Chapter 729

But on young Aurora’s side, the sight made Aurora’s heart ache. She was already afraid of thunder, and on top of that, she was still just a second-year high school student. After everything that had happened, she was now trembling under the covers like a leaf in the wind. Aurora pressed her lips together, eyes brimming with tears. She had never felt this kind of pain for herself before. Only now did she realize that she had been far too hard on herself. She was just a child, too, so how could she expect so much from herself? They were both children once, and her own childhood had hardly been whole.

Since she had already endured so much, then she deserved even more tenderness moving forward. Aurora took a deep breath and lay down beside her younger self, wrapping her arms gently around her and drifting off to sleep. Even if it didn’t really change anything, she still wanted to offer her younger self a bit of comfort—just a little warmth would be enough. She knew it wasn’t realistic, but she still wanted to try. She didn’t know if young Aurora could really feel it, but under her calming presence, the girl genuinely seemed to settle down. Seeing that, Aurora felt something almost magical. Could it be that young Aurora really sensed her? The thought amazed her, and she instinctively held her younger self even closer, hoping that even this small gesture of care might soothe her, just a little. And so, the two of them warmed each other, like a collision between two timelines. The grown version of herself healed the child she once was. The two of them held each other, silently comforting the wounds in their hearts. The next morning, when Aurora woke up, she saw that young Aurora was no longer in the room. She hadn’t needed to sleep, but the pressure from the past few days had been too much, and she’d dozed off beside her.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, but later, she truly fell asleep. That was why, when young Aurora left, Aurora didn’t react at all—she hadn’t even noticed. The thought filled her with frustration. She’d gone to bed so late last night—was her body really alright today? Too much time had passed, and she had forgotten so many details of what happened on specific days. Because of that, Aurora began to feel anxious, worried that she might lose sight of her younger self. When she hurried downstairs, she saw Grace instructing the driver to take Tessa out. Outside, it was pouring rain. Young Aurora was sitting on the couch waiting, her expression unreadable. Aurora’s heart skipped a beat. What was going on? Why didn’t she remember this part at all? It was like this entire memory had vanished from her mind. Just as Aurora was still in shock, Grace’s cold voice broke the silence. “Aurora, stay home for now. I’ll be back after taking your sister." “There’s only one driver today. The other’s on leave. If we take you too, we’ll have to go a longer way.” For once, Grace added a brief explanation. But even with the explanation, Aurora noticed her younger self’s face didn’t look any better. Arnold stood to the side, wearing a hesitant expression, as if he had something to say but held it in.