Chapter 18- SICK BED

'Mother, mother!" Leonardo burst into his parent's Dallas home, panicked as he looked around for his mother. He quickly ran up the stairs taking on three steps at a time until he got to his parents room. He stopped, unlocked the door as slowly as he could, anticipating the worst to come of this day.

Leonardo unlocked the door, walked into the room and just as he turned his head, on the king sized bed laid his mother. She was asleep with two nurses tending to her. This scene replayed in his head a million times. Many times growing up he had seen his mother in her bed, sick.

Her habit had nearly killed her not once but at least four times and it seemed as though every time that she got sick, the more she was determined to spiral out of control.

'Mother" Leonardo whispered, fearing the thought of walking towards his mother. Seeing her weak in bed afar, was far worse than Leonardo walking close to his mother.

'Signora Carina, your son is here" the nurse whispered into her ear and like a command, Signora Carina's eyes opened and searched for her son. Her eyes stopped as she spotted Leonardo and smiled, although her smile was weak, Leonardo was glad that his mother was strong enough to smile.

'Come here, mi hijo" signora Carina beckoned her son to walk towards her, Leonardo took the first step towards his mother and the rest simply followed. He sat next to his mother on her sick bed, not once removing attention from her.

'How are you Madre?" he asked his mother, masking his emotions with a smile.

'Why are you back so early from your honeymoon my son?" Signora Carina questioned her son, who simply leaned in and kissed his mother on her forehead. Signora Carina signaled for the nurses to leave the room and they left.

His heart melting at how thoughtful his mother was even though she was sick in bed.

'I had to come back Madre, you are sick and your health is my main concern, always" Leonardo told his mother.

'No I should not" his mother exclaimed.

'Why not?"

'Because you are married, my son, and your wife should always be your priority" his mother told him, her eyes burning into his, leaving no room for doubt.

'Mother—"

'How is your wife and how are you two handling being married?" his mother asked him, silence filed the room. He could not lie to his mother because she would read him like a book, if he told her the truth and her health might deteriorate. Leonardo cleared his throat, looked at his mother and smiled at her.

'Madre, Avena and I have only been married for barely two days and I cannot answer you for sure" Leonardo honestly answered his mother and steered away from giving his mother a clear answer.

'I see. Do not worry; I know that love will bloom between the both of you. I cannot wait for you and Avena to have children" Signora Carina clapped her hands together, excitement written over her face. Her happiness was all that Leonardo cared about and he would do everything in his power to make sure that his mother stayed happy.

'Mother, I have to leave now, you need all the rest that you can get" Leonardo told his mother and before he could completely get off her bed, she stopped him by holding onto his wrist. Leonardo looked at her and once more, she was sad. 'What is it mother?"

'I only want one thing from you before I sleep" his mother told him, her tone of voice frail and her face looked weak.

'That is?"

'I want to see my daughter in-law before I sleep" his mother asked of him, Leonardo let out a breath of relief as he thought that his mother would have asked for an impossible task from him.

'I will go and get her now" Leonardo kissed his mother again and he exited the room. Walking down the hallway, Leonardo balled his hand into a fist. There was no amount of anger that matched the way in which Leonardo felt, his mother was sick. She had refused to let go of her addiction and now it was costing her life once more and Leonardo could not bear the thought of seeing her sick.

He arrived at the living room, only to see that his wife was seated with his father, having a conversation. Her body posture was wrong, even though her back turned to him, Leonardo knew that she was uncomfortable.

'Avena" Leonardo called out to her and immediately she turned to face him, her face beckoning him to get her out of there.

'Yes" she answered.

'Please come with me, my mother wants to see you"

'Oh come on son, your mother can wait, I was having a conversation with your wife" Signor, Metteo insisted but Leonardo was not having any of it. The fear in Aurora's eyes was enough to want to get her out of there.

'No father, mother needs her rest and before she could get that rest, she wants to see my wife" He explained, hoping that his father would not push further. To Leonardo's surprise, his father raised his glass of scotch and cheered to them.

'Take your wife to your mother but after that, your wife and myself have a lot of things to talk about" his father told him, the smirk on his face was one that Leonardo so wished he could slap.

'See you later, father" without waiting for his father to say another word to him, Leonardo took Aurora's hand in his and walked away with her. Although she tried to seem calm, her hands were shaking in his and Leonardo could only hope that his father had not traumatized his wife.

On their way towards his mother's room, Leonardo walked as slow as he possibly could towards his mother's room because he needed answers as soon as possible. Aurora's hand still in his hand, stopped in front of his mother's door and looked at her.

'What did my father say to you?" Aurora shocked at how blunt Leonardo was in asking her that question so much that she looked at him, pupils widened and eyebrows raised.

'Nothing, we were just talking" she lied. Frustrated with her inability to tell the truth, Leonardo let out a frustrated breath and placed his hands on his hips.

'Avena I know my father would not simply talk to someone, now you are going to tell me what he said to you" Leonardo's stern voice and the look of anger on his face was enough for Aurora to know that he was serious.

'He asked me about the Russo family properties—I mean, my family properties" Aurora corrected herself before Leonardo could notice that there was something completely wrong.

'Damnit! Leonardo slapped his leg, anger boiling throughout his body. 'I apologize for my father's behavior" Leonardo apologized, his facial expression sincere.

'It's okay"

'No it's not okay! He can't just ask you for such" Leonardo vented his anger at her.

'It is okay, I may be a lot of things but I am no fool" Aurora responded, her answer leaving Leonardo stunned.

'Meaning?"

'We are not children, Leonardo. You and I both know that the only reason that we got married was because we needed a business alliance between our families. Your family own vineyards and my family has large pieces of land, the same ones that your family would benefit from" Aurora replied plainly.

She had known about this wedding arrangement the entire time and all thanks to Avena constantly blabbering about the reason for this marriage, now Aurora knew it all.

'I keep forgetting, you are just as cunning as they are" Leonardo spat out, his laugher cynical as can be, leaving Aurora confused.

'What do you mean?"

'Avena Russo, you are just like your parents and my father. All this is a game for you, the money and power is all you crave"

'That's not true!"

'Then what is it Avena? You all want money and power, always"

'I am not like that" Aurora tried explaining to him but Leonardo turned away from her.

I wish I could tell you that I am not part of this; I want to tell you the truth but cannot tell you the truth because in telling the truth, I might ruin two families. Aurora kept thinking to herself as she watched Leonardo unlock the door to his mother's room but he paused.

'My mother is very sick, try not to upset her" Leonardo told her and walked into the room without waiting for her. Aurora quickly followed Leonardo into the room and as she entered she saw Signora Carina lying in bed. She had only met her mother in-law once before but the woman that laid on the bed looked different.

She looked frail and lost a lot of weight since the last time that they had met and this broke Aurora's heart but she tried not to show any emotions on her face. She could not bear the thought of making her mother in-law feel worse than she already was.

'Good day Signora Carina" Aurora greeted her and walked towards her mother in-law with a smile on her face. Seeing her mother in-law's face brightened touched her heart, other than her late mother and Signora Meta, no one was ever happy to see her.

'Come on here, Mi hija" Signora beckoned Aurora to come closer to her in which she did. Aurora took a seat on Signora Carina's bed, next to her while Leonardo stood by the window in silence.

She did not know what was going through his head, but Aurora knew that he was probably being tortured just thinking of how bad he must have been feeling because of his mother's illness.

'Greetings mother" Aurora greeted her mother in-law once more, Signora Carina said nothing at first as she inspected her daughter in-law.

'You are more beautiful than the last time I saw you and don't call me mother in-law, mother would do just fine" Aurora's heart melted, finally she would get the love of a mother, the kind of love that she had been craving all her life. Her heart filled with love and a tear almost fell from her eye.

'Yes, from now onwards I will call you mi madre" Aurora told her mother in-law who smiled.
Leonardo watched from where he stood at the window, he listened to his mother converse with the woman who was now his wife and Leonardo was once again lost. One moment his wife was the most spoilt and arrogant woman that he had ever met and other times, she was sweet, caring and considerate.

I'll figure you out Avena Russo and that is a promise. Leonardo told himself as he watched both his wife and mother converse.