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.

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

heart clenched

"He came into my life during its darkest chapter, like a ray of sunlight. Without him, I

isn't he your fiancé?" Justin asked, his voice

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 isn't

"It's the same with you, Justin. You're a good man, but I will never love you.

He couldn't help but feel that Aurora was

won't fall in love with me if you don't even

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

for the complete experience—all for free.

don't mind if you

It wouldn't be fair to

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

time showing

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

spent most of their lives at sea, they were unaccustomed to dining in

hesitation, Aurora quickly added, "If you don't

to men. But Justin had previously declared that they were a couple in public, so Aurora had no choice but to go along with

but it was one of the nicer places in this small town. Soft music played

But Justin

made an effort to adapt. If this was the world Aurora belonged to, he wanted to be