Chapter 3 Not Just A Lookalike

• It was sweet.
• So incredibly sweet that just thinking about it felt like enough to give her a lifetime supply of diabetes. Still, Aura didn’t care. She wouldn’t pass up something this good for anything.
• This kind of sweetness didn’t come from the fluffy zeppole stacked in the bowl on her lap. No. This sweetness came from the La Rosa Sisters.
• Morning had finally dragged itself into Italy. And unlike all the countless nights she had spent on that hard, rough wood pretending to be a bed, she was now lying on an actual bed, a real one.
• Aura's heart was full, almost too full. A simple thing like this, sleeping on a real bed, filled her with a joy that made her chest feel warm. She opened her eyes and saw them. The sisters. All five of them gathered around her with love and concern in their eyes.
• Yes, it was sweet, so sweet it made her heart ache a little.
• “Do you love it, Aura?” someone asked. The delicious smell of pastries filled the air, mixing with the soft, rose-like scent of the ladies’ perfume.
• Luxia was so close, her perfume hugged Aura’s nose. On the large bed, Aura sat between her and Vera. Munda stood close by, tall and graceful. Maria leaned on the bed rail, and Belle, the sister who had really bumped into her yesterday, sat quietly in a high-backed chair.
• They were all around her. And even though their expressions held different emotions, there was one feeling they all shared, bittersweet longing.
• “I... I’ve never eaten anything this sweet before! Thank you, Signora Luxia.” Aura’s voice was bright, and her lips stretched into a happy smile.
• Luxia’s fingers, which had been gently playing with Aura’s ruby-red hair, froze for a second. Her shiny eyes lit up with something soft.
• “Signora? Ha! Nobody’s called her that in years.” Vera’s voice cut in with a playful smirk as she reached for a zeppole from Aura’s bowl.
• Before she could fully snatch it, Maria smacked her on the head. “Hey!” Vera frowned and glared up at her sister.
• “How greedy can you get?” Maria scolded her, rolling her eyes like she was used to it.
• Vera just shrugged and smiled at Aura, who had sugar on her lips and a tiny laugh bubbling out of her throat.
• She had thought these women would be strict and serious. But they weren’t. Maria and Vera were funny, especially when they argued.
• Aura chuckled, her laughter soft and light like music.
• “Oh?” Munda raised an eyebrow, and a quiet memory seemed to pass over her face. Belle, still in her chair, let a smirk slip.
• “You even laugh like her,” Luxia said quietly, eyes focused on Aura.
• “She does,” Vera said with her mouth full. “And her wild curls too.”
• “And the way her green eyes shine…” Maria added, trailing her fingers down the bed’s rails and resting her hand on Vera’s back.
• They all turned to Belle as she stood slowly. “Their voices sound the same too, don’t you think, Munda?”
• Munda let out a long breath, her smile small but shaky. “Yeah. It’s strange.”
• Aura blinked. She didn’t understand everything, but she had heard enough last night, about Rosaura La Rosa, the sisters’ late sibling she somehow resembled so much.
• It was scary and strange… but kind of wonderful too. Rosaura had meant the world to them. She died a painful death. And now, seeing someone who looked just like her, it was no wonder they clung to Aura so tightly and won't let her go.
• “I-Is that a bad thing?” Aura asked quietly, still feeling Luxia’s fingers brushing through her hair, still seeing their eyes locked on her.
• “Of course not,” Luxia said. “Rosaura was… everything to us. Without her, none of us would be where we are today.”
• “If not for her, I wouldn’t be a top baseball player for Stella Diamante,” Maria added proudly, standing straighter.
• “And I wouldn’t be a global actress and model,” Luxia added with a proud little giggle. “And this glutton…” She pointed at Vera.
• “She’s a famous novelist,” Maria finished, ruffling Vera’s hair like she was a child. Vera grinned and winked at Aura.
• “Rosaura was our mother and father. We didn’t have anyone else. After she died, I pushed myself to become one of the best ballet dancers. But really, all our success is thanks to Belle, our business genius,” Munda said softly, always calm and charming.
• Aura finally looked over at Belle — her angel. Out of all of them, Belle spoke the least, and her words were always cold and careful. Her smile looked like something tired, like someone just trying to survive.
• “Do you want to go back?” Belle asked suddenly, voice sharp. “To your father and stepmother, Leonardo and Penelope Bianchi?”
• Aura froze. The words hit her like a slap, jerking her out of her happy moment.
• She looked at Belle, confused, shaken. Her heart skipped. Then slowly, her face fell, remembering.
• Penelope’s cruelty. Her father’s broken promises. The nights she cried alone. The pain in her back. The ache in her chest.
• Aura shivered. The memories hadn’t left her. They were still inside her, cold and heavy.
• But then she looked around. The sisters were still there. Their warmth was like sunlight chasing away shadows. Luxia’s fingers were still in her hair, soothing her.
• “Would you like to go back to Leonardo and Penelope Bianchi?” Munda asked again, her voice softer now.
• Aura looked at each of them, Luxia’s hopeful eyes, Maria’s soft gaze, Vera’s friendly grin, Munda’s curious stare, and Belle’s hard-to-read smile.
• And right then, Aura knew.
• “No,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I want to stay. With you. All of you.”
• The sisters looked at each other, faces lighting up like fireworks in the night.
• Luxia cupped Aura’s cheeks and smiled, eyes wet with tears.
• “Welcome home, then,” she whispered.
• As they wrapped her in a warm, tight hug, Aura felt her heart melt. She had found them. Her real family. Her safe place. Her home.
• And for the first time in a long, long time…she felt whole, felt at peace at last.