Chapter 44- LUST

Both Aurora and Leonardo had spent nearly the entire day explaining themselves to signora Carina, who was still highly upset about them being out the entire night without informing her.

Finally, they had made peace with her whilst Aurora and Leonardo had spent yet another blissful night with one another. Still tired from their eventful love-making and the streams of light making its way into her room, her legs reached for Leonardo's legs but there was no sign of his legs. Reaching her hands to his side of the bed and the feeling of emptiness filled her.

She jumped up from the bed and looked at Leonardo's side of the bed and he truly was gone. Emptiness filled her but just as she was about to be filled with utter emptiness, she saw a note on his bedside lamp.

Good morning sweetheart

Sorry for leaving without a goodbye, I have to go back to work for a minor issue.

I will be back in a few days.

Love, Leonardo

Aurora read the letter, smiling at herself at how silly she was, thinking that Leonardo would leave her all alone after he had enough of her presence. Putting on her silky gown, she exited her room, the smile on her face still running from ear to ear.

Her memory had mapped out the mansion, so much that she aimlessly walked to the dining room.

'Madam, would you like breakfast?" One of the helper's asked her, bursting the bubble of happiness that Aurora was immersed in.

'What?" she asked the helper.

'I was asking if I should make you some tea?" The helper asked her once more.

'No, I will make it myself" She answered. Making her way towards the coffee machine and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

'You look happy" Aurora turned around, only to see her mother in-law standing at the entrance of the dining room, looking at her. She looked happier than she was the day before, another indication that she was no longer mad at Leonardo and Aurora.

'Good morning mother and how are you doing this lovely morning if I may ask?"

'I am doing well, now that I see that my beautiful daughter in-law is happy" Signora Carina told her and Aurora's face heated up. She tried her best to keep the secret of her love making with Leonardo a secret.

'Well, the weather looks beautiful this morning therefore I have to smile, always"

Please don't let her guess what Leonardo and I had done last night. She begged inwardly as there was nothing worse that her mother in-law knowing.

Signora Carina looked at her from head to toe and then smile, she proceeded towards the coffee machine and poured herself a cup of coffee, the entire time, her back was facing Aurora.

'Hope you do not mind me asking, how was it?" Signora Carina asked Aurora who was still confused as to what her mother in-law was asking of her.

'I don't understand mother" Aurora asked, confused whilst signora Carina covered the brim of her cup with her lips and sipped her coffee.

'Never mind, I need a favor from you my dear"

'Sure mother, what is it that you want me to do for you?" Aurora asked, willing to help her mother in-law. Anything that would get her out of the mansion, she was pretty much ready to take.

'I need you to take something to Lady Sue for me, its a few documents. Would you do that for me?" Signora Carina asked her and Aurora could not help but to nod her head in agreement.

'Great! The driver will take you to her house and you could drop it for me" Signora Carina informed her and then quickly left the dining room, leaving Aurora all by herself.

**
Just as her mother in-law had said, the driver had been waiting for her and the drive to Lady Sue's house. The house was more than a house, a mansion, not much bigger than the Romano's own.

'We're here, madam" the driver informed Avena, who smiled at the older man.

'Thank you" she thanked the driver as she exited the car and walked towards the door. Doors so wide, black and taller than she was. Aurora balled her hand into a fist and tapped onto the hard wooden the door.

Pulling her hand away from the door, Aurora quickly blew on her knuckles as her knuckles pained. To her surprise the big door opened only to reveal, Cory.

As soon as Cory saw Aurora's face, his smile broadened. It had been weeks since he had set his eyes on Aurora and now that he saw her, his day was brightened.

'Oh look who we have here, Avena Russo"

'I think you mean, Avena Romano" she corrected him, aligning herself with her new found identity. Her answer had Cory smiling at her.

'Sure, I keep forgetting that you married him" he told her, emphasizing the word ‘him' as he referred to her husband.

'I believe my husband's name is Leonardo Romano" Aurora reminded him, feeling proud to call Leonardo her husband.

'Sure, anyways, come in" Cory moved aside, making way for Aurora who walked past him.

Upon entering the house, Aurora could not help but to look at the high ceilings of the mansion. Turns out that Lady Sue and her mother in-law had similar tastes in décor.

'You have a lovely house" she complemented Cory, who walked around her, his hands inside his pocket.

'Thank you but I think you should be complimenting my grandmother, I hate the décor" Cory confessed, a small laugh escaping from his mouth.

'Why would you hate such a vintage design and the art on the wall looks amazing" Aurora walked towards the painting, inspecting the painting of a bull rider closely.

'Maybe because she spent thousands of dollars on the painting when she could have printed something off the internet and framed it" Cory suggested, his response only making Aurora turn to him and laugh.

'I don't think art works like that"

'Well I wish it did, then we would be spending those thousands on feeding poor people" Even as Cory joked about it, Aurora stood still and studied him. His words had come from a place of humanity and Aurora appreciated that.

‘That is nice to hear" she told him, her voice low and almost unheard.

'So what brings you to my grandmother's home?"

'Oh that, my mother in-law" Aurora responded, Cory raised his eye, silently questioning her further. Aurora reached into her bag and pulled out a brown paper envelope and handed it to Cory, who simply stared at it.

'And this is?"

‘'I have no idea, my mother in-law said that it is important that I deliver it to Lady Sue" Aurora explained herself and watched as Cory studied the exterior of the envelope and looked at her.

'Thanks, but I am afraid that my grandmother is not here. She went on a trip" Cory explained as he watched Aurora's jaw drop.

'You could have told me this when I was outside you know" Aurora pointed out but Cory's smile widened.

'If I did that then you would not have come in" He confessed to her whilst Aurora stood before him, trying her best to hide her irritation.

'Well, I have to leave now"

'Why?" Cory asked her, seemingly bothered by her eagerness to leave him so soon. Aurora raised her brow, inwardly wondering why Cory would want her to stay.

She could not deny that Cory was a man of many talents and he was blessed in height and looks but he was not just it. Something about Leonardo was different to Cory and Aurora could not put her fingers on it.

'Because I have a home to get to and work to be done"

'What work? Cory asked quite blankly, so much that his question had Aurora taken aback. She stuttered as she tried getting her words out because in truth, she had no work.

She could only ever help with a few chores as her mother in-law had forbidden her to the more strenuous work, citing that such jobs were for the helpers and not Aurora. Now that Leonardo was not home, there was no chance that she would occupy herself by wrapping herself in his warm embrace whilst they made love for hours and hours with no end.

'See, I knew it" Cory removed his hands from his pockets and clapped them together, sending a loud echo, ringing through the interior of the mansion.

'Knew what?"

'I knew that you had nothing to do"

'And what makes you think that?" She asked, fixing her posture as she stood, trying her best to look assertive and sure of herself.

'I am not saying that you are a trophy wife—"

'I believe I have heard enough, thank you for allowing me into your home… I mean, your grandmother's home" she taunted him, inwardly smiling that she had taken a jab at Cory but not too happy as it did not seem to offend him one bit.

She turned half way around, only for Cory to grab her hand and swing her around to face him. His eyes looked into hers and she was stuck staring at them.

'What are you doing?" Aurora asked, trying not to seem shaken by Cory. As to her knowledge, there was just the two of them and anything could happen. Aurora had remembered watching crime documentaries about how women were murdered and she did not want to be amongst those women.

'I once promised to show you my prize horses, I think it's about time I showed you" Cory offered, letting go of Aurora's hand and walking away from her. She watched as Cory walked down the hallway and disappeared.

'Are you coming?" She heard his voice but could not quite see him. Suddenly, the house seemed haunting and that was one place that Aurora did not want to be.

'I'm coming!" She replied, running towards the direction that Cory had called from. The hallway was dark and long but as she walked through its quite gut of a tunnel, she began to see streams of light, a few more steps and she could hear voices of people and horse hoofs beating the grounds beneath its feet.

Finally she was out of the tunnel, the green fields behind the Lady's Sue's property hid the treasures of its backyard. Not too far was a barn painted red and white, where a farmhand held the reigns of a horse as he was guiding it out of the barn.

Not too far, was a female in the enclosure, training the horses and they responded to her.

'I knew you'd like it" Cory's voice broke through, Aurora turned her head and stared at him. Smiling the entire time and not even being aware that she was smiling.

'It's beautiful" was all that Aurora could gather the courage to say. She had been so trapped inside the house for nearly two months that she had forgotten how pretty the world outside looked… she had also missed Sicily a lot more.