do was ry the message. Neither had any real influence over Aurora’s decision.


    And—Tobias really did jinx it.


    At midnight, a light, freezing rain began to fall from the sky.


    Winter rain had a unique kind of cold, one that pierced straight to the bone. Tobias grabbed an umbre and tried to bring it to Everett, but he refused it.


    Will and Tobias could only mutter to each other,


    "The boss has really lost it... throwing away his pride like that, just for a woman."


    The rain kept falling—thick, heavy dropsced with icy wind, soaking Everett’s clothes, chilling him to the core.


    He shivered violently.


    So damn cold.


    So cold his whole body went numb. He clutched a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other, trying to light it—but the rain wouldn’t even let him have that smallfort. His frustration boiled over.


    He flung the lighter and the cigarette to the ground, then cast onest long look at Aurora’s window... and finally turned and walked away.


    Behind the curtains, Aurora stepped back, breathing hard. She waited several minutes before peeking again.


    The outside was nowpletely empty.


    He was gone.


    She had rejected him so harshly. No matter how he begged or how long he waited, she hadn’t even given him a nce.


    Maybe his heart had finally died.


    After all, their love had never run deep—not yet. And how many rich young men would put up with this kind of treatment?


    Everett had already gone above and beyond.


    That’s what Aurora told herself.


    But her chest felt hollow. Like something was stuck there—heavy, suffocating.


    She copsed back onto her bed and shut her tired eyes.


    Everything kept reying in her mind like a looping documentary—from the moment she first met him, to how he took control, to the resentment she held toward him.


    That resentment began to fade during the days she was lost.


    Somewhere along the way, he had taken root in her heart—like a tree, slow and steady, digging in deeper over time.


    Aurora was miserable. She tossed and turned in bed, even smacked her own head a few times, but nothing helped.


    It was a night destined for no sleep.


    Everything that had happened in Country Y felt like a dream, but it was a dream she could no longer ignore.


    Morning.


    The rain was still falling—soft but persistent. The chill was deeper now, heavier with moisture. The sky stayed stubbornly dark, likeyers uponyers of storm clouds wouldn’t budge.


    Outside the window, the garden trees had dropped all their leaves, now slick and wet on the ground, glistening under the rain.


    Eleanor looked at Aurora from across the table. Her dark circles were obvious.


    "Look, if you still care about him, just be with him. This isn’t the old days. Everett came back fully prepared—there’s no way he’s going to let that man actually..."


    "Don’t bother trying to convince me," Aurora cut in quietly.


    Eleanor and Dominic exchanged a look. She really was as stubborn as they came.


    She clearly loved him. Clearly cared. But just didn’t have the courage to be with him.


    "I don’t want... to drag him back into danger again. When I went to see himst time, he was lying there like a corpse. I can’t take that. I don’t know if that psycho will use even worse methods next time..."


    Aurora lowered hershes.


    "I just don’t want him living in constant fear because of me."


    "Constant fear? Seriously? Did you not see how rxed he was waiting outside your window?" Eleanor shook her head.


    "He’s not afraid. What he’s afraid of... is that you’ll never see him again. Tobias called this morning. Said Everett has a high fever. Refuses to take any meds. Says he won’t eat unless you go see him."


    Aurora’s heart sank.


    A high fever?


    Maybe it was because he’d been bedridden for eight days, and his body had weakened. After all, the moment hended, he went straight to wait outside the vi—standing for a full day and night. Of course, his immune system copsed.


    "You’re really not going to see him?" Dominic asked, noticing the flicker in Aurora’s eyes.


    Aurora said nothing. Just shook her head.


    She hurriedly finished a small bowl of porridge and was about to head back upstairs when Eleanor’s phone rang—it was Director Z.


    "What? The schedule changed? Okay, I’ll let Aurora know right away."


    Eleanor turned to her.


    "Aurora, hold up. Director Z just said the press event’s been moved up to 2:16 this afternoon. You need to get ready."


    Aurora turned back, surprised.


    "Why so soon?"


    "He’s trying to wrap things up before the holidays—wants to spend the New Year with his family. They’re pushing to finish the MV shoot in one go so everyone can go on break," Eleanor exined with a shrug.


    "You need some makeup though. You look exhausted. We’ll head to the office in 30 minutes and have the stylist fix you up."


    "Alright. I’ll go get changed first," Aurora replied softly.


    Eleanor watched her walk away, noting the heaviness in her step. She shook her head.


    "I don’t know what that guy was thinking. If he was really worried Aurora might fall for the wrong person, this sure wasn’t the way to go about fixing it."


    Thirty minutester, they got into thepany’s van.


    Twenty minutes after that, they arrived at the office, and the makeup artist quickly gave Aurora a touch-up—some light pink foundation brought some color back to her pale face.


    Lunch was eaten at the office. Aurora barely touched her food. Eleanor and Dominic kept getting calls, their expressions increasingly frustrated.


    Clearly Tobias and his crew were the ones calling.


    Aurora seemed distracted the entire time.


    The press conference was held on the second floor of thepany.


    There was arge crowd of reporters in attendance, along with several invited fans from the local area.


    At first, the questions were friendly and upbeat.


    But then, a sharp female voice cut through the room:


    "Miss Wilson, someone photographed Everett waiting outside your vi for a full day and night. You never even showed your face. Did you use him to boost your fame, then toss him aside?"


    Aurora froze.


    The room instantly went silent. Shock rippled through the reporters and fans alike.


    Eleanor’s expression darkened.


    Clearly, someone had been following Everett—and now those photos were out.