Chapter 3

The moment I heard her footsteps approaching, panic kicked in. I slapped my palm against the desk—loud enough to make Aurora jump. For a brief second, the confusion on her face actually made her look… pretty cute.

And that’s when it hit me like a punch to the gut: the Aurora standing in front of me and the Aurora I’d been flirting with online were the same person.

I cleared my throat, trying to pull myself together. “Sorry, Aurora. I, uh… suddenly got a stomachache. I’m gonna run to the restroom real quick. You can look over the document while I’m gone.”

She blinked, still a little startled. “Oh… okay?”

I snatched my phone off the desk and bolted to the restroom.

My hands were shaking as I pulled up the app. Thank God for the quick logout button. Once I hit it, I finally felt like I could breathe again. The problem was, Aurora explained things with painful levels of detail. If any pop-up notification appeared while she hovered near my screen, even just by accident, everything would blow up.

After responding to her unread messages and buying myself some time, I lingered in the restroom a few extra minutes before heading back.

When I returned, Aurora had already reviewed the document and motioned for me to sit so she could walk me through the revisions. After going over everything line by line, she stood up and said, “I’m going to grab something from my office. Be right back.”

Be right back?

Internally, I groaned. Couldn’t she just go home? But I swallowed it down and focused on the edits.

Aurora lived up to her workaholic reputation. With her hovering behind me, offering “guidance,” we didn’t finish the proposal until almost midnight.

“Looks good. Let’s go with this,” she finally said with a satisfied nod.

I exhaled in relief. “Great. Glad we’re done.”

But inside, I was dying.

Just when I thought I could pack up and escape, she suddenly asked, “You’re in the company dorms, right? Want me to drive you home?”

“What?”

I froze and waved my hands frantically. “Oh, no, no. It’s fine. It’s close—I’ll walk.”

“It’s not safe to walk alone this late,” she insisted.

After a couple more failed attempts to decline, I reluctantly gave in.

When I climbed into the passenger seat, Aurora quietly texted someone: Driving a coworker home. Didn’t let him sit in the front seat.

I texted back a simple: ok.

The ride was painfully silent. I didn’t dare pull out my phone, so I just stared out the window like a fool.

Out of nowhere, Aurora asked, “By the way… if you were a guy—well, since you are a guy—what kind of gift would you want from a girlfriend?”

I blinked. Oh, right. My birthday was coming up.

“Uh… honestly? It’s not about the gift. It’s the thought that matters.”

She frowned. “The problem is, I’ve given my boyfriend gifts before, but he returned them. I don’t know what to get anymore.”

I nearly choked.

Was she serious?

She had given me luxury watches before. My family’s middle class on a good day—I didn’t have the lifestyle for that. Wearing those would make people assume I was showing off a fake. Returning them was the only rational choice.

After thinking for a moment, I suggested, “Maybe something handmade? Something small and personal. It doesn’t have to be expensive—just thoughtful.”

She looked deep in thought. Then she shifted the topic. “You look pretty young. How old are you?”

My pulse spiked. “I’m a year older than you.”

“What month?” she asked.

“August.”

She nodded quietly, then hesitated. “I just realized… I don’t know your name. What do people call you?”

I froze for half a second before answering. “Mason.”

We didn’t say much after that. When we reached the dorms, I thanked her politely.

“Thanks for the ride, Aurora.”

“No problem. Get some rest,” she said with a small, almost gentle smile.

I nodded and turned to leave.

“Mason!” she suddenly called after me.

I stopped. “Yeah?”

She opened her mouth, hesitated, then shook her head. “…Nothing. Get inside safe.”

A couple of weeks later, Aurora and I landed a major client thanks to the proposal we’d worked on. Her mom—the company’s CEO—was thrilled and treated the entire office to dinner.

People were drinking and chatting around me. I wasn’t much of a drinker, so I focused on my food.

That’s when Kenneth decided to put me in the spotlight.

“Everyone, this is Mason from our team. Don’t let his age fool you—this kid’s talented. Even Aurora praised his proposal, didn’t she, Mason?” Kenneth slapped a hand on my shoulder, grinning.

I forced a polite smile, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. The only reason that proposal ended up with me was because he dumped it on my desk.

Online, I could rant all I wanted. In real life? I was a pushover.

“Oh, it was nothing. I just did my part,” I said lightly. “Really, it was thanks to Kenneth’s leadership.”

Kenneth beamed. “Come on, don’t be modest! Top graduate from a great school—your talent speaks for itself. Mason, why don’t you give everyone a toast?”

"Huh?"

I stiffened. "I don’t drink."

"You don’t drink? That’s not going t