?Chapter 1087:


    No wonder Rickey liked her so much. Aurora was everything she wasn’t.


    “Thanks,” Emma murmured, barely above a whisper.


    Aurora mistook her downcast gaze for worry about Rickey’s condition. “If you want to see him, I can…”


    “No need.” Emma cut her off with a brittle smile, shaking her head. “It’s fine. I won’t bother you guys.”


    Before Aurora could say anything else, Emma turned and walked away, shoulders slumped as if carrying an invisible burden too heavy to bear.


    That night, Aurora made her way to Rickey’s room. He was still on a liquid diet, and he’d made his terms clear—if she didn’t feed him herself, he simply wouldn’t eat. End of discussion.


    As she spooned soup into his mouth, she asked casually, “Do you know Emma?”


    Rickey’s expression darkened. “Did she talk to you?”


    “She’s been hanging around for the past few days. She seemed really worried about you.”


    Rickey’s jaw tensed. He had finally carved out some alone time with Aurora—Dunn had even backed off—and now Emma had to show up?


    He wasn’t about to let her ruin this.


    “The next time you see her, tell her to get lost,” he told her.


    Aurora frowned. “She hasn’t done anything wrong. Why are you being so harsh?”


    “I’m not being harsh,” Rickey snapped, though the sharp edge in his voice suggested otherwise.


    Aurora let it go, but something about his reaction unsettled her. There was more to this than he was willing to admit.


    Your next chapter is here gα?ησν???s


    As a friend, she wanted Rickey to be happy. If there was someone who truly cared about him, why shut the door before even seeing what was on the other side?


    She began, “If she likes you, maybe you could—”


    “Enough.” Rickey cut her off, his voice like ice cracking under pressure. “Stop pairing me off with someone else. You don’t know anything about it, so don’t make decisions for me.”


    Aurora bit her lip. She had struck a nerve, but she was no stranger to Rickey’s moods. Over the years, she had learned to weather his storms without taking shelter.


    “Okay, fine. I won’t bring it up again.” She gave in.


    But Rickey’s frustration lingered, simmering beneath the surface.


    He couldn’t shake the thought—what if Aurora ever found out the truth about him and Emma? Would she be angry? Disgusted? Or indifferent? That was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.


    Later, they sat together watching a movie, but Aurora, exhausted, soon dozed off on the couch.


    Rickey’s gaze drifted from the screen to her.


    For a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to imagine a different reality—one where she was his.


    Without thinking, he grabbed his phone and snapped a quick picture of her sleeping.


    The second he did, he felt ridiculous.


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