Matteo

Matteo bit his lip as he stared down at the girl lying on her bed. He reached his hand out, but immediately retracted it after thinking that he couldn't wake her up. He has been doing this for nearly five minutes and has gotten nowhere with wanting to wake her up.

He looked down at her again, his hand reaching out which he stopped just a few inches away from her face. He breathed in, giving himself a small pep talk of how silly he is being, and without realizing it, he moved her shoulders.

Shit.

"A-Aurora."

Why the fuck was he stuttering?

He called her name again as he gave her shoulder a slight nudge again. She groaned, as she began to open her eyes. Slowly, she peered up at the man looming over her body with her sleepy green eyes.

"Matteo?" she asked sleepily.

Matteo watched her as she tried to pry her eyes open. She used the back of her hand to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, the sun peeking through the drapes which she tried to shield her eyes from.

It was only eight in the morning. He knew that she was a morning person but because the two of them were a bit late up last night, she would have woken up a bit later. He felt a little bad for waking her up, but there was something on his mind.

He cleared his throat. "Morning. Would you meet me downstairs? I have something for you."

Aurora sat up straight, her posture was to perfection as her ears perked up at the sound of that. His eyes shifted to the exposed pad of her shoulder, which resulted in the thin strap falling down the side of her arm.

He could see the dip of her collar bone outlined against her milky skin. The soft carves leading from the base of her neck upwards, which led the eyes to the rose petal of plump lips. It was a darker shade of her hair, which flowed in exotic waves against her face.

Even though she had just woken up, she looked painfully beautiful.

"What is it?" her soft but excited voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Matteo's lips curved upward. "You would have to wait and see. Get ready and I will see you at the table, sí?"

"Okay!"

Aurora looked as if she didn't just wake up a few minutes ago, her eyes now open wide and a smile etched on her face. She jumped from her bed, and disappeared into the bathroom.

What she had failed to see from too much excitement and rushing to her bathroom, was the smile plastered on his face.

Matteo waited in the dining room. He was scrolling through a bunch of emails when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up, his eyes drinking in the glorious sight of the woman dressed in what she had woken up with.

She hadn't changed out of the silk nightie that his sister had bought her. Even though he hated how his very little sister shopped for a grown woman and bought her something this exotic, yet he couldn't complain at the sight of her wearing it.

Focus, Matteo.

"Sit." he pointed at the chair that was next to his, only his being at the head of the table.

She sat down in the chair on his left. He watched as she looked in confusion at all the food that was in front of them.

"Is this w-what you wanted to show me?" she asked him, her brows furrowed in absolute confusion.

He gave her a nod. "I made breakfast for us."

Her eyes sparkled. "You made this?" she asked in a tone he wasn't sure was good or not.

"Do you not like it?"

She shook her head so fast that he hair slapped against her face. "I-I love it! I never knew you could cook."

They began to dish themselves and filled their plates. According to Malinda, Aurora has taken quite a liking to chocolate chip pancakes and it was her usual for every morning. It was the star dish and he hoped that she didn't find fault in it since he hadn't cooked for himself in a very long time.

"I haven't cooked for myself in quite some time. Malinda is the one who does it all."

His hand froze midway as he heard the sweet sound of a small moan escape her luscious lips. A wave of heat flooded his body at the way her lips curved upward, her eyes widening as she chewed on her food.

He could get lost in that expression on her face. She looked so adorable as she basked in the taste of his cooking, that it warmed his heart to see that.

Since when did he ever find something adorable?

"Good?" he asked.

"Good." she confirmed. "Where is Malinda?"

Matteo swallowed his scrambled eggs before replying, "I gave her the day off. I want us to spend the day together."

He knew that he was blunt with what he had in mind and there was no way he could ever sugarcoat his words better. However this time, when those words has come out of his mouth, he had just wished that he hadn't said it in such a dull way.

He wasn't could at expressing his thoughts or ideas at that matter. He said it as if it wasn't a big deal for the both of them, especially for her.

Aurora put her fork down. "S-spend the day t-together?"

She was blushing.

Fuck, she was so precious.

"Is that okay with you?"

"Of course it is. I w-would love that." she said softly.

After a moment of just staring into each other's eyes, the pair indulged in the meal prepared for them.

~~~

"Matteo, look at that cute fish!"

Aurora tugged at the sleeve of his shirt, pointing at the most hideous fish he had ever seen in his life. No matter how fucking ugly these fish were to him, she called every single one of them cute.

He listened to her coo at all the fish in the tanks as they passed, stopping whenever she saw something that fascinated her. Her face was so close to the glass that he was afraid her head would knock against it.

He felt out of place in the aquarium. It was his initial idea to take her to the aquarium, thinking that she had never been to one before given her background. He felt strange, a man cladded in slacks and a white dress shirt in a place for such ordinary people.

He took this opportunity, for probably the hundredth time today, to stare at her as she watched the fish swim around. The blue hue of the light that was emitted from the color of the water gave him enough clearance to see her. It gave her this magnificent glow that he cherished deeply.

In all his years of living and seeing women, not a single one of them could compare to the beauty that she held. She was just a small plain woman who had no experience in the field of makeup to give herself a better look, yet she didn't disgraced the title of natural beauty.

She looked like a fucking princess.

He remembered a movie he watched with his sister a few years ago when she was much younger. It was a Disney movie where the main character, the princess, had red hair and her mother was turned into a bear. Her hair color was exactly that of the princess from the film, and it was something that made her look really good.

Her eyes flickered up to the glass that spread across the room, hangin right above their heads where even more fish swam. Her green eyes sparkled under the light, looking even more lighter than usual. It has been a while where he had seen that usual glint in her eye, the news from the doctors causing her eyes to become dull.

Those words from a few days that were said about Aurora having leukemia pained him even more than he had expected. There was no reaction from him in that room at the time, but inside he was hurting.

His heart hurts for her.

He just had to take her mind off things. For him too.

As they spent their time in the aquarium, Aurora continuously squealing and tugging on the sleeve of his shirt, he was lost in a very unfamiliar feeling that he hadn't experienced when he was younger. It wasn't evident on his face but deep down he basked in the feeling one would have during their childhood.

He grew up in a world of guns and killing, not knowing about these types of things parents did with their children. He had missed all of his childhood focusing on what was important for him and his father, Matteo making sure that the family name and mafia remained strong. Not realizing that there was more to the outside world than bad people and the mafia, he didn't get to partake in these activities as a child.

What made it even better, was that he got to spend this time with her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

They were in the aquarium for about an hour and they hadn't eaten since breakfast which was about three hours ago.

"Mhm." she replied with a nod.

Matteo drove them to a burger place that was not too far from the aquarium. During the ride and even when they sat down at the place, he for some reason felt bothered. It wasn't the type where you felt disturbed because something bad would happen or a gut feeling, he just felt bothered.

He looked at the girl sitting across from him, her eyes scanning the menu in her hand. Her forehead creased slightly as she thoroughly looked through the menu, possible not knowing on what to have. It was the little actions that she did that captivated him, from her bottom lip that was captured between her teeth and her brows furrowing in concentration.

Why?

Fuck, he needs to get a grip.

"Hi! My name is Delilah and I'll be your waitress for today. Would you like to order, sir?"

He didn't even spare the girl a glance, her voice already drumming against his head which annoyed him. She had his full attention on him when he ordered, not even giving Aurora a chance to place her order.

"What would you like, agnellino?" he asked her, his full attention only on her.

She bit her lip. "C-can I have the double cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake, please?" she asked him softly.

He looked at the blonde waitress who stood next to him. "You heard her."

The blonde waitress smiled at him. "Would that be all for you, sir?"

Matteo cringed at how she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He felt truly disgusted by this woman and how desperate she appeared.

He flicked his hand dismissing her, not wanting to bother with her presence any longer. "Yes."

When the waitress finally left their table, he saw that Aurora appeared to be troubled. There was a small pout that graced her lips and she was fumbling with her fingers, looking down at them.

He was confused by why there was a sudden disappearance of her excitement from just a few moments ago.

"What bothers you?" he asked.

She didn't look at him. "N-nothing."

"It isn't nothing. Tell me."

She peered up at him through her thick lashes for just a second before looking back down at her fingers.

"She likes you." she said.

He was truly confused as to why she was saddened by that fact. She must have noticed that he wasn't at all interested in that blonde girl, not even sparing her a single glance at all. It still didn't answer his question on why their was a change in her mood.

"I don't care."

"She's really pretty." she said with a shrug of her shoulder.

"You are pretty." he said truthfully.

Aurora's eyes snapped up to his. There was surprise swirling in those green irises from Matteo's blunt words. He must admit it wasn't his intention to say what he was thinking but he couldn't regret those words he uttered.

Aurora had to realize how truly beautiful she was.

What the fuck is happening to me? he thought to himself.

Aurora's cheeks flushed deep red. She averted her gaze from his intense stare. He felt a bit good about himself for knowing that he had an effect on her, her not knowing that she has one on him too but he couldn't show it.

"Really?" she asked shyly.

"Really."

"You're pretty too." she smiled at him.

The corner of his lip tilted upward and he heard a faint gasp come from her. She looked at him as if she had seen a ghost, staring at him with an open mouth and wide eyes.

"Y-you smiled." she asked in complete bewilderment.

And it's because of you.