Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 359

Aurora’s P.O.V

Ashton didn’t stay long after that. After all, he had been up all night and so had Maggie. That’s why they had headed back to their condo to get some rest.

The silence he left behind wasn’t peaceful—it was heavy, pulsing with the weight of everything unspoken. My heart was pounding against my ribs, and it wasn’t from fear—it was from guilt. Raw, blistering guilt that seeped into my bones and made it hard to breathe.

I turned slowly, my fingers curling tightly around the fabric of my sleeves. “Alice…” My voice cracked, my eyes brimming. “Did I… do the right thing?” I felt my lip tremble as I tried to hold it together, but my chest was aching like I had just torn something sacred apart. “I feel like I just betrayed my family… like I turned my back on someone I was supposed to protect.”

Alice didn’t speak immediately. She was sitting in the chair by the desk, several equipments still scattered all around her. She looked up at me with that impossibly calm expression she always wore, the one that made me feel like she already knew the outcome of things long before they happened. Her hand reached out, gently beckoning me closer. I sank to my knees at her side like a child desperate for reassurance. She ran her fingers gently through my hair, her touch soothing in a way that made me want to cry even harder.

“Oh, Aurora,” she whispered, a small smile playing on her lips. “You didn’t betray anyone. You saved him. You helped him realize his mistake before it was too late. You saw it yourself, didn’t you? He doesn’t blame you.”

I shook my head, tears slipping down my cheeks. “But…I exposed him. I reported him. That’s not what family does.”

“Yes, it is,” she said softly but firmly. “When love is real, when family matters, you don’t let them fall so far they can’t come back. Ashton was dancing on the edge of something dark—something he didn’t fully understand. That magic… bringing things back from the dead… it’s not only dangerous, it’s unnatural. It takes more than it gives. And even though you were knew to magic yourself, you saw that.”

“I did,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “But I didn’t think he’d ever speak to me again after this. The way he looked at me when Alpha Camden arrived at his condo with the soldiers to search them… it was like I was a stranger.”

Alice sighed, her hand moving to cup my cheek. “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I didn’t want to sway your decision. But after I spoke to him—after I explained what that kind of magic does, how it corrupts, how it drains the soul—it was you he asked about.”

I blinked up at her, stunned. “He did?”

She nodded. “He said… ‘If Aurora hadn’t reported me, I would’ve thought it was harmless.’” Her smile deepened. “He wasn’t angry, Aurora. He was grateful. Not that he’d admit it out loud just yet. But he knew you were trying to stop him before he crossed a line he couldn’t return from.”

I pressed my hand to my mouth, a soft sob escaping me. All this time, I thought I’d destroyed the fragile bond we’d been building. I thought I’d cast myself out of his life. But maybe… maybe he’d seen what I was really trying to do.

Alice leaned in, her voice tender. “Sometimes doing the right thing feels like betrayal. But it’s only because love demands more courage than comfort. And you, Aurora… you chose courage.”

“I just want him to come back,” I murmured, my voice trembling. “I just want my brother to make the right choice.”

“And he will,” Alice whispered, holding me tightly. “Because you reminded him what family is supposed to look like.”

“Don’t worry, Aurora.” Caleb’s voice came from behind, telling me that he had been here all along. “You did the right thing by reporting him.”

I clenched my fists as the word "reporting" left Caleb’s mouth. It echoed in my head, sour and sharp, making my stomach twist.

I didn’t even know why it bothered me so much—maybe it was the implication, the sense that I had gone behind Ashton’s back, broken his trust in me.