𝐂𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍ㅤㅤㅤ───ㅤㅤㅤ𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗀𝖾.
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▬▬▬▬▬ㅤ 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆, Aura Mori told herself as her only suitor kept caressing her hand on their coffee table in such a way that made her go wild inside with how hypersensitive she was to the sensory stimuli. His touch felt like sandpaper against her skin.

ㅤㅤJack would never cause such reaction. It had become the norm to compare the boy she was infatuated with to mister Ox-something-something.

ㅤㅤAlthough comparing him to the man now did nothing but cause her more pain, Aura couldn't help but to still set Jack Overland as her standard. How foolish she had been to ruin it all.

ㅤㅤBefore she could get lost in her thoughts again, the girl concentrated on how disgusted she felt towards mister Ox-ugly-mustache and how he refused to just ask her hand in marriage already.

ㅤㅤIt had been so long, Aura had become very bored with him and felt as though she already knew everything there was to know about the man. The teas he hated the most, the sports he loved, his hair care routine... she really wished to be shot dead everytime he went into detail with every pomade he used in his awfully ugly black hair, already graying although the man was not even past thirty.

ㅤㅤIt felt wrong to have such thoughts, but Aura sometimes daydreamed about getting married with him, only to poison his favorite tea and watch him drink every last second of it.

ㅤㅤDespite her inner turmoil, Aura continued to put on a façade, concealing her growing discontent. She knew that appearances mattered in her society, and to her family, marrying a well-established man like mister Ox-worms-for-brains was an opportunity she couldn't easily dismiss.

ㅤㅤAnd, as if the past month hadn't already been hell, mister Oxblablabla seemed to sense Aura's detachment. He began to notice the lack of enthusiasm in her eyes, and the conversations grew more strained. Despite his attempts to deepen their connection, Aura's longing for Jack remained a persistent barrier.

ㅤㅤAs Aura feigned interest in mister Ox-whatever's latest pomade anecdote, he abruptly paused and looked at her with a mixture of annoyance and frustration.

ㅤㅤ"Aura, you seem distant lately," he remarked, his bushy mustache twitching with annoyance. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

ㅤㅤAura went pale. She was usually very good at pretending to care, and he never really noticed when she dissociated during their talks.

ㅤㅤ"Of course not." she chuckles forcefully, trying to avoid speaking by taking a second of her tea. "I'm terrible at keeping secrets, I could never..."

ㅤㅤ"Well, whatever it is, you should feel safe enough with me to tell me. We've known each other for quite a while now."

ㅤㅤNot quite as long as Aura knew Jack.

ㅤㅤ"Well, I... I don't have any secrets." she shrugs simply, not understanding why he was saying all of that so suddenly. Aura had not been prepared for that talk to know how to defend herself.

ㅤㅤ"I don't believe that." he was firm in his words, shaking his head as he stands from the table. "A relationship should be built on trust from both sides, and I can see you have none in me. Which is why I don't think this is going to work."

ㅤㅤ...What?

ㅤㅤOh, please don't tell me she ruined this too. It wasn't even a real challenge.

ㅤㅤ"...Excuse me, what is not going to work?" Aura stands as well, trying to stop the mister from leaving by standing in his way. "I don't understand."

ㅤㅤ"Well, this..." he mumbles something she can't quite catch, then takes her by the shoulders and moves her out of his way, rushing his steps and hitting the door harshly on his way out.

ㅤㅤAura didn't stop him, only stood there, dumbfounded.

ㅤㅤAs her mother, who had been eavesdropping on her as always, goes to reprimand her for whatever mistake she had made ━something about how she referred to the man or how she picked the wrong tea set and that scared him away━, but she heard nothing.

ㅤㅤWalking to the living room, where her mother now informed her father of the broken relationship between Aura and... the other man, Aura stood on top of her couch to spy out the window, where she saw the mister himself linking his arm to a young lady's━ much younger than Aura, too, she quickly notices.

ㅤㅤ"Disgusting pig." she mumbles, knowing now that the man hadn't known a thing about her true love, he was only trying to get himself out of that situation as soon as possible to prey on another child.

ㅤㅤ"Good riddance." Cosmo spoke from beside her in the couch, watching the scene outside with a frown.

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ㅤㅤ"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄." was the lie Cornelia Mori had told her daughter that morning to convince her to participate in Burgess's Winter Festival.

ㅤㅤAura knew she only had the best intentions in mind, so she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at her mother for forcing her to go to the town square.

ㅤㅤ(She totally did not go just to avoid her father's wrath after ruining her future marriage and his link to a rich life)

ㅤㅤStill, the girl had to be dragged by her mother and brother all the way to the festival.

ㅤㅤThe event would take place from the tenth of December to the twenty-fourth, so Aura had no rush, seeing as Jack loved winter so much that he was present in all of the fourteen days every year. She dreaded seeing him again. What if she found him all heart-eyed for Amanda Rose?

ㅤㅤActually, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to resist so little as her family pulled her along with them. Aura was very sure she'd be looking for the boy she was so infatuated with the whole time, and she didn't know what she'd do if she actually saw him there.

ㅤㅤAs to keep herself distracted, she stayed at the long food table, pretending to analyze each dish.

ㅤㅤOh, there's too much sugar in that bun... Hm, maybe ham wasn't the right choice in there... So much fruit in the bowl, but not nearly enough chocolate...

ㅤㅤAlright, this is boring.

ㅤㅤHaving had enough of the madness that was her own mind, Aura went to see the games they had prepared for the festival. This year, there were no special games, only the typical carnival ones such as horseshoe toss, cornhole and guessing games, so the place was not so crowded.

ㅤㅤThere were always teens in the game booths, so Aura hadn't been too concerned about it until she heard a familiar laugh.

ㅤㅤJust as she suspected, Jack Overland stood by Amanda Rose, who paid him no mind as she tossed a horseshoe and laughed with her friends after missing by a lot.

ㅤㅤHow dare she? Amanda Rose had the Jack Overland in love with her, and she wouldn't even spare him a glance. What a waste of a good man.

ㅤㅤHow dare he? Aura Mori had been the one to deal with him for six years, not Amanda Rose. Aura Mori would've done anything for him, not Amanda Rose. Aura Mori was to blame for this, not Amanda Rose.

ㅤㅤThat sight was enough to make Aura sick.

ㅤㅤShe couldn't help it, Aura was a very messy person, even with all her organizing tactics.

ㅤㅤWhy was she there? What was the point of any of this? All this game of love and broken hearts was exhausting. Aura knew she was messy, she was supposed to be messy, it was how the universe had made her. Was she really to blame for that?

ㅤㅤAura never chose to be born cursed. If any of what was going on actually happened, it had to be fate, marked in the future of the earth: something unstoppable.

ㅤㅤUn-stop-pa-ble, impossible to prevent.

ㅤㅤWell, then. So be it. Everything happens for a reason, so who cares?

ㅤㅤA pregnant woman and a baker, two young children who hate each other, two boys in an awkward situation, a young man who was already loved enough by someone else. Who cares about any of them?

ㅤㅤFuck all of them. Fuck this. Fuck love.

ㅤㅤAura was done. It had hurt her too much. She was a messy person, and apparently unlovable too, and she supposed people with those characteristics were fated to die alone. It was so unfair.

ㅤㅤIf she was fated to be messy, to be impossible to love, then that's what she was going to be from now on.

ㅤㅤFull of energy ━the cruel kind, that made her electrifying━, she circles around the booths, holding hands, pulling people, pushing people, doing whatever she could to get into contact with them, and watching as stares happen, blushes happen, kisses happen, chaos happens.

ㅤㅤIt had been too long since she smiled so widely, flashing her two dimples for everyone to see. It wasn't an exclusive sight just for Jack to see, she was for all.

ㅤㅤAs the bonfire was lit and the chaos was still happening, Aura fights her way through the crowd to find him.

ㅤㅤ'Do you like what you see?' she'd say. 'Aren't you proud?'

ㅤㅤShe found him, indeed. Staring at the back of Amanda Rose's head.

ㅤㅤAnger was Aura's only fuel. Even with the chaos around him, he still didn't care.

ㅤㅤFuck Jack Overland. Fuck the love she felt for him. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

ㅤㅤAura Mori found that it was much easier to hate things than to love them. She liked how easy it was, like one of her mind puzzles, the ones she found peace in solving.

ㅤㅤAs she moves forward, grasping Amanda Rose's hand ━so tightly that she almost bruised the girl━, Aura hates everything.

ㅤㅤShe only hates it all for a second, but it's enough time to take Rupert Riva's hand and feel as her electricity passes onto them.

ㅤㅤThey stare at each other, Aura stares at Jack, Jack stares at Amanda.

ㅤㅤRegret fills Aura Mori's heart.

ㅤㅤIs it really her fault that nobody warned her how hard it was to love?

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mmmm yep. sorry about that (I don't mean this apology)

....okay maybe I do mean it a little bit

I'm sorry

have a great day/evening/night, stay safe.

- beex