After completing high school, Aurora thought she wouldn't be able to attend college. She worked at various jobs to earn her own money and often contemplated the profession she wanted to pursue. She lived with her maternal grandmother, Emanuela, and her grandfather, Joao.

Aurora's mother, Sophia, was still alive. She had Aurora at a young age, when she was only 18. Aurora's biological father didn't want her once he found out about the pregnancy. Sophia went through a lot during that time and almost got expelled from her home. She was still finishing high school, so Aurora's maternal grandmother took her in so that Sophia could study. Eventually, Sophia ended up leaving Aurora in the care of her mother, Emanuela, as if she were her own daughter.

However, they kept this information from Aurora, hiding who her father was and what he did.

Aurora was always excluded by her relatives and constantly humiliated by her aunts and cousins. Her mother didn't pay attention to her either, which is why even as she got older, Aurora never wanted to live with her mother and stepfather, especially after her mother had another child named Gabriel.

A girl who smiled on the outside but was sad, cold, and somewhat lonely on the inside, Aurora grew up wanting to change her life to show that she could be better than all those who had humiliated her.

She was a calm, studious girl who kept to herself. During her high school years, she wasn't popular and was considered an ugly duckling. She suffered through high school and never sought out a boyfriend.

But as the years passed, when she turned 19, she looked different. She had fair skin, straight brown hair, and was slim yet curvy, attracting attention but not wanting anyone. She only cared about her studies and becoming successful.

She didn't pay much attention to how she dressed, as long as she was comfortable.

Aurora often pondered her future, thinking that she would spend another year without going to college until her grandmother called her to the kitchen.

"Grandmother" Aurora, my dear, come here to the kitchen.

Hearing this, Aurora left her room. It was already night, and she was exhausted from work. She worked as a monitor at a daycare.

"Aurora" Hi Grandma, did something happen?

"Grandmother" My child, I've been thinking a lot and after talking to your grandfather, I think you will finally go to college. But have you decided what you want to study?

"Aurora" I was thinking about medicine, Grandma, but it's very expensive, and I'm not sure if I'll enjoy it that much.

"Grandmother" Decide, my love, and let me know tomorrow so we can start working on everything.

Aurora hugged her grandmother and thanked her for everything she was doing for her.

The next day...

Aurora woke up excited, turned on her computer, and started taking vocational tests to see if anything caught her interest. It was Saturday, her day off, and she wanted to start college on Monday.

After taking the test, she realized that the healthcare field suited her very well. She also considered administration and engineering but gave up on chemical engineering after researching more about it.

After much searching, Aurora finally found something she identified with. She wanted to study biomedical science. Every time she researched and imagined herself doing research and participating in surgeries, it excited her even more.

And then Monday arrived.

Aurora and her grandparents went to the college and took care of all the enrollment details. She was super happy and content knowing that she was starting a new phase in her life that would distance her from those who had made fun of her, or at least keep her busy enough to not pay attention to them. Her grandparents assured her that she could quit her job and focus on her studies because they saw her potential.

So, Aurora made an effort every day to study and be the best in her class. She made only a few but essential friendships in her life. Every day, she used all her free time to focus on herself and make her dreams come true.

(...)

After three years of college, Aurora was in her final year with two more semesters to go. She was excited to finish her internship and continue with her career, but she was also anxious because she had to produce a thesis.

At home in her room, lost in thought about a topic for her thesis, her relatives arrive at her grandparents' house.

"Uncle" Mom (Emanuela), isn't Aurora working? She's always in her room, she probably doesn't even study, just lazy.

"Grandma" Don't speak like that, she studies a lot, she has the best grades in college.

"Cousin" I think she's lying to you, Grandma. Aurora isn't that smart, she doesn't even look intelligent. I think she must be doing other things.

Aurora, filled with anger, cried in her room upon hearing these things, since they always made a point to come over and humiliate her. It was in moments like these that she wondered who her father was and if she could escape from that place. She believed that her father could take her in and put an end to all this humiliation, but it was only a dream that she felt was far from becoming a reality.

💭Aurora narrating💭

_Wednesday_

After completing another semester, Aurora in college rushing to finish her last semester, focused on her final thesis, was heading to her internship when she heard someone calling her.

Aurora: a tall man in a black suit, dark skin, black hair was standing a few meters away from her.

Aurora looks back and doesn't recognize that man, had never seen him in her life, and next to him there was a man with a cold expression, also in a black suit, black hair, tall, very handsome, who looked at me with something special in his eyes that I couldn't describe and I knew wouldn't leave my mind, but before she could say anything, a friend pulled her to go to the laboratory.

Aurora: Hey Ingrid, wait I'm coming... you're going to tear my arm off like this.

Ingrid: Let's go, today we have to do several blood tests and I want to avoid Biochemistry.

The two of them walked quickly towards the laboratory, but Aurora was very intrigued by what had happened and looked back one last time to see if she could still see them. She wondered who those men were, a certain fear and apprehension radiated in her thoughts and in her heart, she tried to forget what happened by telling herself that she wouldn't see them again.

End of the morning, lunchtime, and her internship class had already finished, Aurora left with her friends Ingrid and Anne, smiling and thinking about only one thing, EATING. They loved going out together to eat, it was their favorite thing to do.

After a few minutes of walking to the mall where they were going to eat, Aurora was lost in thought about what had happened earlier.

Anne: Ingrid, what happened to Aurora? She's not making any jokes about our class today.

Ingrid: I don't know, is it her family again? Hey, wake up!

Aurora, in a daze, hadn't heard the girls talking to her.

Ingrid: Aurora... shaking Aurora to get her attention.

Aurora: Hey girl, I almost fell, what's up?

Anne: You, there, all quiet. You're not like this, what happened? We're going to eat and you're not even wearing that happy face you always make.

Aurora: Well, earlier, before we went to the laboratory, a man called me by my name and there was someone next to him, and before I could respond, Ingrid called me and I ended up ignoring them, but I'm trying to remember if I know them.

Ingrid: Oh friend, forget about it. Maybe I saved you from something. Let's think about food, that's what we'll gain the most from.

So the three of them continued on their way to the mall to finally eat after all the things they did in the laboratory.

(...)

After that day, Aurora still thought about that episode at college, but she didn't dwell on it because she had to focus on her studies to finally graduate.

So a few days later, while Aurora was in the college laboratory, and since she wanted to be alone, she went to the Biochemistry laboratory where almost no one liked to go. Her professor came near her and handed her a letter.

Professor: Aurora... A man came here earlier asking for you and asked me to give you this letter.

Aurora: Thank you, professor, but did he say who he was?

Professor: He only said it's about your father.

Aurora: What does this man look like?

Professor: He is tall, well-dressed in a suit, seems to have a lot of money. Do you know him?

Aurora: I don't know who my father is, professor. I don't understand why I received this letter.

Professor: I see. Well, there is the letter... Can you mentor that pharmacy class? I would be very grateful.

Aurora: Yes, professor, I'll go now. Thank you for the letter.

After her professor left, Aurora tried not to think about it, she put the letter away and went to give the mentoring session, which would be in the microbiology room, and she loved everything that involved that subject because she was one of the top students. She helped the professor with other classes when she didn't have much else to do, especially now at the end of the semester when she would graduate and had free time before exams.

After finishing the classes and answering some student questions, Aurora went to the cafeteria and, after sitting down, took the letter out of her bag.

✉letter

-I'm not sure where to start, but if you want to know about me, your father, I'll be waiting for you at the shopping mall at 1 p.m. in the food court, near that place where you ate with your friends on Wednesday. Please don't ignore this letter, I need to see you urgently. My Daughter Aurora

PS- Eduardo -

Aurora read the letter and for a few minutes she was in shock. She didn't know whether to cry, laugh, feel angry or scared. She didn't know if she should go or ignore it, thinking it was just someone playing a prank on her.

Ingrid: Are you okay, my friend?

Her friend asked, looking at her with concern and sitting closer to Aurora.

Aurora: Read this letter!

Ingrid took the paper and started reading, also without a reaction.

Ingrid: What do you plan to do?

Aurora: I still don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this. But I'm curious, if it's true, and if he's my father, I want to meet him. I want to know the story of what really happened.

Ingrid: Then go, Aurora. Who knows if it's true?

Aurora: Are you coming with me? Don't leave me alone, I'm still hesitant about this.

Ingrid: I'll come with you, babe. I won't miss this for anything.

So the two got up and almost ran to the shopping mall... it was half an hour from the college to there, and they wanted to go to observe from a distance to see if it was true or not before the scheduled time stated in the letter.

💭Author narrating💭

When they arrived at the mall, Aurora was already very anxious to find out if the letter was true. Nervousness was taking over her, and many times she thought about giving up and leaving, but Ingrid held her hand and wouldn't let her go

💭 Aurora Narrating💭

I arrived at the mall very nervous, with a chill in my belly, but scared. When I was little, I'd heard that my father never wanted me, that he left my mother out claiming that he never wanted children, but nobody told me who he was or what he did, they always changed the subject when I asked, until I never asked again.

When I arrived at the food court, I looked around, it was packed as usual at lunchtime, I looked at my friend with a sad face and she immediately noticed

Ingrid: Aurora, let's sit over there in the corner so we can see who's coming and going from the square.

Aurora: let's go nega, it's 10 minutes before he said he'd be there

we went to the corner of the square and waited there, I wasn't hungry, my legs were shaking with anxiety, and Ingrid was trying to keep me calm the whole time... Minutes passed and there was no one in a suit in the square, or at least no one coming near us.

I was already giving up, I was half an hour late

Aurora: let's deny it, that letter was a lie, it must have been someone from our class trying to pick on me like they always do

Ingrid: wait friend, sometimes he's late because of traffic, at least for a few more minutes... let's get something to eat? then you'll be more relaxed, at least you always are after you've eaten kkkk

Aurora: don't deny it, I'm not hungry, my grandmother will call me soon to see if I'm coming, you know how worried she gets if I don't give her any news or if I'm late

I got up angrily in a single movement and as I was about to leave I heard that voice calling me again

Aurora: a man in a suit came up behind me, a tailored black suit, tall, with black hair but a few white strands, and apparently I could tell he had a lot of money

(imagine it's Aurora's father)

I stood there for a few minutes before I turned around, tried to take a deep breath and turned to see who was calling me, and then I saw that man, and out of nowhere appeared the other man who had been with him that day in a black suit who was staring at me so fixedly with those cold black eyes that I felt my hair stand on end, a chill in my stomach and my legs shaking, my heart racing and I couldn't take my eyes off him, but I felt Ingrid nudging me and then I came to my senses

Aurora: who are you? how do you know my name? are you my "father"? did you leave the letter with my teacher?

I go out asking questions and that starts an anger in me

Eduardo: Calm down, child, so many questions... Of course I know your name, as I said in the letter, I'm your father, my name is Eduardo Moreira Fonseca

I stared at him, not believing that he was really my father... Eduardo ... so that was his name, but why now?

Aurora: what do you want with me now? after 23 years you come after me, why ?

I was so angry at that moment, I started to remember all the nights I cried trying to understand what was wrong with me, why he didn't want me, why he didn't look for me, all the sleepless nights, there I was alone and now seeing him in front of me, it made me want to shout at him and without warning tears wanted to come out, so I took a deep breath so they wouldn't let up

Eduardo: daughter, don't be like that, I couldn't, I know I wasn't right in the way I treated your mother, but she ran away after I tried to get close, they wouldn't let me, even though I did everything, and now I'm here to be your father

to be my father, I can't believe it, now I don't have to he wants to be my father! urgh I was furious

I was dying to get out of there, I couldn't believe that he'd said that they'd hidden me from him, when he'd never come to me, was he really telling me the truth, it was hard to believe

Eduardo: daughter, let's sit down, let's talk okay, there are lots of people looking this way

The last thing I wanted was to sit down, but I was curious about what he wanted to tell me, even though I wanted to run away from there.

"Aurora, so tell me what you want..." I said, sitting down with a lot of anger next to Ingrid, who was there trying to understand everything that was happening and, like every curious person, was even enjoying it.

"Calm down, friend. Breathe, try to listen to him..." She whispered to me, trying to help. I was usually very calm, but when I got stressed, it took me hours to return to normal.

"So, Aurora," Eduardo began, sitting down, "believe me, I looked for you, but they hid you from me. I regretted so much leaving your mother like that. I know I was wrong to do that, I regret it, but I'm here today to have you back."

"That's not what my grandmother told me. She never hid me. She said you didn't want me and left without leaving any news. I even asked about you, but they didn't know and didn't want to tell me about you," I replied.

"Eduardo, I don't have time to be here. I have a meeting. I just need to know if the case will happen or not..." Bernardo interrupted impatiently.

"Relax, Bernardo. I'll get there," Eduardo reassured him.

So, Bernardo is the name of the man who was with my father. What are they planning? My father interrupted him, his voice sounding tense.

"What's going on? Are you sure you came here just to make amends?" I asked Eduardo.

"Daughter, I'll get straight to the point. Yes, I came here to be your father, but I need you to help me," he said.

"Help? How? You don't even know me. How do you know if I'll help you?" I responded skeptically.

"Look, Eduardo, sort things out with her. I'll wait for your answer until tonight, or else I won't be able to help you with your proposal..." Bernardo interjected, standing up. He was tall, with black hair, wearing a suit. He seemed cold and arrogant as he left the table and the place without even saying goodbye. But what answer does he want from my father? Why am I in the middle of all this?