C4 THE BEGINNING OF THE END

**Aurora**

The warm water had long stopped running, but I remained standing beneath the showerhead, my palms pressed against the cool tiled wall.

What was wrong with me today?

Ever since I left the hospital, an unshakable heaviness had settled in my chest. I couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t pain. The thought of what happened with Ryan flashed back, immediately I hit my self to come back to my senses.

I switched off the water and wrapped a towel around myself before stepping in front of the mirror. My reflection stared back tired eyes, damp blonde hair, and a forced smile that didn’t quite reach my face.

“You’re just exhausted,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve been working too much.”

I wanted to believe it.

A few minutes later, dressed in one of Jason’s oversized T-shirts, I padded barefoot into the dining room. My laptop and patient files were still spread across the table.

I’d promised myself I’d rest tonight.

Instead, I found myself sitting down and opening Ethan’s chart.

Old habits died hard.

I reviewed each page carefully, making notes and correcting details.

When I reached Ethan’s latest report, I frowned.

Something was missing.

His updated lab values weren’t there.

I searched through the folder twice before sighing.

“I must have left the results at the hospital.”

Without another thought, I picked up my phone and called Jessica.

She answered almost immediately.

“Hello miss how may I help you,” she teased. “You lasted less than two hours before calling work.”

A laugh escaped me.

“You know me too well.”

“I thought you were taking the evening off.”

“I am.”

“Really?”

“I’m working from home. That’s practically a vacation.”

Jessica snorted.

“I’ll pretend I believe that.”

I smiled.

“I need Ethan’s latest blood results.”

“Hang on.”

Papers shuffled in the background while voices echoed through the nurses’ station.

After a few seconds she returned.

“Found them.”

I opened the chart.

“Go ahead.”

Jessica read each value while I typed.

When she finished, I let out a relieved sigh.

I moved the cursor toward the save button.

Then Jessica spoke again.

“Wait…”

“Hm?”

“I thought you were supposed to be on night duty”

I leaned back in my chair.

“I swapped shifts with you. Remember?”

“I mean with Jason”

Her voice trailed off.

I burst out a laugh.

“Jessica?”

“Yeah?”

“You sound… funny”

“What’s funny thou I’m serious”

A nervous laugh came through the speaker.

“What do you mean then”

My fingers stopped moving.

“What is it?”

Silence.

Long enough to make my stomach tighten.

Finally she spoke.

“I honestly don’t know whether I should tell you.”

The smile disappeared from my face.

“Tell me what?”

“I don’t want you to think I’m trying to cause problems.”

“Jess…”

Another pause.

“On my way back from grabbing coffee, I passed the bar across from the hospital.”

“The Blue Lantern?”

“Yeah.”

“What about it?”

“I saw Jason with someone so I thought it was you”

“Oh..”

She inhaled deeply.

“I could be wrong.”

For a second…

Everything around me seemed to stop.

My heartbeat.

My breathing.

Even the soft ticking of the wall clock.

I blinked.

“What?”

“I only saw him for a few seconds,” Jessica said quickly. “It was getting dark.”

I let out a shaky laugh.

“I probably made a mistake.”

Relief began to settle over me.

Jason had told me he would be working late.

He wouldn’t lie to me

“No,” I whispered.

“It wasn’t him.”

Jessica sounded relieved to hear me say it.

“That’s what I figured too.”

“I just thought… if it really was him, you’d want to know.”

I managed a faint smile even though she couldn’t see it.

“Thank you.”

After ending the call, I remained seated.

The laptop screen glowed in front of me, but the words had become meaningless.

“Was Jason cheating?”

“Is he lying to me?”

I hugged my arms around myself.

“You’re overthinking, Aurora.”

I whispered the words like a prayer.

But no matter how many times I repeated them…

That tiny voice deep inside refused to be silenced.

Something wasn’t right.

I just couldn’t figure out what.

The apartment fell silent once again after Jessica and I ended the call.

I stared blankly at my laptop, but the words on the screen had become a blur. No matter how hard I tried to focus on Ethan’s chart, my mind kept replaying Jessica’s words.

“It looked like Jason…”

“He wasn’t alone.”

I shook my head and closed the laptop.

“No,” I whispered. “Jessica was mistaken.”

Trying to distract myself, I walked into the kitchen and reheated the dinner I’d prepared earlier that evening. The aroma of creamy garlic chicken slowly filled the apartment, but my appetite had vanished.

I glanced at the wall clock.

8:17 p.m.

Jason was rarely this late.

Maybe work really had kept him busy.

Just as I reached for my phone to call Mel and tell her what I just heard I heard the familiar sound of keys jingling outside.

Click.

The front door unlocked.

A smile instantly spread across my face.

“Jason!”

I hurried toward the entrance just as he stepped inside.

His white dress shirt was slightly wrinkled, and the sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows. He smelled like alcohol.His tie hung loosely around his neck, and he looked… exhausted.

Or maybe…

Distracted.

“There you are.” I smiled as I reached for his briefcase. “I was beginning to worry.”

Instead of smiling back like he always did…

Jason simply walked past me.

“I’ve had a long day, Aurora.”

The coldness in his voice caught me off guard.

I stood frozen for a second,pretending not to notice the smell of alcohol oozing from his body. before forcing a small smile.

“I know. I just…”

I followed him into the living room.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine.”

His answer was short.

Too short.

Trying not to overthink it, I walked over and gently loosened the tie around his neck.

“You look tired.”

“I said I’m fine.”

His voice came out sharper this time.

I slowly lowered my hands.

The silence between us became painfully awkward.

“I made your favorite dinner,” I said softly. “It’s still warm.”

“I’m not hungry.”

My brows drew together.

“You skipped lunch too.”

“How would you know?”

His sudden question stunned me.

“What?”

“You spend more time at the hospital than you do at home.”

The words hit me harder than I expected.

“I…”

“When was the last time we actually had dinner together, Aurora?”

“I’ve been trying—”

“No.”

He cut me off before I could finish.

“You’ve been busy.”

A lump formed in my throat.

“I work because I want us to have a better future.” I said in a harsh tone.

Jason let out a dry laugh.

“A future?”

He ran a hand through his hair before looking away.

“Sometimes I wonder if this marriage is still a priority to you.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“What are you talking about?”

“I come home to an empty apartment almost every night.”

“You know my schedule.”

“I know your excuses.”

Those words hurt.

More than they should have.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Jason…”

He sighed impatiently.

“I’m tired, Aurora.”

“I don’t want to argue.”

“But we are arguing.”

He looked at me for a long moment before speaking again.

“If that’s how you see it…”

He turned around and headed toward the bedroom without another word.

I remained standing in the middle of the living room, unable to move.

The untouched dinner sat on the table.

Growing colder by the minute.

My chest tightened as I replayed every word he’d said.Jason has never complained about my work because he knew how stressful it was for me why did he say such words to me.

Or was something else bothering him?

For the first time since we got married…

I couldn’t understand my own husband.

And somehow…

That frightened me more than I wanted to admit.