If there was ever a time that Aurora was thankful to Avena for calling her, this was the time. In the time that Avena had yelled out her name, the handsome stranger had turned his attention towards the tailor. She had hoped that he would not come after her and surely, she had not seen him again.She had wanted to apologize to him but seeing him in the store had only made her angrier as she figured out the kind of man he might have been. From the way he spoke, he sounded Italian, at least one that has lived out of the country for quite some time.Aurora had come across such men before; they would come back and use the local girls, whilst flaunting their money or rather, money that belonged to their parents. They were the kind of rich kids such as Avena.“You look disturbed” Aurora turned to face Avena and quickly plastered a smile on her face. Avena was not one to care whether someone looked upset or not therefore, her comment was strange.&ldq
“Do it for your mother, do it for your mother” Leonardo repeated to himself as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, hoping that by saying those words repeatedly, it would somehow make things better for him but it did not.He had always heard that the mind was a powerful tool but now that he tried convincing himself, it felt as though his mind was not that powerful at all. Dressed in his designer suit, readying himself for a lifelong commitment with a total stranger, drained the last of the happiness inside of him. One that not even a designer suit could.His best friend, Ricardo had called him earlier to wish him the best of luck even though they both knew that there was nothing lucky about this union.The knocking on Leonardo’s door steered his attention away from his reflection in the mirror.“Come in” he answered, his mother peered her face into the room, smiling at him. Knowing that he could not display his unhappin
Aurora could not believe who she was seeing, she knew that the voice was familiar but she had not looked at the man before her throughout the ceremony and now that she had set her eyes on him, she was furious.*flashback*“Signora Meta!” she called out as panic set in her voice. Avena had eloped with her boyfriend and now the jobs of every employee was at stake and that worried Aurora. She looked in the kitchen, living room and everywhere else but still, Avena was nowhere to be found.“Aurora!” she turned around and there signora Meta called out to her and only then Aurora’s heart relaxed. She ran towards signora Meta and held her hand as she mumbled some words.“Calm down” Signora Meta told Aurora as she held her by both her shoulders as to calm her down. “What is the matter?” Signora Meta asked her and Aurora could not bring herself to res
*flashback*“I am not a liar, I am not a liar” Aurora repeatedly told herself as she sat in Avena’s bed. The party was in full swing and for the first time, everyone was catering to her needs and not the other way around. Her new mother in-law, Carina Romano was a sweet woman, making conversations with her and introducing her to all of her friends. The rest of the employees were pleased with Signora Meta’s decision, so much that none of them had acted out of the ordinary. They even referred to Aurora as Avena and often she would forget that she had gained a new identity as of this day.As soon as she got the chance, Aurora sneaked away into Avena’s room. Upon arriving there, she shut the door behind her, as she needed to be alone. Crying had been her last resort; she buried her face in her hands and fell to the floor.The guilt was overwhelming, a white lie was s
HAPTER 14: ALONE“This looks just like it did in my dreams” Aurora whispered beneath her breath. Leonardo heard what Aurora had said and looked, she looked like a kid in a candy store which only made him want to know more about his new wife.Aurora feeling his gaze on her, turned her head and their eyes met.“Why do you like staring?”“I just find it so amusing that someone like you would find such a place beautiful”“So in essence you are saying that I am too much of a snob to appreciate good architecture when I see it?” she asked him, Leonardo stared at her in silence and then cracked a smile from the corner of his lips.“You said it not me” Leonardo told her, smiled and walked into the beach house. Aurora stood at the entrance almost smiling herself, for the first time, she noticed that Leonard had some sense of humor.She
The sound of the waves smashing against the rocks soothed Aurora; it was unlike her little room at the basement of the Russo mansion, which was often cold. The feeling she had in her beach house room was peaceful and warm.Her bed was extremely comfortable and there were no springs pinching through her mattress. She had always ran her fingers onto Avena’s mattress just to feel the soft cotton gracing her hand but now as she slept, Aurora could not help but to smile in her sleep.Aurora awoke from her peaceful sleep, as soon as she opened her eyes, rays of light streamed through her curtains as Aurora realized that it was already morning and she needed to get up. Being a house cleaner almost all her adult life had thought Aurora to wake up at dawn without fail.**Leonardo woke from his sleep, feeling more tired than he had ever felt before, he looked at the clock bedside her bedroom table and it was already eight in the morning, two hours later than
“If you are going to stand there the entire day, then I might as well walk without you” Leonardo arrogantly told her, killing the world of day dream that Aurora was experiencing.“You derive joy from ruining my day, don’t you?” she asked him, hands on her hips and she impatiently awaited for his answer but she was only met with silence. Although mad at her, Leonardo stopped himself from smiling. Aurora’s actions were just like his mother’s when she was mad at his father.He knew that arguing with his newly wedded wife would get him nowhere as he quickly remembered some wise words. Happy wife, happy life. Leonardo turned away from Aurora and walked along the beach, just like he had predicted, she followed behind him. Whereas his long longs easily navigated through the sand, Aurora struggled to keep up with him.“I could carry you if you like” Leonardo teased her, turning around, looking into h
Trying to lighten the mood between the both of them had not worked, so much that even Aurora kept to herself. They were simply two married strangers, just sitting together and admiring everything around them except at each other.Leonardo uncomfortable drank his coconut drink and gulped it down in haste, trying to calm the nerves and uneasy feelings that he was feeling within himself.“You don’t have to make things awkward like this” Aurora spoke, breaking the lengthy silence between the both of them. Leonardo turned and faced Aurora, her face unreadable but he could tell that she was just as uncomfortable as he was.“I do not understand what you are trying to say, mi Signora” Leonardo responded, his response stopping Aurora in her track as she felt a small jilt of happiness. For the first time since Leonardo and she got married, he referred to her as ‘his lady’ as though he was finally acknowledging her.“I