Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 283

Aurora’s P.O.V

Ashton, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up. "Have you seen a lot of movies before, Aurora?" he asked, his voice curious but gentle.

I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Not in the way you’re thinking," I admitted. "Back when I worked at the diner, they always had the TV on. Customers would sit and watch while eating, and when I’d walk by with plates of food, I’d catch bits and pieces of whatever was playing. A lot of times, it was those daytime talk shows or the news, but sometimes there’d be movies too. So, yeah, I’ve seen plenty—just not the way most people do."

I paused for a second before adding, "But at home? We didn’t even have a TV. Keeping the electricity on was already a battle, and that was more important than watching some over-the-top love story or action flick." 

Ashton’s expression shifted, a flicker of something close to guilt flashing across his face. "Aurora, I—" He stopped, exhaling slowly before continuing, "I’m sorry." 

I shook my head, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "Don’t be," I said simply. "None of us had it any better, did we? Struggling was just… normal. We made do with what we had." 

Maggie looked down at her hands, her earlier excitement about movies now quieted by the reality of our conversation. "Yeah," she murmured, "I guess that’s true." 

For a while, none of us spoke. It wasn’t a sad silence, exactly—just one of understanding. A reminder that no matter how different our experiences had been, we all knew what it was like to go without.

I sat up from the grass, my fingers tightening around the fabric of my jeans as Maggie cut in abruptly, her voice carrying a sharpness that immediately shifted my attention towards her. “Actually,” she said, her gaze flickering between us, “when Violet was brought to us, she told us that she had access to a somewhat proper household. She had a TV. Even her own cell phone.” 

The words hung in the air like a slap to the face. I felt my stomach twist, the tension rolling through the air like an invisible wave. There was a beat of silence, everyone processing what Maggie had just revealed. A proper household. A TV. A phone. That meant that she was loved by her parents, that she had known love and been cherished by the family that had brought her up.

But now, even though the news was a happy one, something that should’ve reassured us instead of making the atmosphere heavier, I couldn’t help but relive the moment when we realized that we had left little Violet inside that house…left her to die… 

“I—” I started, but my voice caught in my throat. I wasn’t sure what I was about to say, and honestly, I wasn’t sure it even mattered anymore. The energy in the room had shifted, and I could see it in their faces. Frustration. Confusion. Even a little bit of anger. Not at Violet; never at her. But at ourselves…for having failed to protect that little life…for having failed her…  

Ashton sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as if trying to wipe away the weight of it all.

“Alright,” he said, his voice deliberately casual, though I could tell he was just trying to steer us away from whatever storm was brewing beneath the surface. “Let’s put that aside for now. What I wanna know—” He turned to me, his brows slightly furrowed. “—is who this Shane guy really is.” 

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change of direction. For a moment, I just stared at Ashton, trying to gather my thoughts, to rearrange the pieces in my head. Shane. Of course, he’d ask about him. Of course, that would be the next thing on the list of things to pry apart. 

I exhaled slowly, pressing my lips together before speaking. “Shane is…” I hesitated, feeling their eyes on me. “He’s complicated.” 

“That’s not an answer,” Ashton pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. 

I swallowed, glancing down at my hands before looking back up. “I met Shane a long time ago,” I admitted. “And if I’m being completely honest, I don’t know if I ever really understood him. He’s the kind of person who walks the line between good and bad, and sometimes, you don’t even realize which side he’s on until it’s too late.”

Ashton arched a brow, unimpressed. “That still doesn’t tell me who he is.” 

I sighed, shaking my head. “He’s someone I never really got along with.” I paused, my throat tightening.

“Someone who…let’s just say, he’s something that I have a history with that I never want to recall. But… things change. People change. And sometimes, the people do shitty things that they later regret and then they come around. So…I guess that’s who Shane is.” 

A heavy silence fell between us, the weight of my words sinking into the room like a stone dropped into deep water. No one spoke, but I could feel the questions buzzing just beneath the surface. 

Maggie was the first to break the silence. “Does that mean he’s a bad person?” 

I hesitated, my mind racing. Was he? He appears to have changed…so I couldn’t tell if he still was the same person who once locked me in a room with Mr. Hemming…but…

“He did something to you, didn’t he?”