Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 463

Aurora’s P.O.V

I watched in complete silence as Caroline stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks, her voice caught in her throat as though even she couldn’t believe what was happening. The room was so still that I could hear the faint hum of the refrigerator in the corner of the games room, and no one dared to breathe until finally Caleb blinked rapidly and shook his head, his voice unsteady when he said.

“Care… what does this mean? What are you saying right now?”

Caroline pressed her lips together, her hands wringing nervously in front of her, but before she could answer, Damien stepped in, his tone calm but carrying a weight that made my chest tighten.

“It means,” he said, glancing at all of us before looking at Caleb, “that I got accepted into UC Berkeley on a full scholarship… and Caroline applied as well. And she just got accepted too.”

The silence stretched out again before he added softly, “It means we’ll both be moving to California for the next four years to complete college.”

“What?” I whispered, though my voice barely carried. I don’t even know if they heard me. My mind was spinning too fast, too many questions piling up in my head.

Caleb took a step forward, his face pale, eyes flicking between Caroline and Damien like he was searching for some loophole, some mistake in what he had just heard. His voice cracked when he said, “Care… that’s so far away. You’d be leaving… all of this behind?”

Caroline nodded slowly, the tears slipping faster now as she tried to hold his gaze. “I know it’s far,” she admitted softly, “and the decision wasn’t easy for me. Believe me, Caleb, I thought about it over and over again. But I need this. I need to grow, to see what’s out there, to push myself beyond what I already know. And since Damien will be there too, I won’t be completely alone. I’ll be looked after. It’ll be fine.”

“It won’t be fine,” Caleb muttered, almost under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a harsh laugh, the kind that didn’t have any humor in it at all.

“Care, you’re talking about moving across the entire country. You’re talking about leaving us for four years, do you even realize how long that is?”

Caroline took a shaky breath. “Of course I do. Do you think I haven’t lain awake every night, asking myself if this is really the right choice? But Caleb… this is what I want. I want to chase this dream. I don’t want to live my life wondering ‘what if.’”

Damien spoke up again, his tone firmer now, as though he needed to make sure Caroline wouldn’t be cornered into second-guessing herself. “It’s not like she’s leaving forever. It's only four years. And it’s an opportunity that most people would give anything for. Everyone should understand that.”

Caleb turned on him, his eyes flashing. “Don’t tell me what I should understand. You’re already leaving, you already made your decision! But Care…” He looked back at her, his voice breaking again, softer this time. “It’s just…”

“I have to,” Caroline said, her eyes watering. “I want to go, Caleb. Please understand.”

I stood frozen, my throat tight, unable to find a single word to say even though a thousand emotions swirled inside me. I could see Mia biting her lip, Jade staring at the floor, everyone else still too stunned to process. It felt like we were watching a piece of our family drift away before our eyes, and none of us had been ready for it.

Caleb finally sat down heavily on the arm of the couch, burying his face in his hands.

“California,” he whispered into his palms. “That’s a whole different world.”

Caroline crouched in front of him, touching his arm gently. “I’ll call every day. I’ll come back for the holidays. This doesn’t mean goodbye forever, Caleb. It just means… see you later.”

He lifted his face to hers, his eyes red now too. “But it feels like goodbye.”

Her lips trembled, and she shook her head. “Then promise me it won’t be.”

Caleb looked at her for a long, long moment before finally whispering, “I promise.”

And still, even with that word hanging in the air, I couldn’t shake the feeling in my chest that nothing would ever be the same again.

“I applied too.”

Every head snapped to Jade, the words barely sinking in at first because of the way he said them, his voice trembling, almost like he was afraid of how we would react. “I… I applied too,” he repeated, eyes fixed on the floor as though it held the answers to every question he was too scared to ask out loud.

“New York. Got the acceptance letter last week.” He laughed a little but it wasn’t the kind of laugh that carried joy, more like the nervous kind that people let slip when they feel their entire world might collapse in a second. “Didn’t know how to tell you guys… so I didn’t.”

The silence was heavy. My gaze instantly shifted to Caleb because I could feel the storm brewing in him long before he opened his mouth. His jaw was set so tight I thought his teeth would break from the pressure, and when he finally spoke, his voice was sharper than a blade. “So what then, Jade? You just… what? Leave us? Run off to New York like it’s nothing? Do you plan on coming back or is this it for you?”