Chapter 9: Give You a Little More Time

Aurora's POV

Daniel stared at me with a smug look, leaning in close enough that only the two of us could hear him. "Aurora, you might be good, but thirty is too old for the rink. I think going back to the family is your best option, Mrs. Harrington."

Mrs. Harrington.

So I'd guessed right.

It was Liam's doing, just as I thought.

No wonder he'd been willing to give me a chance.

He'd been waiting for this moment all along.

He really was cruel. He let me see hope, and then made me watch it die right in front of me.

I clenched my hand at my side and opened my mouth to answer, but Julia suddenly pushed in front of me.

"Aurora, what are you saying? Why should you leave? Daniel is the one who should go!"

She gripped my hand like she was trying to pour strength into me. "Aurora, don't listen to Daniel. In this club, ability is everything. It doesn't matter how old you are — if you pass the test, you're in."

Julia turned to Erik. "Since the coach has veto power, then we go to the investor. Daniel got the investor to fire Vincent, so the same investor can fire Daniel."

Erik nodded, his eyes settling on me. "Aurora, if you pass the test, even the investor can't stop you from joining. Julia and I will go see him right now."

I looked at them with gratitude and shook my head. "No. Don't."

If Liam could get the investor to fire Vincent — a coach they'd paid a fortune to bring in — then he could fire Erik and Julia just as easily.

And Liam had his eye on me now. Even if I forced my way into BKL, my life there would be misery, and I'd drag Julia and Erik down with me.

This wasn't the moment to fight for pride. There were plenty of hockey clubs. Liam's arm couldn't reach into every one of them.

I gave Julia a reassuring look. "Didn't I tell you before? I was just bored and wanted something to do behind Liam's back."

I shrugged with a bitter smile. "Looks like at thirty I really am in no shape to go back onto the ice. My left knee's old injury has flared up. I need to rest it properly from here on."

"So don't feel bad for me. Even if I can't get back on the ice, I'll be fine as a housewife. My husband is Liam Harrington, after all."

Julia's eyes went red and her voice came out muffled. "Aurora, promise you'll tell me if anything happens, all right? Even if you can't stay at BKL, I'll find a way to recommend you to another club."

I nodded and hugged her. "I will."

My steps were heavy as I left the club.

I stood at the entrance for a long time. I was never going to give up on getting back on the ice. Never.

By the time I got home, every light in the living room was on. Liam sat leaning back in a dining chair with a glass in his hand, as if he were holding some kind of welcome ceremony.

I stood there. Let him blacklist me in every possible way.

But he seemed in no mood to let me off. When he saw me, the corner of Liam's mouth lifted. "Aurora, remember what you promised me. You failed to get into the club, so from now on you're going to settle down and be a housewife."

"Ethan has had a rough time lately because of your selfishness."

"The club is going to be busy from here on. I want you to adjust yourself as soon as possible, know your place, run this house, and take care of our Ethan."

Everything had been arranged by him, and yet here he was, looking down on me from above, mocking me, accusing me.

If not for him, would I have failed to get into the club?

I didn't say anything. I was tired — tired in body and tired in spirit.

I didn't dare open my mouth. I was afraid that the next second I'd lose my temper and start shouting at Liam.

"Aurora, answer me. Say you'll come back to the family. Say you'll settle down and be a rich man's wife."

I clenched my fist unwillingly. I wasn't going to say it.

The reason I didn't get into the club wasn't that I wasn't good enough. It was because of Liam.

I raised my eyes to his. "Liam—"

My phone rang, cutting me off. I glanced at the screen. It was the hospital.

I answered, my chest tight. The voice on the other end was serious. "Is this Ms. Aurora?"

"Yes, speaking."

"I'm your mother's attending physician. Her condition has worsened recently. The medication she's been on can no longer control it. We strongly recommend switching her to a new drug."

My grip on the phone tightened and my voice shook badly. "Switch — yes, anything, as long as it can cure my mother, I'll switch right now."

The doctor paused. "The thing is, the new drug costs three times what the current one does. The funds you've left on deposit with us are no longer enough. We'd like you to top up as soon as possible so we can start your mother on it."

Three times.

Her medication and hospital fees had been fifty thousand a month, forty thousand of which was the drugs.

If the new drug was three times that, I'd be paying eighty thousand more every month.

In the month since I'd decided to go back to the rink, Liam hadn't given me a single cent. I'd barely scraped together one more month for my mother, and now eighty thousand more...

My voice came out hoarse. "All right. I'll top it up right away. Please take good care of my mother. I'll come see her this weekend."

After my father died, my mother raised me alone.

For twenty years she'd never had an easy day, all to support me. Then things got better, and she got sick and went into hospital — and she'd been there ten years.

Whatever it took, I was never going to give up on her treatment. Even if she had to live in that hospital for the rest of her life, I wanted her alive.

I hung up and looked at Liam.

"It was the hospital. They say my mother's condition has worsened and she needs to switch to a new drug. I need you to lend me a hundred thousand."

Liam looked at me coldly. "Lend? How do you plan to pay it back?"

I tightened my hand at my side. "One day I'll be back on the ice. I'll be a professional athlete, and then—"

Liam set his glass down and stood up abruptly, his face ugly. "So you're still planning to go back on the ice? You want to go back on the promise you made me?"

"Aurora, I told you — as long as you come back and settle down as my wife, I'll give you everything, including your mother's medical bills. Why do you insist on going against me?"

Settle down? How was I supposed to settle down when he was carrying on hot and heavy with other women out there?

The only reason he hadn't thrown me out was that he still needed the crown of a former Olympic champion to gild his club.

But what about later?

What about in ten years?

Once he'd made enough money and no longer needed my shine, he'd kick me out without a second thought.

And by then I'd be forty, and going back to the ice really would be a dream.

But it still wasn't time to strip off Liam's mask.

"I'm not trying to go against you. I just don't think the BKL coach was fair. With my record, I absolutely could have stayed at that club. So I'm asking you to give me a little more time. Liam, I really want to get back on the ice."

Anger so deep it turned into laughter.

Liam walked over and gripped my chin so hard it hurt. "Give you a little more time?"

"Fine! Since you're so determined to do it on your own, then you can pay your mother's medical bills yourself."

"Don't say your husband never gave you a way out. Our club's prodigy, Vivienne, needs a training partner. Out of respect for our relationship, I'll give you a hundred thousand a month, and you can draw your pay in advance."

"What do you think?"

Vivienne.

He actually wanted me to be his mistress's training partner.

The refusal was on the tip of my tongue, and I swallowed it.

I couldn't refuse Liam's humiliation, because my mother needed that money to live.

I looked straight at Liam. "All right. I'll be Vivienne's training partner."