Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Mia And Selena
"Mia, tell me where you are. I’ll come over right now."
On the other end, Mia’s voice came quickly, with a little tremble in it. "No, no! There’s no need for you to come. I’m fine, really."
Aurora’s voice stayed calm but carried a quiet weight. "If you’re in trouble, just tell me. I’ll come right away."
Mia hurried to reply. "Really, Aurora, I’m okay. There’s nothing wrong. You don’t need to worry."
And then she hung up.
Aurora stared at her phone in silence for a long time.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her thoughts grew heavier.
Something about this whole situation felt wrong.
Mia’s voice had trembled, and Selena’s presence felt off. Slowly, she muttered under her breath, "It’s better if I check it myself."
She moved quickly to her laptop, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
With a few lines of code, she hacked into Mia’s phone’s location.
When the coordinates appeared on her screen, her eyes narrowed with suspicion, and she thought in her mind.
’As expected.’
The location was far from Mia’s house.
Without wasting a second, she grabbed her bag and headed out.
The address led her to a tall, modern hotel in a busy part of town.
The sight of the hotel made her pause for a moment.
A small part of her wondered if she had misunderstood the situation.
Perhaps Mia was just here for something harmless.
But she could not shake off the uneasy feeling in her chest.
She stepped out of the car after paying the Uber driver and entered the hotel.
The lobby was bustling with a few customers.
She walked straight to the reception desk.
The receptionist, a young woman with neat hair and a polite smile, looked up.
"Good evening. How can I help you?" the receptionist asked.
Aurora put on a friendly smile and stated,
"I’m looking for Mia. She’s my friend. I came to check on her. You can call her if you want to confirm."
The receptionist studied Aurora for a moment, then nodded and picked up the hotel phone.
"Do you know her full name?"
"Mia Evans," Aurora said with confidence.
The receptionist checked the records and then found the number.
She dialed a number and waited. The line connected, and a lazy, unfamiliar voice answered.
"What is it?" the voice asked.
The receptionist explained politely. "There’s a young lady named Aurora here at the reception. She says she’s here to meet Mia."
For a brief second, there was silence. Then Mia’s familiar voice came through, warm but slightly surprised.
"It’s fine. Please let her in. And could you please give her an extra keycard? We are planning a surprise for her; today is her birthday."
The receptionist hung up, checked through the keycard, took out one, and extended it in Aurora’s direction. "Room 608. You can go up. Here’s the keycard."
"Why the keycard?" Aurora acted surprised.
"It was your friend’s request." The receptionist answered with a polite smile.
Aurora took the keycard, her expression composed.
She thanked the receptionist and turned toward the elevator.
Unknown to anyone in the hotel, she had already hacked into the hotel’s system before arriving.
She had even set up a fake AI-generated voice to make sure that she got a keycard.
Aurora, with a smug expression on her face, stepped out of the elevator on the sixth floor and slowly walked down the quiet hallway toward room 608.
She stopped in front of the door, her hand gripping the keycard tightly.
For a moment, she wondered if she should knock first, but then she shook her head and swiped the card.
’What if she is in danger and the criminal inside blackmails Mia?’
By this time, Aurora had already thought of a thriller movie plot.
The lock clicked, and the door opened with a faint sound. Aurora pushed it open and stepped inside.
The first thing that reached her ears was a soft sound that made her heart jolt.
It wasn’t the sound of conversation. It was a low, shaky moan.
Her eyes widened, and a dreadful thought flashed in her mind.
’Was someone hurting Mia?’
"Mia?" she called; her voice was so loud that it reached every corner of the room.
She walked in quickly, her gaze moving across the room.
Her heart beat faster as she turned the corner and stopped abruptly.
The scene before her made her freeze on the spot.
On the bed sat Mia, her shirt pulled up slightly to reveal her back.
Selena was beside her, carefully applying medicine to a reddish bruise.
The sound Aurora had heard was Mia’s soft groan as the cool medicine touched the tender skin.
For a moment, no one spoke. Aurora stood near the door, completely stunned.
Mia’s eyes widened, and her lips parted in shock.
Selena’s hands stilled mid-motion as she slowly turned to look at Aurora.
Aurora blinked and then, trying to act calm and composed, forced a small, shy smile.
"If I say that I came here by mistake... would either of you believe me?"
Selena’s expression turned cold almost instantly. Her blue, wavy hair fluttered slightly as she moved her head.
Her narrowed eyes locked on Aurora, her voice calm yet filled with cold inquiry. "Why are you here?"
Aurora gulped, but she kept her voice steady. "I thought Mia might be in danger. She couldn’t tell me directly, so I came."
Selena raised one eyebrow, her gaze still cool. "And now that you see what is going on... can you leave?"
Aurora’s lips parted to reply, but before speaking, she remembered something from long ago.
A realization struck her like a quiet spark. She remembered the way Mia had never seemed interested in boys. Mia was into girls.
Aurora closed her eyes for a second and sighed inwardly.
How could she have been so clueless even after all this time? She felt a little foolish for having worried in the wrong way.
When she opened her eyes, she kept her voice even.
"All right. I’ll leave. But before I do..." She turned her gaze to Selena, her eyes serious. "If you ever bully my best friend, I’ll make sure you regret it."
Selena’s lips curved slightly, not in kindness but in something like amusement. "You’re interesting," she said with a faint chuckle.
Aurora frowned slightly. "What’s so interesting about me?"
Selena tilted her head and said in a voice that was both filled with mockery and scoff,
"You don’t even know Mia’s true feelings, yet you talk as if you understand her better than anyone."
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you and Mia are already in a relationship?"
That was the only thing Aurora could conclude.
Selena’s whole face turned red at once, and she stared at Aurora as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Beside her, Mia’s cheeks also flushed, and she quickly spoke up, her voice a bit louder than usual.
"No! We’re not... we’re not in that kind of relationship!"
Selena muttered something under her breath, barely audible. "Yet."
That single word slipped out before she could stop it.
Both Mia and Aurora turned their heads to look at her at the same time.
Selena cleared her throat and acted as if she hadn’t said anything at all.
Aurora coughed softly, trying to hide the awkwardness on her face. "I’ll take my leave then."
She turned and walked out of the room, her steps slower than when she had entered.
Behind her, Selena’s eyes followed her retreating figure with a thoughtful gaze.
Then she turned back to Mia and asked, "So, what are you going to do now?"
Mia rolled her eyes and turned her face away.
"Do about what? I never planned to end up with Aurora in the first place. You don’t need to act so childish."
Selena laughed softly, the corners of her lips curving as she resumed massaging Mia’s back.
Her touch was gentle, almost too gentle, more like a caress than a massage.
Her fingers moved slowly over Mia’s bruised skin, and her voice dropped into a soft whisper.
"Even if you say so, your eyes tell a different story."
Mia sighed and closed her eyes. She didn’t answer. The truth was complicated.
A part of her heart had once belonged to Aurora, especially in the past. But over time, and after seeing Aurora in a relationship with someone else, that feeling had faded.
Even though Aurora was single now... Mia still didn’t think of taking action.
Now, with Selena beside her, she found her heart being drawn in a new direction. She did not dare to admit it aloud, especially because the person in front of her wasn’t exactly who she seemed.
Selena wasn’t actually Sel... the childhood friend whom she knew very well. She wanted to observe Selena before giving her any chance.
She didn’t reply and simply turned her back again, allowing Selena to continue applying the medicine.
Selena’s eyes darkened for a brief moment as she lowered her head and, almost on impulse, placed a soft peck on Mia’s bare shoulder.
Mia’s body stiffened at the sudden cold touch of Selena’s lips.
She turned her head quickly, her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing?"