Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

As expected, Justin took Aurora off the ship. Ivy, standing on the deck, caught sight of them and exclaimed, "Why does she get to leave? I want to leave too!"

In recent days, Mrs. Woolf and Justin had been carefully keeping Ivy and Aurora apart, fearing that Ivy might harm her. Ivy's life on the ship had begun to resemble that of Cinderella in a dark fairy tale-endless laundry and cleaning. She felt like she was slowly turning into a servant.

"She got permission from the boss," Frank said, noticing the envy and bitterness on Ivy's face. He could tell she was struggling with the unfairness of it all.

"Then I want to leave too. Can you talk to the boss for me?" Ivy pleaded.

"Maybe next time. The boss already left," Frank replied, fully aware that Ivy wanted to escape. Living this grueling life on the ship every day-of course, she would be desperate to leave.

Ivy's gaze fixated on Aurora, filled with resentment. God, could you be any more unfair?

Aurora, however, treated Ivy like a stranger. Given all Ivy had done to her in the past, Aurora knew she only needed to say the word, and Justin would throw Ivy overboard to feed the sharks. The fact that she hadn't done so was mercy enough. Forgiving Ivy or helping her was something Aurora couldn't bring herself to do. Everyone had to face the consequences of their actions.

When Aurora stepped onto land, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. After so many days of drifting on the sea, the solid ground beneath her feet brought a rare sense of stability.

"You haven't had anything to eat yet. Let's find a place to eat," Justin suggested, his tone filled with concern.

Though Justin had essentially kept her captive by his side, Aurora didn't resent him. She believed he was just temporarily blinded by obsession and would come to his senses eventually.

Fate hadn't been too unkind to her, Aurora thought. Back in her darkest days in New York, she had met Asher. He had been her light, staying by her side and helping her through those hard times. He had cared for her with the same attentiveness Justin was showing now. Thinking of Asher made her heart ache a little. He must be worried sick about her, just like Julian.

"Are you thinking of him again?" Justin asked, breaking her train of thought.

honestly. "I was thinking of a friend of mine. If he

heart clenched at

life during its darkest chapter, like

Justin asked, his

be friends. Love just doesn't happen. We spent three years together, working hard side by side, but I never fell in love with him. To me, he's family. And family

I will never love you. No matter how long you keep me by your side, that fact

couldn't help but feel that Aurora

won't fall in love with me if you don't even try?" Justin asked, frustration

for so many years. I couldn't betray him. If I were to have his child and still try

us for the complete experience—all

you have his child,"

be

Mrs. Woolf quickly interjected, trying to change the subject. "Alright, alright, didn't we say we were

take her time showing

go there?" Aurora suggested. It had been a long time since she'd had

Mrs. Woolf exchanged awkward glances. Having spent most of their lives at sea, they

"If you

stiffened at the contact, uncomfortable with physical closeness to men. But Justin had previously declared that they were a couple in public, so Aurora had no choice but to go along

the nicer places in this small town. Soft

environments, fit in naturally. But Justin and Mrs. Woolf felt out of place, their unease

was the world Aurora belonged to, he wanted to be part of