Stepping outside, Lucas spotted Amos standing by his car, leaning against it with his arms crossed, looking pensive.
The reporters had finally dispersed, likely satisfied with the chaos they had caused.
Lucas strode over to Amos, his brow furrowed. "Amos, what the hell just happened?"
Amos straightened up, sensing Lucas's anger. "I don't know, sir. I didn't expect that. I just heard from a contact that Aurora would be here today, and I thought you'd want to see her, so I called you."
Lucas's jaw clenched.
He had been hopeful when Amos told him about Aurora's appearance at the studio.
Despite the complicated mess of their separation, he still wanted to talk to her—properly. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
"Then how did the reporters find out?" Lucas pressed, running a hand through his hair, the frustration mounting. "And how did they know about our marriage? I kept that private—we kept it private."
Amos shook his head, pulling out his phone. "I have no idea. But... you should see this."
He handed the phone to Lucas, who took it and stared at the screen.
It was a social media feed—his and Aurora's names were trending.
Lucas's heart sank as he scrolled through the pictures that had gone viral.
There they were—private moments.
Pictures of them in his mansion, her sleeping while he placed a kiss on her forehead.
Another of them was in his library, Aurora, studying while Lucas sat across her, casually flipping through a book, but he kept staring at her while she was studying.
Each photo was personal, unguarded, and raw.
The kind of images only someone close to them could have taken.
Lucas's eyes widened in shock. "How did they get these?" His voice was hoarse, disbelieving.
His mind raced through possibilities, but none of them made sense.
These moments had been shared in private, behind the closed doors of his home.
No paparazzi could've gotten that close. It had to be someone they trusted.
But who?
Amos shook his head again, equally baffled. "I don't know, sir. These weren't supposed to get out."
Lucas's mind swirled.
He felt exposed, betrayed, and worst of all, helpless.
How was he supposed to fix this?
He shoved the phone back into Amos's hands, his face hardening. "I need to find out who did this." His voice was low, simmering with anger.
Amos nodded. "I'll start digging. I'll see what I can find."
Lucas didn't say another word. He just turned and stared at the studio entrance, where Aurora had disappeared moments ago.
He wanted to chase after her, explain that he had nothing to do with this, but the damage was already done. She wouldn't believe him anyway.
He'd have to find another way to make things right, but for now, all he could do was walk away from the studio.
---
Aurora pushed her discomfort aside, determined to focus as she met the actors for their crucial rehearsal.
The studio was buzzing with energy, and the actors were immersed in their roles, but Aurora couldn't shake the lingering pain in her stomach.
It had been gnawing at her since the incident with Lucas and his paparazzi, but she hadn't thought much of it at the time, chalking it up to stress.
As she ran through lines with the cast, her concentration faltered, her body reminding her of the dull ache just below her ribs.
She winced slightly but quickly masked it with a smile, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
Still, Claire, the associate casting director, wasn't fooled.
"Hey, Aurora," Claire called out during a break, approaching with a concerned look. "You okay? You don't seem like yourself today."
Aurora hesitated for a moment, then forced a reassuring smile. "It's just a little pain, nothing serious. Probably just stress."
Claire didn't seem convinced. "You sure? You've been holding your stomach the whole time."
"I'm fine," Aurora insisted. "Let's just get through the rest of the rehearsal."
They continued, but Aurora struggled to ignore the persistent ache.
Each movement, each moment of exertion, seemed to aggravate the pain more.
By the time the rehearsal was over, she was sweating, but not from exertion—more from the discomfort she was barely managing to suppress.
Claire walked over to her again, a more insistent look in her eyes. "Aurora, I think you should get this checked out. You've been wincing all day."
Aurora shook her head, brushing it off. "I'll be fine. It's nothing, really."
"You're not fine," Claire pressed. "Go to the hospital, just to be sure. It's better to know what's going on than to ignore it."
Aurora paused, tempted to argue, but Claire's concern was starting to get to her.
Still, the idea of going to a hospital felt like admitting there was something seriously wrong, and Aurora didn't want to go down that road.
She had too much on her mind already.
"I'll think about it," she said, hoping that would satisfy Claire for now.
Later that night, Aurora checked into a hotel, nervous about returning to Sophia's place.
The paparazzi were likely still following her, and she didn't want to deal with the flashes, the prying questions, or the invasive attention.
She needed space to think, to breathe.
But as she settled into the hotel room, the pain in her stomach hadn't subsided.
It was dull and constant, gnawing at her insides, making it impossible to fully relax.
She tossed and turned in bed, telling herself it was stress, that nothing was wrong.
Eventually, exhaustion overtook her, and she drifted into a restless sleep.
The next morning, as she stepped into the bathroom for a shower, the pain was still there, dull but persistent.
Aurora tried to shake it off, focusing on the warm water and hoping it would ease her tension.
But as she reached for her towel, something caught her eye.
Her underwear—there was blood. Not a lot, but enough to make her heart drop into her stomach.
Panic flooded her veins.
Spotting blood wasn't normal—not like this, not now.
Her mind raced, and she gripped the counter, staring at the sight, unable to process what it meant.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She didn't waste another second.
Grabbing her phone, she quickly dressed, her hands trembling as she fumbled with her belongings.
Without thinking twice, Aurora rushed out of the hotel, her heart pounding in her chest, and headed straight for the hospital.