Chapter 953: Chapter 953



“Of course. I’ll come pick you up. Wait for me.”

Aurora’s heart fluttered. Dunn’s words felt like the most enchanting thing she’d ever heard.

“Okay.”

Under the vast night sky, she stood at her front door. The faint glow of a few streetlights illuminated her path, their warm halos reflecting on a car idling nearby.

Cradling Ginger in her arms, she approached. Dunn stepped out to greet her, his silhouette sharp against the soft light.

He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, effortlessly casual yet striking. Aurora reflexively touched her face, the warmth on her cheeks undeniable. “I had some wine earlier, so my face is a little red.”

Dunn moved closer, his gaze steady and unreadable as he leaned in.

For a breathless moment, his lips were mere inches from hers. Aurora froze, her pulse quickening as she instinctively stepped back, clutching Ginger tighter for balance.

Dunn smelled faintly of alcohol. It wasn’t strong—she hadn’t had much.

“No more drinking next time.”

Aurora’s first instinct was to snap back, to ask what gave him the right to tell her what to do. But the words caught in her throat, and instead, she replied softly, “Got it.”

Dunn’s expression softened. “Let’s get in the car.”

“Okay.”

Settling into the passenger seat, Aurora held Ginger close, her posture rigid. The car slid through the quiet streets like a whisper, the city’s sparse traffic leaving them alone in a cocoon of silence.

The stillness of the night amplified every flicker of tension between them, making it impossible for Aurora to ignore how heightened her senses felt.

Dunn, fresh from a shower, carried a clean, subtle scent that mingled with the cool night air seeping through the partially open window. Aurora couldn’t help but notice how close they were—closer than what could be excused as friendship.

After their visit to the vet, her earlier hesitation had dissipated. The ride back was quiet, the kind of silence heavy with unsaid words, both of them secretly wishing the night wouldn’t end.

But Aurora knew, as much as Dunn did, that dawn would eventually come, and the fragile magic of the moment would fade into memory.

It was already two in the morning, and it was time to say goodbye.

Dunn dropped her and Ginger off at her house.

Aurora took a few steps, then turned back to him. “Can I ask you some questions?”

“Go ahead.”

She looked at him, as if trying to solve an impossible puzzle. “Why did you suddenly stop talking to me back then? And if you didn’t want to talk to me, why are you suddenly being so nice to me now?”

Dunn hadn’t expected her questions to span such a wide gap of time. But on second thought, she must have been holding onto these questions for a long time.

He lowered his eyes, and when his gaze met hers again, his expression was tinged with regret. “I’m sorry.”

Aurora was taken aback. “Sorry for what?”

“For a lot of things,” Dunn began, counting them off. “For what happened to Ryland, for my aunt and great-grandfather, and for what you went through during the kidnapping. I didn’t stop talking to you because I didn’t want to. It’s because I cared about you too much, and that only seemed to bring you trouble.”

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