Chapter 9 This was my second time visiting the coastal town . [ ] The last time , my mother had been holding my hand as we stood together in this city that looked like it was lifted from an ink painting . ] Time moves so fast . In the blink of an eye , ten years had passed . [ ] " Aurora ! Aurora ! " An old woman's kind and joyful voice pulled me from my thoughts . [ ] Gently shaking my head to dispel the dark memories , I raised my arm and gave a big wave . [ ] " Grandma Miller ... Professor Miller ! " ] When I got closer , she patted my arm reproachfully . [ ] " " None of that " Professor ' nonsense , you call me Grandma ! I've missed you to death , come here and give me a hug . " [] I gently rested my head on her shoulder , inhaling the comforting scent of lavender from her clothes , and felt my eyes well up . [ ] Grandma Miller was my mother's mentor . [ ] She never married and had no children of her own . [ ] She had always treated my mother like her own daughter. When my mom was alive , we were very close . [ ] But after she passed , Grandma Miller disliked my father's cut - throat business attitude , and we gradually drifted apart . ] ] But she was always good to me , calling every few weeks just to check in . [ ] And she never missed sending a gift for a holiday . [ ] Last month , when I called to tell her I was getting married , she was so happy she couldn't sleep for two days . If it weren't for her age and frail health , she would have flown to Chicago in a heartbeat . ] Then again , it was probably a good thing she didn't . [ ] 1 glossed over what really happened at the wedding , just telling her the Bernard family didn't seem to value me much , that I'd called it off and wanted to come study design with her . [ ] But she was so sharp , she could tell from the slight tremor in my voice that something terrible had happened . ] ] Her heart ached for me so much she started crying right there on the phone , and she'd insisted on coming to pick me up herself first thing this morning . ] " Grandma , I'm so sorry I got your hopes up for nothing . The wedding didn't happen . " [ ] " Good ! Our Aurora is a beautiful flower . No need to plant her in a pile of cow dung . " " Cough , cough ! " I nearly choked , amazed by her still - feisty spirit . [ ] " Come on , let's go ! Grandma's going to give you a proper welcome , wash away all that bad luck . From now on , our Aurora is going to be happy , every single day ! " ] ] I smiled and nodded , pulling out my phone to let Eleanor know I'd arrived safely . But the moment I turned it on , a flood of notifications exploded across the screen . My phone vibrated nonstop for a full two minutes . [ ] A quick glance showed that 90 % of them were from Gideon and Felix . [ ] screen . [] I didn't even bother to read them . I just blocked both of their numbers , and Stella's for good measure . [ ] I sent a quick text to Eleanor , then turned the screen off again . [ ] 11:37 WON ORTA YOM Maid Mwww.t00 W Condling 308 Bath Time to Make Her INTERNET TAMOUS Chapter 9 I supported the chattering old lady as we made our way out of the bustling airport . ] The moment I stepped into the sunlight , the tightness that had been gripping my chest finally began to ease . A month later , at the studio . ] I was finally forced to admit - there's always someone better . [ ] I had always thought I was talented enough in design , having won plenty of awards back in college . [] But after meeting the geniuses on Grandma's team , I felt like I was being completely humbled . [ ] I turned down the " official designer " position Grandma offered me , deciding to start from the bottom as an intern . ] ] I spent my days shadowing these masters , learning their advanced design philosophies , so busy I was practically run off my feet . ] But just when I thought these peaceful days would last forever , I got a tearful call from Eleanor . [ ] " Aurora , Gideon and Felix have been hounding me , asking where you are , but I never told them , I swear . " ] " But yesterday , my dad secretly read our texts and told them where you are ! It's all my fault . I never thought Gideon would be so low as to use my dad against me ! " " Did I just cause you a lot of trouble ? Aurora ? "