Aurora

Cordelia and Aurora stayed out of the way while the men conversed in Matteo's father's office. For some reason, Aurora suspected that Matteo was reluctant to let her out of his sight when Cordelia wanted her to be in her room. It was most certainly the fear of something happening to her and he couldn't let her be unprotected.

The entire time while the men stayed in the office, Cordelia showed her around the house. They also ate some food, which was made by their personal chef, André. Aurora appreciated anyone who could cook a decent meal and took a liking towards André. He was like a sweet father figure in her eyes, and she wished that Matteo's father could be a bit like him.

She didn't see much of him during her stay at their house. She only caught a glimpse of him when they said their goodbyes after their meeting was finished. There was a cold glint in his eyes when they met Aurora's frightened ones. Whenever he would glance her way, it caused cold shivers to crawl down her spine from the raw hatred and disgust his gaze held.

She made the most of her short stay at Cordelia's home because she knew it would be quite a while until she saw her again. It would was a bit difficult for her to bid her goodbye but it was getting late and they had to drive a bit far back home. She even thanked André for the delicious meal he prepared for them but when she tried greeting Matteo's father, his hawk like eyes stopped her in her tracks.

"T-thank you for having us." she bowed, and scurried out of the house.

Matteo had dropped of his friends at their individual homes. She wasn't surprised when she saw that the men had lived very near to each other, knowing that they were very close friends. The drive home from Reggie's house, the last person they have dropped, was a quick five minute drive.

They were both hungry when they entered the house since it was around dinner time.

Aurora's body swayed to the side when a sudden jolt of pain had struck her through the head. She gasped at the sudden intrusion of the headache pulsating through her head, causing a slight ache above her eyes.

It was a common thing for her to have these headaches considering her condition, but it was always painful like the last. The sluggish movement of her body caught his attention as he turned to look at her with concern swirling in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Aurora smiled weakly at him. Even though her body felt like there was not an ounce of strength in it, she mustered enough energy to persuade him that she was okay. However, before she could lie to him to not have him worry, the moment she opened her mouth her legs gave out.

Her body toppled to the front, and she nearly hit the ground beneath her. Before she could fall face first onto the floor, Matteo had already rushed to her side and caught her body. Her body was deprived of any energy and she fell like a rag doll in his arms.

"Merda." (shit)

"I'm so-"

Matteo sighed. "Let's get you upstairs." he said cutting her off.

With his one arm supporting her back, he used the other arm to scoop the back of her knees up and held her bridal style. She yelped at the sudden lift and her frail arms immediately wrapped around his neck.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked in surprise.

"Taking you up the stairs." he replied in a sort of "duh" tone.

"I can walk."

"Not in this state."

"Am I not heavy for you?" she asked shyly.

She felt a bit insecure now that he was carrying her up the stairs. She wasn't sure if he was putting up an act to not hurt her feelings.

"You are light. A little too light. You need to eat more."

That she knew she heard a bit too often from Jamison. He always lectured her that she was underweight and despite her condition, she wasn't eating enough. Now that she lived with Matteo she has been eating a bit more but that clearly didn't fatten her up since there wasn't any improvement in her weight.

She realized that Matteo had taken her to his room instead of her own. He opened the door, and with her still in his arms he walked them to his bathroom that was connected to his room, one just like hers. She was confused about why he was bringing her inside his bathroom and specifically why in his room if she had one as well.

He placed her on the bathroom counter next to the sink, and her arms were reluctant to release him but she had to.

"What-"

"Shh." he cut her off.

She shut her mouth as soon as he said that.She watched him without a word as he walked over to the bathtub in the corner of the bathroom. Her curiosity had seized the moment he turned open the tap and warm water poured out into the bathtub.

She still didn't know what he was doing and why she was there.

"Stay right there." he said.

Silly. As if she could go anywhere.

She swung her legs back and forth as she waited for Matteo to come back into the bathroom. His bathroom was a bit smaller than his room but it was still quite spacious. It was neat with the cabinets a dark shade of black, considering that this is Matteo's bathroom it was not a surprise. She gathered the information that Matteo could have possibly designed this house himself if all of these shades of color and rooms are to his personal liking.

It was about a few minutes later when he entered the room with a white fluffy looking towel and fresh pair of clothes. It was his clothes which consisted of a white sweater and grey shorts.

She ignored the splitting headache as Matteo maneuvered in the bathroom, opening a cabinet where he took out two bath bombs. He lifted it up with both hands in front of her, both a different color.

"Which one?" he asked her.

She pointed at the pink one and he placed that one into the water. He turned the tap off after dipping his hand into the water to check if the temperature was to his liking.

"Okay. I'll be downstairs to make us dinner and you're going to take a bath while I'm busy. You will have your medication after you eat, understood?"

Aurora nodded and Matteo did the same motion with his head. He left her alone after closing the door, and Aurora wasted no time in taking off her clothes. She dipped her foot into the hot water and soon she found herself sighing as the water engulfed her body, relaxing her tense muscles.

She tried ignoring the throbbing headache she still had by telling herself that Matteo was so sweet to run her a bath, just for her. It was something that wouldn't leave her memory as she cherished this one dearly.

About five minutes later, her body was completely engulfed in the water and her head rested on the bathtub as she stared at the ceiling. Her face became wet, not because of the steam from the water, but because tears started pooling in her eyes.

"It hurts." she whispered to herself.

A broken sob escaped her lips as the headache became unbearable.

Is it almost time? she thought to herself.

She cried and cried in the bathtub. She cried for the realization that there was no help for her. She cried for the thought that she could leave this earth any moment not knowing when it will be. She cried because this headache was hurting so much and she wanted it to stop. She cried because she didn't even know who her family was and she would die not knowing why they abandoned her.

She cried because the man who she cared the most for, would quite possibly be left behind. All the built up pain and anger in her heart bubbled to the surface and she continued to cry. It was too painful to think that her feelings grew stronger each day when it could all disappear when she leaves.

She was finally happy. Happy with him.

What could she do? What was there for her to do?

Her crying seized and she sat up straight. She gulped as a thought entered her mind, quite possibly an idea that was outside of her comfort zone. It seemed right though.

She washed herself as she realized that her fingers began to become pruny and Matteo could be done with dinner any minute now. She blushed as she thought of him and her idea that she came up with. It was a plan that she had to perfect.

Aurora giggled loudly as she picked up the boxers that Matteo took out for her to wear. She guessed that he was a gentleman for not wanting to touch any of her underwear, so she put on the boxers.

When she entered the kitchen, the smell of whatever it was that he had prepared penetrated her nostrils. It smelt so good and she couldn't wait to try his food once again. He turned around with a pan in his hand and noticed Aurora standing there.

"Take a seat. I'll bring the plates out soon." he told her.

"Okay. Do you need any help?"

He shook his head. "I've got it."

She gave him a nod and exited the kitchen to take a seat at the dining table. She saw that he had already placed the cutlery on the table with glasses as well. She sat at her normal seat and swung her legs back and forth waiting for him.

About a minute later he had arrived with two plates of steaming hot pasta. She sat upright when he placed her plate down in front of her and she couldn't wait to dig in. She was respectful and waited for him to sit down first before diving into this plate of delicious looking pasta.

When he was settled onto his chair, he poured the two of them both water and motioned for her to begin eating. She gave him a big smile showcasing all of her teeth and picked up her fork. Matteo did she same, blowing their food and took a bite of it.

She made a sound that alerted him that it had satisfied her taste buds.

"Good?" he asked.

"Very good!" she said before eating again.

She took huge heaps of pasta, enjoying it so much that she forgot to breathe.

"Slow down, baby. You'll choke if you eat too fast." he said, a bit of a scolding tone in his voice.

She smiled at him sheepishly with pasta still in her mouth. She chewed her food slowly and swallowed it. "Sorry." she told him.

Baby. She still wasn't used to that name.

They finished their dinner, both of them satisfied with the meal Matteo had prepared for them. Aurora patted her stomach, very full from finishing everything in her plate.

When Matteo lifted her plate, she could see that he was both surprised and impressed that for once she had finished everything he gave her.

"You've gained quite the appetite. I'm proud of you."

She smiled at him. "How could I not when you make the best food?"

He gave her a soft smile in return. He took the plates to the kitchen and Aurora stayed in her seat. He came back with a napkin in his hand.

"So I should fire Malinda?"

She shook her head quickly. "No. I love Malinda too much. Why is she gone so long?" she pouted.

He sat down in his chair, pulling it closer to hers. "Her uncle passed away so she won't be back for a long time."

"Poor Malinda." she said sadly.

Matteo hummed. He grabbed her face gently and started wiping the corners of her mouth. She giggled at how rough he was, clearly inexperienced in taking of someone and she moved her head away.

"Aurora, hold still." he demanded.

She made sure not to move but still giggled at his actions. He was behaving like a father who was taking care of their little girl after they made a mess on her their face.

"You're just like a daddy." she said with a little laugh.

Matteo's eyes now had a distant look to them as he continued to stare at her face. His movements seized as he stopped wiping her face and Aurora became concerned as to why he stopped.

She tilted her head in confusion. "Matteo?" she called out his name.

There was something in gaze that made her shiver, just from the way he was looking at her. She gulped at the sudden suffocating air that circulated around them and she thought she must have said something wrong.

"Matteo?" she waved a hand in front of his face.

He blinked. He quickly wiped her mouth in a hurry as he cleared his throat. "Fuck." he said to himself.

He was acting very weird and she still very confused about why he behaved this way.

He shot up from his seat, whispering something under his breath that she couldn't hear clearly. She wanted to ask him to repeat what he said but without looking at her he spoke up.

"You need to take your medication."

He didn't look at her when he spoke and she knew that something was off. She followed him into the kitchen and took her medication, alone.

Matteo had left the kitchen in a rush but she noticed that he kept whispering to himself in his language.

He's like a daddy, huh.

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