Aurora

I can't believe this. This guy is unbelievable. I have no idea what made him care about me so much but it was not helping me. I seriously had no idea that the notorious and narcissistic Armando Russo could 'care' for someone and that too his wife whom he hates so much. Nor did I care, but it was hard to resist the way my heart thumped aggressively in response to these acts. I hope he does not have a sheer motive behind these gestures and that they are genuine. 

"So, who is this friend of yours?" His voice brought me back to reality and I composed myself before responding without looking his way. 

"An old friend from university" The car stopped at the red signal and I gazed at the pinkish sky. The sun was setting and the view looked very mesmerising and warm. 

"And why are you meeting him?" Armando enquired again making me roll my eyes. 

"Is it bad to meet an old friend? And why are you asking me such questions? He is not a criminal so you can relax" I gave him a sarcastic smile and he stared into my eyes before leaning closer to my face taking me by surprise. His hand went up to the corner of my lips as he spoke. 

"Because it would be rude of me not to have precise knowledge about him before having an official meeting as your husband. And" A smirk formed on his lips as he took something in his hand before withdrawing his fingers away from my skin, making me shiver. The sensation of their roughness lingered on my skin as I tried to listen to what he was saying. "I couldn't let him have the privilege of having dinner with my wife, alone" I stared into his eyes with nothing but astonishment. 

"This looks like a nut, you haven't eaten any proper meal since morning?" He asked, completely unaware of the chaos that he created inside my heart.

"You are really difficult to understand, I don't know what to believe" I whispered in a soft voice as the atmosphere around us went numb. It seemed like only two of us mattered at the moment and nothing else had any importance. His smirk from earlier was long gone and his eyes turned softer than before. A lump formed in my throat when his eyes went to my lips, and my hold on the strap of my purse tightened when he leaned again, his hot breath on my skin made my senses numb and I closed my eyes, waiting to feel his soft lips. I remember our kiss, as rough and harsh as it was, it was so euphoric.

The car's honk from behind disturbed us and we quickly pulled ourselves away from each other. I looked out the window, feeling embarrassed and Armando didn't speak a word either. The rest of the ride was silent and we finally reached the restaurant where Luca was waiting for me. 

Armando went to attend a call and asked me to go inside and I gladly took the opportunity since I was still affected by what happened in the car. We had almost kissed and even I was questioning about my life at this point. What about the plan of ignoring him and focusing on myself?

"Senorita!" Luca's voice made me instantly smile and I rushed towards where he was sitting. Dressed in a white suit with his hair neatly done, he stood up from the chair and welcomed me with his arms wide open. "It's so good to see you after such a long time darling" He spoke in a gentle voice and engulfed me into his warm hug that I gladly accepted. 

"Same, I missed you so much my little potato!" I spoke and pulled away. "How come you look this good after work?" I questioned as I observed how neat and fresh he looked despite working so much while I was too exhausted. 

Because of someone who made my life chaos in less than two days, all thanks to him. 

"You know me Senorita, I am good looking. This is my charm" He spoke in his usual flirtatious tone making me scoff playfully. He didn't change a bit. 

"Wait until you get married" I laughed and watched his expression change into an annoyed one. 

"Why is everyone so eager for me to get married? First mom and now you, come on love, don't you like me this way? Handsome and single and most importantly, available" He passed me a wink with a small smirk on his face that made me shake my head. I was about to respond but was interrupted by a deep voice from behind that sent shivers down my spine. 

"No thanks, she'll pass your useless offer. And her name is Aurora" Armando stood next to me as he passed daggers at Luca who stared at him with astonishment. When did he come here? 

"Oh! I didn't know Senorita had the intention of coming with her husband. You should have informed me, we would have gone somewhere nicer" Luca passed Armando a smile only to get a cold shoulder in response. I glared at him and nudged his shoulder, signalling him to be at least nice and express some human decency. 

"My apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt your 'friend-to-friend' meeting but we both were at work since morning and didn't get to spend some time together. Aurora told me she had something important to discuss with you but I insisted on tagging along" I scoffed internally at his excuse and the way he changed his personality in a second. He was unbelievable. 

Insisted, no you forced yourself to come along with me.

"Anyways, I am Armando, nice to meet you" He introduced himself with a small smile and Luca accepted by shaking hands with him. 

"Luca Rossi, Aurora's best friend" The three of us sat down with Armando next to me and Luca in front of both of us. "So how is marriage life treating you Senorita? I am sorry I couldn't attend your wedding, I was stuck on this important project that I got after such hard work" I smiled and shook my head in response while Armando was deadly quiet, just listening to our conversation.

"I understand, we all are busy. I am happy that you finally got that project" I replied before taking a sip of shiraz. 

"And the marriage life is treating us well, we enjoy each other's company" I almost choked on the wine upon hearing Armando's words. I looked at him shocked while he didn't budge his eyes away from Luca who chuckled and raised his glass of champagne in the air, giving us a toast. 

"To the happy married life" 

"To the happy married life" Armando repeated and clicked the glass with Luca's as they drank their drinks. An ache formed in my chest as I stared at Armando. I knew he said such stuff to maintain his reputation, he didn't mean those words. I knew this was what we were supposed to do, to pretend but why it was affecting me? Why was I wishing it to be true? A lump formed in my throat and I again sipped my wine, trying to ignore this ache that was increasing with each passing minute. 

"So Aurora, what did you want to talk about?" Luca's voice snapped me out of my deep thoughts as I looked into his eyes with a small smile. 

"My company is organising an important event for Mr Greco, you know his son is going to become the next CEO of his company. The Villa Erba stood up to my and Mr Greco's expectations, but you know the process of booking an appointment, so I was wondering if you could help me find a reservation" Luca nodded with a smile as he raised his glass in the air.

"Consider it done. Anything for you, Senorita" My body went stiff when I heard a low growl beside me. I glanced at Armando only to see him subtly glaring at Luca. Was he jealous? 

My heart fluttered at this thought. Stop it Aurora! He hates for God's sake!

But his actions are saying otherwise...  The voice in my head retorted making me scoff internally. Armando was like a closed book full of twisted secrets. No one can predict his next move, and I was far beyond understanding what was going on in that brain of his. 

"Thank you, Luca, I appreciate it. My secretary Stacy will get in touch with you" I informed them and noticed the way his eyes sparkled a bit but soon they were replaced with their usual warm gaze. "Of course, I will be waiting" He replied and the rest of the night went with our conversations with Armando's constant killer gazes on Luca. He didn't react when I mentioned about Mr Greco's party. Maybe he wasn't planning on taking me with him. 

A knot formed in my chest at this thought. 

"You know, you could've been nice" I spoke the moment we entered the penthouse, following Armando who took out his blazer and loosened his tie, revealing his strong toned body at the same time that my eyes couldn't resist peeking at. 

"Trust me Aurora, that was the nicest I've ever been with someone who kept testing my patience" He replied in a cold tone as he turned around, his eyes expressing annoyance as he stared into my eyes. "I don't understand that guy, why on Earth you were friends with him?" He continued and scoffed as he walked towards the kitchen and took out a whiskey glass. 

"That does not concern you, and maybe you should reconsider the definition of being nice because I think that word has a different meaning in your dictionary" I rolled my eyes and turned around, ready to walk into my room but my legs froze when I heard his deep voice. 

"I am not done speaking with you little dove, come here" My throat went dry when his hoarse voice passed through my ears, making me feel sensations straight to my core. 

"I don't want to have any sort of conversation with you. And you can't order me like this Mr Russo" I replied while not turning away and just peeking at him. There was a moment of silence before I heard him letting out a deep chuckle and walking towards me with the glass of whiskey in his hand. I didn't know why my legs refused to move, but at the same time, I was curious to know what he was planning. 

"I was not ordering you little dove, I was asking you" My body shivered when I felt the heat of his body burning on my back. "Your subtle acts of running away are making me amused. Does my presence affect you?" He whispered in a deep voice near my ear without touching me, making my legs weak in an instant. 

I quickly turned around before the walls that I created around my heart could break. 

"What made you think that I was running away from you? And yes, your presence does affect me. It makes me irritated" I glared at him but that didn't change his expressions and his eyes sparkled. He tilted his head as he took a sip of the whiskey while staring into my eyes, the mere act making my heart beat fast. What was happening to me?

"You sure about that? Because the way you got triggered, tells me the reason is something else" He smirked and took a step towards me while I backed away while maintaining eye contact. "You are again running away from me. Are you scared that something might happen that you are afraid of?" He spoke while taking another step earning the same response from me. I didn't realise when I got near the wall and the next thing that happened was him caging me between his strong arms as the glass shattered on the floor. 

"You still didn't answer my question, why were you avoiding me, little dove?" His expression changed into a serious one as he asked me a question that I didn't want to answer. 

"Why do you care? You hate me, so you should be happy" 

"Who told you that I hate you, Aurora Russo?" 

[TO BE CONTINUED]