The silence between them had become the norm.
That morning, Levi didn't even say "good morning." He left early, with hurried steps and a serious face, without looking back.
Aurora didn't even bother to ask where he was going. She already knew. Yasmin.
She had coffee alone now, every day. She sat at the table still set for two, out of habit, but the other plate remained untouched. The flowers withered. The wine on the shelf wasn't opened. And the wedding dress, carefully hung days ago, now seemed to mock her every time she entered the room.
The guest list? Thrown in the trash.
The invitations? Locked in a drawer.
The dreams? Silenced.
She no longer cried. Not because it didn't hurt. But because she had already cried all she could. Now, she felt only a constant emptiness. A hole inside her chest that even anger no longer filled.
It was during this silence that the phone rang.
It was Veronica, the woman who took care of the bureaucratic matters of the family that had raised her. Not a mother, nor an aunt — just someone in charge of keeping up appearances.
"We need you to come to the family home, Aurora. It's important."
She hesitated. That house, with its expensive carpets and empty hearts, had never been a home. But something in Veronica's firm voice made her leave the apartment. Maybe it was good to get out of the grave that Levi had turned the apartment into.
The mansion was the same. Cold. Elegant. Empty of any affection.
Aurora was received in the hall like an inconvenient visitor. No hugs. No smiles. Just judgmental looks and an impersonal touch on the shoulder.
In the main room were the patriarchs, the biological daughter — recently rediscovered after years of disappearance — and a tense-looking lawyer. Aurora immediately understood that she was not welcome. She never had been. And now, she was just a burden they needed to get rid of with "grace."
The proposal was made coldly.
"The marriage to the Ferraz family will not be undone," the lawyer said. "The heiress of the house will not be sent to live with a man in a coma. But the agreement needs to be maintained. And the only way to resolve this... is by replacing the bride."
Aurora stared at everyone in front of her.
"And you want me to marry him."
"Yes. You've always been here for that kind of role. And, in a way, it's your chance to show gratitude. You received shelter, education, food..."
Those words cut her with surgical precision.
She thought of refusing. By instinct. But she had lost everything. The house she lived in was no longer a home. The man who said he loved her had become a stranger. And the few friendships that remained were too distant to be supportive.
Accepting that marriage was not a choice. It was the only door that wasn't locked.
But, this time, she wasn't going there as a victim.
"When?"
"In 3 days. You will live in the Ferraz mansion before the wedding. They want to meet you, at least formally." The lawyer crossed his arms. "Your wedding will be in three weeks."
The next day, Aurora returned to the apartment for the last time. Levi was at home, fiddling with his cell phone, with a distant look. When he saw her enter, he raised his eyebrows, surprised.
"Are you okay? I didn't think you'd be back so soon," he commented, without getting up from the sofa.
Aurora took a deep breath. She carried a small suitcase and a disconcerting serenity.
"I came to get my things... and end what's left of us."
Levi dropped his cell phone on the coffee table.
"What do you mean? You're exaggerating, Aurora. You always dramatize everything when you're upset. It's just a phase."
She remained firm.
"It's not drama, Levi. It's the end. I'm no longer the woman you want to marry. You made that clear when you started living around another person... while I withered away in here."
"You don't understand. Yasmin is dying!"
"And I died in here, Levi. Every day you left and didn't come back. Every time you chose her instead of me. And you didn't even notice."
He stood up, annoyed.
"You're being irrational! Do you really think you're going to walk out that door and everything will be solved? That it's just turning your back on me and that's it?"
"No, Levi. Nothing will be solved. But at least I'll stop bleeding alone."
He tried to touch her, to hold her by the arm.
"Aurora, look at me. You're making a mistake. You're my fiancee!"
She stepped back.
"I was your fiancee. Now, I'm just someone who survived your neglect."
And, without another word, Aurora turned her back and left.
This time, she didn't cry. Because every tear that existed had already dried up inside her.
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