Chapter 781:

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Aurora paused. She lowered her sunglasses. Her eyes were cold, assessing.

“Sick?”

“She’s… she’s depressed,” Xander improvised, his voice trembling. “She won’t eat. She cries all day. She misses you, Aurora. She’s too proud to call, but she’s fading away. And with my injury, I can’t work. We can’t afford doctors. Please. Just come see her.”

It was the bait he knew she couldn’t resist.

Aurora looked at him. She saw the bloodshot eyes, smelled the stale whiskey, and recognized the desperation.

“If she’s sick,” Aurora said calmly, “take her to a doctor. You’re her husband.”

“She needs her friend!” Xander pleaded. “Just come to the apartment. Bring… bring your checkbook. We need help with medical bills.”

у𝗼𝗎𝗋 𝗱аil𝗒 𝗱о𝗌𝗲 о𝖿 𝗇о𝗏𝖾𝗹𝗌 𝗼n 𝗀𝘢𝘭𝗻𝗈𝘃𝘦𝗅s.соm

There it was. The tell.

Aurora laughed, a dry, humorless sound.

“You almost had me,” she said. “Until you mentioned the checkbook. Go home, Xander. Tell Ximena that if she wants to see me, she knows where I am. But I don’t make house calls to vultures.”

She turned and walked into the clinic.

“You heartless bitch!” Xander screamed at her back. “If she dies, it’s on you! You broke my arm, and now you’re breaking her heart!”

Marcus shoved him backward. “Leave. Now.”

Xander stumbled to his car and slammed his hand against the steering wheel. He had failed. Again.

He drove home, the rage boiling over.

When he entered the apartment, Ximena was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor where Brenda’s kid had spilled grape juice.

“You,” Xander snarled.

Ximena looked up, fear in her eyes. “Xander? Where were you?”

“I went to beg your rich friend for help.” Xander kicked the door shut. “I swallowed my pride. I told her you were sick. I begged her to come.”

“You… you lied to her?”

“I tried to save us!” Xander shouted. “And do you know what she said? She laughed. She said she doesn’t care if you die.”

“That’s not true,” Ximena whispered.

“It is!” Xander walked over and saw the bucket of soapy water. “You’re pathetic. Scrubbing floors like a maid while she lives in a palace and laughs at us.” He kicked the bucket.

Dirty, soapy water exploded outward, soaking Ximena’s shirt and splashing onto her face. She gasped and froze.

“Clean it up,” Xander spat. “Since that’s all you’re good for.”

Brenda laughed from the couch. “Damn, bro. You tell her.”

Ximena didn’t move. She sat in the puddle, water dripping from her hair. Something inside her, the last thread of hope, the last illusion of love, snapped.

It wasn’t a loud snap. It was silent.

She grabbed the rag and started wiping the floor. But her eyes were dry. And for the first time, they were open.

Back at the office, Aurora couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. Xander’s desperation had been palpable.

“Cloud,” she said. “Status report on Ximena.”

“I accessed the building’s security cameras,” the AI voice responded. “And I have financial data.”

A file appeared on the screen.

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