Ingrid St. Claire dated Malcolm Whitly Bright in college. She loved him, but they wanted different things out of life. At least, that's what she told their daughter, to explain why they weren't together. 

Aurora was named for her father--named after the bright lights in the sky. Growing up, she knew who her father was, and that he wasn't in her life first and foremost because her mom had chosen not to tell him she was pregnant when they broke up, and to raise her alone. There was a bit of struggling in the early years, with Ingrid being a single mom, but she found a way to provide without ever having to go to Malcolm for help. Keeping Aurora was her choice, after all, and she didn't want to make her choice Malcolm's burden. Still. Struggles aside, they were never unhappy. Aurora always knew that she was loved, unconditionally. She was fine with it just being her and her mom. But then Ingrid got diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

Her mom fought for as long as she could, but when it became clear that she wasn't going to make it much longer, Ingrid reached out to Malcolm. She wanted him to know about their daughter before she was gone, so CPS wasn't just dropping a teenager into his lap out of nowhere. Aurora met her father for the first time during the worst time of her life, and it was awkward, to say the very least. Still. Even with minimal interaction before her mom's death, she could see that he was every bit the good man her mom had always said he was.