Chapter 7 - 6

Five Years Later ( Present Day )

Aurora was in the living room studying the papers that included the details for tomorrow's surgery. Two years ago, she finished her studies and was now doing her residency at a small hospital.

She had a lot to sacrifice just to get here. She never took vacations and filled in every time the holidays came around, just to make up for the lost time. Lots of wasted time just because she let herself trust someone else.

She remembers it as it had just happened yesterday. She woke up in the hotel room alone and naked. It seemed like the man she slept with had left before she had even woken up, which was fine with her. What would she have done if he stayed anyway, ask him why he did all those things to her when she remembers being an active participant.

The virtue she had been holding on to for so long was lost just like that, in one night and she didn't even have a clue who she lost it to. She found her clothes neatly folded on a chair together with a man's coat. She was thankful she could use it because she wanted to get out of there without anybody noticing her. His coat was big enough to cover her entirely from her neck down to her feet, covering any evidence of what happened the night before.

As soon as she got back to the orphanage, she took a shower to wash away every trace of that mystery man's touch and kisses from her skin, she felt disgusted, but after she had scrubbed her skin raw, she felt shame, anger, and frustration overcome her. She had been crying in the shower so no one would hear, but she got scolded for wasting too much water.

She still could not believe that her best friend Linda would do such a horrible thing to her. When she confronted her, Linda admitted to what she did. She said she had planned everything with Niall.

They planned to drug her and leave her in his hotel room, so he could have his way with her, and when it was all done, he would make Linda his girlfriend. She did not care if he slept around, as long as they were together. Being with him would make her life better, she said. He was rich and handsome, he represented everything Linda wanted in her life.

She had slapped Linda hard across her face and had ended their so-called friendship. "Do you think he would have kept you if your plans had been executed? He was just using you. He would have discarded you like he did all the women he had used,' Aurora remembered saying to Linda.

She was glad that Niall did not get what he wanted, but in the end, she still lost, because no matter how good looking and gentle that man had been with her, it was not consensual, she wanted her first time to be with the man she could have been in love with. But there is no use thinking about that now. There were more pressing matters that needed her attention.

She tried to get back to the details for the surgery but the past seemed to keep on dragging her back.

She remembered the feeling of dread when she found out she was pregnant. She only 20, and her life was right in front of her. Her initial decision was to get rid of the baby, she was at the hospital waiting for her turn when she saw a mom with her baby being wheeled out, one could see the love the mother bestowed upon her child. Being an orphan she always felt the need to belong, just thinking about how her parents did not want her made her heart ache. She vowed from then on to love this child and let him or her know that they were wanted. It did not matter anymore if she was going to be alone raising this child because she knew that as soon as the baby came, she would never be alone again.

She moved to another city, took a break from her studies, and started working to make sure she will have enough money to sustain them both when the baby comes.

Happiness she'd never experienced before flooded her heart as soon as she saw her baby boy. He was the cutest little living thing she's ever seen in her entire life, and she could not believe that he came from her.

He was the most disciplined baby if there ever was one. He slept through the night and cried only to let her know when he was hungry or wet, and he never cried hysterically either. She always thought that he knew her struggles, so he was very considerate to help her succeed in her life.

She was lucky to have very nice neighbors that took pity on a single mother raising her child, they watched her baby during the day so she could go to school and work part-time. In return for their kindness, she would cook meals for them and help during the weekends.

After completing her studies, she joined a small hospital for her residency. She wanted to be a surgeon and was lucky that she got her license on her first try. The exam was strenuous and had taken a toll on her, but now she was here she would make sure that in a few years she will become the main surgeon.

"Mama mama," called out a very small, cute voice from the bedroom. She could never resist that call, so she put her papers away and walked towards her son's bedroom. It has already been four years, and he just kept getting cuter and cuter every day.

He had the same jet black hair, the same fair skin, and he smiled just like she did, but that was where the similarities ended. His eyes were so dark it was almost black, the rest of his face was taking shape as he lost his baby fat, and he looked less like her each day. Everybody who's met him had commented that he was going to grow up to be a very handsome man. 'Probably just like his father,' she thought.

"Mama, hug…," said the voice under the blanket, and that did the trick to make her stop remembering. With a kid as cute as him, all her exhaustion disappeared. Just one hug, just one kiss was enough to erase all her worry and her pain.