Chapter 15- ISLAND LIFE

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 he normally woke.

Rubbing his eyes of his fatigue, Leonardo got off his bed and walked out of his room, upon walking into the hallway, his nose caught wind of the smell of freshly made pancakes, fried eggs and sausages.

Leonardo rubbed his eyes, not believing what he was smelling. He lived alone most of his life and had gotten by with making cereal in the morning and the smell of good food was the first in many years was welcomed by him.

He walked out to the living area and to his surprise, he saw Aurora cooking in the kitchen. She looked relaxed as though she had done it all her life.

'Avena"

'Yes" Aurora spun around, white marks on her face, a pan in one hand and a spatula in another with a smile on her face.

Leonardo held in his laugh, but just when he thought he had it under control, he burst out laughing and the smile on Aurora's face faded as she looked upset. Leonardo watched as Aurora dropped both the spatula and pan into the sink, placed her hands on her hips and looked at him with a grumpy expression on her face.

'What is so funny?" She angrily asked him.

'Well you have something on your face" Leonardo pointed at her face, Aurora tried wiping her face but the more she cleaned, the more flour she got on her face.

'Stop doing that, you are only making matters worse than it should be" Leonardo told her, walked towards her, grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped her face.

Time seemed to have slowed as Leonardo wiped the flour from her face as she looked at him, the heat rose as everything felt hotter and she was sure that the heat had nothing to do with the Hawaiian heat.

Realizing how close they were to one another, Leonardo stepped back from Aurora, looking everywhere except at her.

'So you can cook?" he asked, looking at the dining room table, filled with many delicacies.

'Yes I can cook, what did you think I do every day at home?" Aurora asked Leonardo but quickly shut her mouth as she realized that she was revealing too much of Aurora rather than Avena.

'I'm sorry for judging you but I did not think that you were the type of person that liked to cook. I figured that being Avena Russo, your parents wouldn't allow you to step into the kitchen" Leonardo joked and Aurora smiled.

Well you are right there; Avena never stepped into the kitchen to cook herself a meal. Avena thought to herself as she quickly rushed to get the remainder of the pancakes off the pan and carefully placed it onto a plate and then onto the table.

'Let's eat" Aurora told Leonardo as she sat down, prayed for her food and began eating whilst Leonardo stared at her in awe.

'Avena!" Leonardo called her but Aurora kept digging into her food as though she had not heard him call out to her.

'Avena!" Leonardo called her once more it was by then that Aurora looked up at Leonardo, realizing that he had been calling out to her, or rather, the new identity she had been given.

'Yes" she answered, embarrassed that she was almost caught.

'I was calling out to you but you acted like you did not hear me, even though you are standing in front of me" Leonardo pointed out to Aurora who swallowed her food and cleared her throat.

'My apologies, I just get carried away when I am hungry" Aurora lied but it seemed as though Leonardo had believed her little lie. She watched as Leonardo pulled out his chair and sat down to eat his breakfast but not before looking at her once more.

'Thank you very much for the food, I really appreciate it" Leonardo thanked her and continued eating his food.

**
'I am telling you, something is not right about Avena" Leonardo complained to his best friend over the phone as he paced his room. The beauty of the beach house no longer amused him, after coming here for vocations in his younger days, only to spend it with parents who were always out working.

'How so?" Ricardo asked Leonardo through the phone as he sipped on his margarita on the beaches of Fiji.

'I am in no way doubting that Avena can be rude, stubborn but she cooked breakfast this morning"

'What, can see actually cook?"

'Yes she can, I might as well admit that she does a better job than my own mother" Leonardo confessed. His mother was an excellent cook but most of his meals were cooked and served by private chefs.

'That is a shocker"

'You are telling me what I already know" Leonardo vented to his best friend as he scratched his head.

'Well if she can cook then that is one battle won"

'How so?"

'Avena Russo is a brat that cares for no one but herself, if she can cook then that will make her more bearable don't you think?" Ricardo asked Leonardo whom rolled his eyes.

'Ricardo—"

'No Leonardo think about it, my friend"

'You are not making any sense Ricardo and food cannot fix bad character" Leonardo pointed out to his best friend who laughed it off.

'Well maybe for you but I am an Italian man and food always puts me in a good mood. Anyways, I have to go now; these ladies are not going to wait for me forever"

'Or you could always come and visit me here, let's have a bro's night out" Leonardo offered, hoping that his offer would persuade his best friend to fly over from Fiji to Hawaii to come and visit him.

'Thank you for the offer but I would much prefer to the company of these lovely women" Ricardo told Leonardo, killing all his hopes of spending time away from Avena.

'Bye" Leonardo angrily told his best friend as he ended the call between them.

**
'Signora Meta, I do not think I can do this anymore. I am becoming someone that I do not recognize any longer" Aurora pleaded with Signora Meta on the other end of the phone. She had only been married for one whole day and already she had already lied more than she had in her entire life.

'I know how you feel my dear but we have to do this, we needed to do what it" Signora Meta tried explaining things to Aurora, which had not made matters any better for either of them. Aurora slumped onto the floor as she was almost in tears, thinking of all the lies she had told.

'But Signora Meta, what if his family finds out that I am not Avena? I am quite sure that he would kill me or worse what will happen if Signor Giovanni and Signora Mia find out, then what?" Aurora asked, thinking of all the rumors that were spread about the Russo's. They could end her life, she was aware of it, and the thought itself would haunt her.

'Nothing will happen to you my dear, I will make sure that they do not touch you"

'How would you do that?"

'Don't worry my beautiful Aurora, I have your back, always" Signora Meta's words had brought Aurora some sort of reassurance.

'Okay Signora Meta, I trust you"

'Good, I will call you back later my dear. The Russo's are still in hiding and the employees think it is okay to slack off" Signora Meta explained and then she ended the call. The ending of the phone call left a hole in Aurora's heart, she was about to visit the island along with Leonardo and she had no idea what to expect from him.

She knew that she had to act like Avena to keep her act going but Avena was not who she was. Whereas Avena was rude and arrogant, Aurora was kind and humble.

Aurora quickly stood up from the floor, removed the dust from her clothing and wiped her tears away, she swallowed the last of her fears and looked at herself in the mirror.

'You are no longer Aurora but rather you are now Avena Russo" she sternly told herself and exited her beach house, room, only to meet Leonardo standing outside her room.

Her heart stopped beating, her pupils dilated as she stared at Leonardo in the eyes. He heard everything I said. She thought to herself as she quickly thought of what lie to tell next.

'Hey, I just came to fetch you but you opened the door before I could knock" Leonardo told her, the smile was genuine and that settled Aurora a bit.

'So you were standing in front of my room the entire time?" Aurora asked and the smile on Leonardo's face disappeared

'I just told you that I was about to knock on your door and you appeared before I could do that, do you always have to think the worst of me?" Leonardo asked, irritated that she would accuse him of spying on her.

Feeling relived that Leonardo had not heard a word that she had spoken with Signora Meta so much that she finally allowed herself to pleasure of breathing. To her surprise, Leonardo left her presence.

'Hey, where are you going?" She called out to him.

'Waiting for you outside, before you accuse me of spying on you more" Leonardo continued walking until he was out of sight. His behavior left Aurora fuming a she stood in front of her room, deciding that it was best that she followed him.

Upon arriving outside the house, Aurora paused on the porch. For the first time since they arrived last night, she could actually see how beautiful Hawaii was. The beautiful blue waters were still, birds circled overhead and the pale cream and golden caramel colored sand welcomed her too. She felt as though she was a kid in a candy store.

'If you are going to stand there the entire day, then I might as well walk without you" she heard Leonardo's voice, breaking through her trance like state.