Chapter 19- SIGN

Aurora had left Leonardo's mother's room, leaving son and mother to talk alone. She had seen a different side to Leonardo once more, the nurturing and caring side of him had come out. Her heart had softened just a bit as she had seen him care for his mother, just thinking of that moment made Aurora smile at herself.

'Signora" someone called out to her and Aurora turned around to face the person. She smiled as she realized that it was one of the helpers at the Romano mansion.

'Si" Aurora answered.

'I was just wondering where are you going at this time? It is getting late" The helpers told her and pointed at the window, where the sun was beginning to go down which had come as a shock to her because she had not realized how long she was in her mother in-laws room.

'I am sorry, I did not even know that it was that late— to be honest. I guess I was day-dreaming because I do not even know where I am heading to" Aurora told the helper who flashed a kind smile at her.

'It is okay, I will take you to your room, signora"

'Thank you so much" Aurora responded and followed the helper. They stopped in front of a wide Italian wood door, the helper unlocked it and she walked in, Aurora followed behind.

Aurora's pupils widened in utter amazement, she was used to seeing beautiful houses and room but this was the first. The room was beautifully decorated in beige floral wallpaper, heavily draped white curtains covering the windows. She looked up and smiled as she saw the perfectly decorated ceiling and the fine Italian chandelier dropping from the ceiling.

The Romano family kept their home as traditional as possible, unlike the Russo's that preferred a more modern look in all their homes.

'You like it?" Aurora turned to face the helper and smile at her.

'I love it"

'That is good signora, we thought that it would not meet up to your standards" the helper pointed out to Aurora who stared at her, confused.

'What do you mean by my standard?"

'Well, you are a Russo and some of us have seen how big some of your homes are in Sicily, that is why I said what I said" she answered, her voice low, as though she was afraid of offending Aurora.

You are now Avena, remember? She mentally told herself, quickly reminding herself that she was no longer living her life but the life of Avena Russo. She turned her face at the already nervous helper and smiled at her.
Being a maid herself, Aurora had learnt a long time ago that pleasing the guest's and making sure that their needs were met was a crucial part of her job and it needed to be done at the best of one's ability.

'I absolutely love the décor and the way you have decorate the place, it looks better than the décor at the Russo mansion if I had to be honest" Aurora told the helper who gleamed with pride as she heard that.

'Well thank you for the compliment, I have to leave. Your bags have been brought in already and cloths hanged"

'Thank you so much signora Avena, dinner is at seven" she informed Aurora before walking out the room and leaving Aurora inside the room. As soon as the doors shut, Aurora threw herself onto the queen-sized bed and her back slammed against the soft Italian sheets.

She looked up at the ceiling and felt relief run through her body, the entire day she had to pretend to be Avena and now she was in her room, she could only be herself and no one else.

'Well Aurora, you have hit the jackpot" she told herself, until the door swung open and she quickly sat up on the bed"

'You?" she asked as Leonardo walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

'Oh, am I interrupting something?" he asked sarcastically, walking into the room and inspecting it.

'Yes you! What are you doing inside my room and without knocking first" Aurora angrily asked Leonardo who turned to her. His face unreadable but clearly not bothered by her discomfort to say the least, his back leaning against the door that Aurora had not even noticed in the first place.

'I'm so sorry to burst your bubble princess but you and I are technically married" Leonardo replied to her, this time sounding annoyed with Aurora's arrogance.

'And?"

'Meaning that this is not just your room but mine as well" Aurora rushed off from the bed and walked towards Leonardo, standing right in front of him as he towered over.

'This cannot happen, you and I are simply married and nothing more"

'Tell that to my parents who think that we both are a match made in heaven" Leonardo answered sarcastically as he walked past Aurora and sat on the bed, this action infuriating Aurora the more.

'I think you should go back and tell your parents that is not the case with us, we are simply two people who were forced to marry each other and that is as it goes" Aurora explained herself to Leonardo who burst out laughing.

'Are you serious? You are acting as though my parents are the only ones who agreed to this ridiculous shame of a wedding" Leonardo stood from the bed, raising his voice in utter frustration.

'Well they were!" Aurora fired at him, placing her hands on her hips as to not be forced to hit him.

'And so were your parents! I did not even want this wedding in the first place, I was forced into this" Leonardo yelled back at her but raising his voice did not seem to scare her one bit. Aurora was feisty and she would not allow Leonardo Romano to intimidate her, no one bit.

'Then why did you not just decline this wedding offer then, since you are so smart?"

'Because I did not have a choice, I made a promise" Leonardo responded, Aurora rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in frustration.

'That is golden but not a good enough excuse to marry me!"

'Then why did you agree to marry me? Because last time I heard you had some boyfriend of yours or was he not rich enough for you?" Leonardo asked Aurora who was offended that Leonardo would think of that of her but as she tried to respond, she stopped herself.

'You are not worth it"

'Have I hit a nerve, princess?"

'No you have not, I'd rather ignore you because you and I will never reach an agreement, ever" Aurora responded to him. Walked towards the couch in the corner of the room and sat down.

The room went silent and the uncomfortable feeling hung in the air, only their second day of marriage and all was headed down the drain.

'Why did you agree to marry me in the first place?" he asked Aurora who threw her head back.

'Why did you agree to marry me in the first place?" She asked Leonardo.

'I made a promise to my father many, many years ago and this year he called in his favor. Now it is your turn, why did you agree to marry me" Leonardo confessed, his confession pushing Aurora deeper into a hole of guilt.

I had no choice, Avena ran way and I was left stuck trying to put all the pieces back together. Aurora thought to herself, there were so much words left to say but she could not say a single word. The thought of letting signora Meta down and bringing the Russo family name to ruin all because Avena had run away and she had not been able to complete the task set out for her broke her heart.

Aurora looked at Leonardo, gulped down the last of her fears and stood up from the couch.

'I was married you because it would mean that my family and I would be amongst the richest family in Sicily" Aurora answered, her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach as she heard herself say those words. Leonardo's lips curled into a smirk and he moved away from her.

'You know what?"

'What?"

'Thank you for telling me the truth, at least I am aware that I married a social climber" he told her, deep down Aurora was saddened by his words but that was how things had to be. She knew that she needed to stay away from Leonardo as much as possible until Avena was back to her senses about the marriage.

'Oh stop looking so disappointed in me, you knew what this marriage was about before you came into this"

'No shit Sherlock! I guess somewhere deep down I thought that you would not be it"

'Be what?"

'You would not be one of them, those arrogant rich kids who think that they can have everything they want and that the best life requires money" Leonardo's words had hit Aurora hard because she had similar beliefs.

She was never one to make money her first priority and being Avena meant that she had to compromise her morals to fit in the lifestyle that she was in.

I am sorry mama but I have to do this. She kept thinking to herself.

'I am sorry Leonardo but that who is who I am, Avena Russo"

'Well then, I am taking a shower because dinner is almost ready" Leonardo left and walked through the unknown door in their room, only for Aurora to find out that it was their very own bathroom.

The door shut behind Leonardo and there was silence, this time an even more uncomfortable silence that filled the air. Looking at the clock, it was almost seven and she needed to get ready for another challenging session of dinner with the Romano family.

Leonardo's father had scared her earlier when he had asked her to sign the documents for the transfer of some of the Russo family land, she was never someone that knew how to judge people based on their characteristics but signor Metteo was not a good man.

Leonardo walked in on them earlier, requesting to see her, sent a relief flooding through Aurora's body as she was stuck and he had saved her just in time.

She heard the water running and knew that Leonardo had begun showering and just for a second, she imagined how Leonardo would look without his clothes on. The thought of running her hands down his chest and kissing his lips, those soft lips.

'Get a grip of yourself!" she yelled at herself, embarrassed that she had impure thoughts about Leonardo of all people. She walked away from the door and decided to focus on the scenery outside the window.