Chapter 15
In my third year in France, I successfully completed my apprenticeship.[]
My senior colleague told me she’d just met with a particularly difficult client, someone from back home.[]
Intrigued, I glanced at the client’s message on her phone.[]
It was a photo of a wedding dress I knew all too well.[]
There was a large wine stain on the bodice and dark, brownish flecks of blood on the hem.[]
“Aurora, do you know how much he offered? Enough to make a hundred new dresses!“]
“But he doesn’t want a new one, he insists that this specific one must be restored. I heard he’s already asked every top designer in the country, and no one will take the job.“]
“My colleague met with him in person a month ago. She said it was very strange. Both of the men there seemed to have some kind of disability.“[]
“One of them couldn’t speak, and his right hand trembled constantly. The other was bundled up from head to toe, even though it was a hot day, with only his eyes showing. My colleague said she thought she saw faint burn scars under his eyes.“[]
“With that kind of money, they must be famous, right? Aurora, do you know them?“]
I shook my head gently, a small smile playing on my lips as I looked away.[]
The wounds of the past once consumed my soul.[]
They left me in agony, crippled by insecurity.[]
ne.[]
I hated that life, and even more, I hated the people who had forced it upon me.
But I was learning to piece my broken soul back together.
Now, I had a career I loved, and I had a family who loved me.[]
All the oppression, humiliation, neglect, and betrayal from my past.[]
They no longer mattered in my life.[]
I would not look back, and I would not hold on to resentment.[]
As for when anyone else would be able to let go.[]
I didn’t know. And it no longer had anything to do with me.[]
“Aurora, your grandma’s here with treats again! Ooh, are those cupcakes?”
I turned my head and saw Grandma, leaning on her cane.[]
She stood there smiling, picking up the prettiest cupcake and holding it out just for me.[]
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I thought, finally, I was the one who was cherished.[]
And it’s wonderful Just wonderful.]
