Chapter 51- LOCKET

Without seeing whom it was, Rhea was pulled into the classroom and someone's hand came over her mouth from behind her. Her heart rate increased, thinking that she was about to be kidnapped or even worse… killed.

She tried fighting her way out of that person's strong grip but it was useless, the person holding onto her was clearly too strong for her to maneuver her way out of their grip.

'Relax" she heard a familiar voice tell her. The person let go of her, Rhea quickly turned around to confirm that it truly who it was that she was thinking and just like that, she was proven correct.

A smile came onto her face as she realized that it was none other than Leonardo looking at her, his face serious but she did not mind because he was here with her and in a dark room.

'Leonardo! If you wanted us to be alone together you could have just told me, you know I would have made a plan" she teased him as she approached him but quickly stopped and stepped back as she realized that Leonardo was not too pleased with her joke.

'What did you tell my wife?" he asked her. Leonardo's tone was not of a man that was asking a question but that
of a man who demanded answers.

'I don't know what you are talking about" Rhea denied, the last thing she wanted was to speak about another woman. Leonardo's hand slammed against the desk, his actions scaring Rhea so much that she jumped back.

'I won't ask you again Rhea, what did you tell my wife?" he asked, the look in his eyes murderous, a warning to Rhea that it was best that she not cross him.

'Nothing"

'You are lying!" Leonardo pointed his index finger at her, walking towards Rhea at the same time until her back was pressed against the wall. Her heart rate shot up, not knowing what Leonardo would do to her.

'I swear, I told her nothing. I just welcomed her into the town, nothing else" she pleaded with Leonardo, who stepped back but not once taking his eyes off of Rhea.

'Stay away from her, I won't warn you again Rhea" Leonardo warned her, he unlocked the door and walked out leaving Rhea in the classroom.

Rhea calmed herself and as quickly as she did that, her heart that was once filled with joy was replaced with hatred.

She paced the classroom, her heels tapping onto the tiled floor and hands over her chest. Her anger growing for Aurora more than yesterday when the two of them had met. For years she had tried making Leonardo hers, now only Aurora stood in the way of her happiness and it was something that Rhea would not accept easily.

'Avena, if I cannot have Leonardo and neither can you. I have worked too hard to get this far and I will not allow you to ruin things for me" Rhea repeated to herself. Her words ringing in her ear as she thought her rival.

Even as Leonardo observed his students as they took down notes, his mind was not fully there. His mind preoccupied as he thought of the incident that hard occurred between Rhea and himself.

He was well aware that Rhea had been obsessed with him for as long as they had known each other. Growing up, Leonardo had seen Rhea get whatever she wanted and when she could not have him like she had wanted, she resorted to cheap tactics.

'Signor Romano!"

'Yes!" Leonardo answered his student.

'I have been calling you for a while now, Signor"

'My apologies, I was just thinking of something. Is there anything that you would like to ask?"

'The bell just rang signor" his student pointed out, Leonardo looked at the clock in the wall and quickly realized that the school day was done.

'You may leave" Leonardo instructed his class and just like always, each student scrambled for their bags and left the classroom, leaving him all by himself.

Leonardo reached inside his pocket and pulled out his phone, fourteen missed calls from his mother. She was the last person that he wanted to speak to, he had no place for liars in his life. He quickly put the phone back in his pocket and continued with his day, he had a special surprise for his wife and he hoped that she would like it.

**
Aurora exited the restaurant after feeling defeated once again, her heart sank to her stomach as she felt as though her entire life had flashed before her eyes. Her eyes filled with tears as she aimlessly walked the streets.

She reached for her neck and it felt empty, her mother's locket was lost. Aurora clearly remembered wearing it to the restaurant the day before and now it was just gone. She mentally scolded herself for the amount of times that she wanted to have that clasp fixed but neglected it.

She had lost the only thing that her mother had left for her and it was one of a kind, her locket was gone and no one knew where it was. She aimlessly walked onto the road and just like that, there was a screech and sound of tyre's screeching onto the tar roads.

There were sounds of people gasping and as Aurora looked up, the sports car stopped inches away from her. To her surprise, Aurora had wondered into the middle of the road. The car door of the sports car opened and a tall, dark haired man walked out. His face red with anger, so much that he scared Aurora without saying a word to
her.

The man removed his sunglasses, stared Aurora head to toe and walked towards her.

'Are you blind or are you stupid?" he asked her, his arrogance clearly matching the price he paid for the sports car. He looked at Aurora as though she was nothing more than a peasant and she was used to seeing men like him but living with the Romano's had made Aurora forget that men like him existed.

'I beg your pardon?" she asked, insulted that he would ask her such a question.

'You heard what I said" he leaned in as he spoke to her, his breath reeking of alcohol. Even as he spoke English, it could not cloud his thick Italian accent.

'Do you know who you are talking to?" Aurora asked him, anger rising within her.

'And who are you?" the man asked, daring her to tell him who she was and for just a split second, Aurora wanted nothing more than to use her new title as Mrs. Avena Romano and flaunt it, but she stopped herself as she realized just how being rich had gotten to her heard.

She had grown up hearing rich people throw their titles around and here she was, about to do the exact thing that she hated.

'Never mind, my apologies" she apologized and went about her way. Even as she walked she could still hear the man yelling at her until he shut his door and speed past her. Her hand still on her neck, Aurora felt the emptiness where her locket had once been.

'I am so sorry mother" she apologized, hoping that wherever her mother was, she would accept her apology for losing the locket.

**
Leonardo walked into his home but the entire time his pocket burnt and his body filled with excitement. He had brought many people gifts in his life time but the one in his pocket was one of a kind.

'Honey, I'm home!" he called out to Aurora but she did not come through, leaving Leonardo to wonder if she had gone out to explore the town. Even though he was slightly saddened that Aurora was not home, he was glad that she was taking time to explore the town without him.

Placing his laptop bag onto the couch, Leonardo rushed into the shower before Aurora got home. A cold shower was just what he needed after the hectic day he had a school with Rhea. He had always been a man that respected women but the thought of Rhea upsetting his wife sent Leonardo's blood boiling.

Rhea's words still rang in Leonardo's ears so much that even though he had warned her to stay away from Aurora, Leonardo was still adamant that Rhea would listen.

He quickly got out of the shower, wiped himself down and dressed. His eyes still pressed on the clock and worried that his wife was still not home yet.

'Avena, where are you? You are getting me worried" Leonardo muttered to himself, as he impatiently paced up and down his living room. The doorbell had Leonardo rushing for the door.

With haste he unlocked the door, hoping to see his wife to but to his surprise it was not Aurora but someone who he least expected.

**
Even in her sorrow, Aurora had made up her mind to rush to the grocery store grab something for herself and Leonardo to eat. After nearly thirty minutes of walking up and down the aisles, trying to figure out what it is that Leonardo liked to eat, Aurora settled with lasagna.

Deep down she knew that her husband would not be pleased with food that was not cooked from a proper kitchen but it was either that or neither of them would eat.

Now here she was, in front of her door. After a hectic day and almost being run over by an ill-mannered man, Aurora composed herself. She wiped the remainder of her tears away, there was no need to show Leonardo that she had been crying.

Exhaling and gathering the last of her strength, Aurora inserted her key into the key hole and unlocked the door.

Instead of a silent house, Aurora was greeted with two loud male voices. One she was familiar with because it was that of her husband's and the other slightly familiar but she could not make it out.

Both men had their backs to her as they watched football until Leonardo turned his attention to the front door and his eyes lit up, his wife was home and that was all he had been waiting for the entire day.

'My love, I missed you!" Leonardo went around the couch to hug her, covering her entire body and blocking the man seated on the couch from her view. But Aurora did not mind as Leonardo drowned her with kisses.

'I missed you too and how was your day?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the worry of losing her mother's locket.

'It was great but it would have been greater if you were with me the entire day" Leonardo told her and even though she smiled, he could tell that there was something wrong.

'Well that it good to hear"

'My love, I want you to meet a friend of mine. Ricardo, this is my wife Avena and Avena, meet Ricardo" Leonardo moved out of her way and her heart sank to her stomach as she saw whom it was.