CHAPTER 25 – Parting Gift

Aurora gently headed towards Brynn's stretched hand, her face lit up, not because she was happy, but because she felt fatherly love from someone she least expected, and never knew how much she needed it, until now.

Brynn had a look on his face, one that showed that he didn't want Aurora to leave just yet. She hadn't left, but he already missed her.

Aurora, on the other hand, didn't want to leave this newly found love just yet, but her stay in the mansion had been a bittersweet memory, as she had enjoyed the love Brynn showered upon her, just as she had endured the rejection both Theodore and the madam showed to her.

Brynn held her hand tightly as soon as it touched his.

"Luke would personally ensure your safe return." He said.

Aurora glanced at the car, "Isn't this too much, Father?" She looked at Brynn, "I would have preferred going back the way I came, by public transport."

"You might have come to the mansion as a visitor, but you are leaving as a member of my family, and my daughter," Brynn said, looking at her, "And as the latter, it leaves you no choice other than to travel in a grand style. I for one would have preferred the jet."

Aurora grinned, "I don't know what to say." She said, "All this feels so amazing and untrue at the same time. I appreciate the tender love that you have shown to an outsider like me; never in a hundred years would I have dreamt of this. Thank you, Father."

Brynn nodded,

"And if your daughter were to be alive, she would be so glad to have you as a father, just like I am." She added.

Brynn's fingers twitched, as though he was holding himself back from breaking down, with the sudden surge of emotion pouring over him.

Suddenly, Brynn snapped his fingers, and a servant came running down towards him.

Aurora looked behind her and saw a servant holding on to a little box. If she didn't trust Brynn, she would have thought that he was about to propose to her with a ring.

"What kind of a father would it make me," Brynn said, handing the box he had been given to Aurora, "if I let my daughter leave without a parting gift?"

Aurora's eyes widened in shock. "A parting gift?"

"Somebody, please wake me up." She chuckled.

This was her first real gift, as her mother only sends her birthday cards, and her grandmother rarely even remembers her as a grandchild, as she has dementia.

"Thank you," Aurora said as she took the little box with both hands, "So much." She grinned at Brynn.

And for a moment, the atmosphere was filled with emotions, as Moira, herself, wiped away the single tear forming on her eyes, watching her daughter receive the love she deserved from not her father, but her master.

If only Aurora knew that he wasn't just a father figure to her, but also the reason both she and her mother were still alive today.

"I guess we're done here," Brynn said, opening the car door for Aurora, "run along now, my princess."

"Thanks, Dad," Aurora said, and turned to her mother.

Moira hastily went to her and gave her a final hug, "Now you continue being a good girl, and send my regards to my mother. I love you, my sweet child." Moira said.

"I love you too, mum," Aurora said, and turned to Brynn, "And I love you too…. Dad."

Brynn couldn't hold back and gave her a final hug as well. "Don't forget that if you need anything, do not hesitate to call me." He said.

Aurora nodded and went into the car, and Luke started the engine, while Aurora looked at the mansion one more time, and at Brynn and Moira.

'This was wonderful while it lasted.' She thought to herself.

Then her eyes fell on a dark figure seemingly looking at her from a window not too far away.

Unbothered, she went back to looking at the ovation of love that watched her as the car drove away. She was leaving the mansion for the real owners anyway.

She waved goodbye, and Moira waved back, while Brynn, with his arms behind him, nodded slightly, as the car was driven far and out of sight.

Bianca, who had seen everything unfold, clenched her fists in anger.

The journey back home was beginning to seem boring for Aurora, as Luke didn't make a sound while he was focused on driving.

Aurora blew out air from her mouth, reached out, and grabbed the little gift box that was given to her.

She opened it and found a very beautiful set of earrings.

The colors were of a variety that displayed as the earrings were turned, just like the aurora; it was shaped like a heart, not heavy, just small-sized and extremely beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen.

"You should handle that with care." Luke finally spoke.

"Finally, I thought it was just going to be me and my thoughts throughout the journey." Aurora said, looking at Luke through the front top mirror, "Beautiful, isn't it?" She turned the box to show it to Luke.

"Beautiful indeed, but I wonder if the master thought about the repercussions of getting you such, before ordering the purchase."

"Are you saying that I am not worth such a beauty?" Aurora jokingly asked, her brows lifted.

"Not that. I am just saying if my hands were holding on to those earrings, with just the right investment with the money I get from the sales, I and the next six generations of my family, are bound to live like royalty and not like an average man."

Aurora looked at the small pairs of earrings she was holding in disbelief.

"What you are holding might be a parting gift for you, but to those who know the value, it would be a jackpot waiting to be snatched from you, and knowing how desperate humans can be, I might add that they would go through any length just to get it." Luke looked at the mirror, as Aurora looked at the mirror too, with their eyes meeting, "Any length." Luke added.

Aurora swallowed hard as she quickly closed the box and put it in her bag.

"Gifts weren't meant to put one in danger," Aurora said to herself.

"Good of you to find a place to hide that," Luke said, "I would love to believe that you have a better place to hide the car as well."

Aurora's head snapped to look at Luke, "What?"

"The car is a parting gift as well. The master knows you were once a chauffeur, which implies that you can drive." Luke looked at Aurora through the mirror, as she had a confused look on.

"You'd be missed, child." He added, as his lips slightly twitched.

Aurora's grin stretched nervously across her face as she struggled to process what Luke had just told her.