(REWRITING)
At just 2 years old Aurora's mother kidnapped her away from her family and married an abusive man who proceeded to kill Aurora's mother and he abused Aurora but one good evening he's high off cocaine and drives off a cliff.
Aurora beli...
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"I'm home!" my voice echoes as I walk through the front door.
"Come to the living room!" shouts Matteo.
I am carried forward by my feet without any input from me. When I reach the living room, I find Matteo sitting on the couch with my brothers and an unknown man.
God, I hope this isn't another rude family member.
"Who is he?" I ask, my brows arching as I stare at the man.
"This is Dante, our uncle," Leonardo answers, gesturing towards him.
"It's good to see you again, Aurora," he says, smiling at me warmly.
"Why didn't you guys tell me he was coming before?" I ask, shooting a glare at them.
Dante lets out a laugh and shakes his head. "I wanted to surprise you for your birthday in two days," he explains.
How could I forget about my birthday?
"And I also wanted to catch up with you," he adds.
"Oh," I mumble.
"Well, we will leave y'all to catch up," Adrian blurts out before speeding out of the room, with my brothers following behind him.
I sigh and sit next to Dante. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the loss of your mother," Dante says.
"It's okay. It was a long time ago," I mumble, fidgeting with my fingers. "You may not know this, but I cared deeply for your mother."
"You're saying that as if you dated her or something," I joke, trying to ease my mood, but Dante doesn't laugh. Instead, he looks at me seriously.
"You did?" I ask, my eyes widening. "Yeah, it's a long story," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, how has it been living here?" he asks.
"It's been great for the most part." "If you eliminated my father and grandfather, my time here would've been perfect," I retorted.
"Hmm, I heard about that. I'm deeply sorry about their behavior," Dante says with genuine sympathy.
"Thanks," I whisper, looking down at my lap. Dante clears his throat and glances between the couch and where Matteo and Leonardo are seated.
After a few seconds, Dante speaks up. "Do you know what you're having yet?" he asks, glancing at my belly bump.
"Not yet; I want it to be a surprise, but I'm hoping it's a girl," I say, rubbing my belly.
"Your mother was the same way when she found out she was pregnant with you," he says.
Me and my mom are more similar than I thought.
"She cared about me?" I ask.
I know every mother cares about their child, but my mother mainly cared about her drugs.
Dante lets out an exaggerated gasp, shaking his head. "Did she? Aurora, you were her freedom. You are her first daughter; she cared about you more than she cared for her own life," Dante says with furrowed brows.
Hearing that brings me some peace. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel relieved to listen to those words.
"Can you tell me more about my mom?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Your mother was such a free spirit; she loved gardens and flowers more than anything. Your mother loved to explore and love nature. When we first met, I called her Birdy," Dante responds.
" Birdy?" I repeat it with a smirk on my face. " Yes. She couldn't stand being caged; she preferred to be free and able to wander, so I called her birdy because she reminded me of a bird," Dante explains, scratching the back of his neck.
"And you remind me so much of her. You're almost identical to her," he adds.
A smile tugs at my lips at the comment. "Do you know why she only took me and not my brothers?" I asked curiously.
"Your mother wouldn't be able to escape your father if she took you and your brothers." "It was a challenge even to escape with you and stay hidden," Dante says. I furrow my brows.
"Why did she need to escape from my father?" I ask. "Alessandro treated your mother as if she were merely dirt. She was a courageous woman, but she couldn't take the abuse anymore, and she couldn't risk you being abused as she was," Dante explains.
The thought of my mother being abused by my father sickens me. I remember the anger I felt when I found out my father beat Axel, but that anger is nothing compared to how I feel knowing he hurt my mother.
He is the reason I had to grow up without my brothers, and because of that, I promised to kill him so Axel and my mom could have their revenge.
"Thank you for telling me all this," I whisper, smiling at him.
