Chapter 3 The Harsh Reality

• "I need to clean up so as not to scare our guests away. I will be out soon.” Lorenzo uttered with a smirk dancing across his lips as he stepped into the room without waiting for an acknowledgment from Lawrence.
• With Lorenzo inside his private room, Lawrence quickly dashed out of the Oven to the car park to prepare the ride back to the Russo's office. He wouldn't want to irk Lorenzo more than he is already pissed. He pitied those whom his boss would be meeting with as his anger was already all over the place.
• The oven is a code name given by Lorenzo; it is where he deals with any mafia and underground work. It was nicknamed ‘The Oven’ for the lynching of eight houses that planned to overthrow Lorenzo; since then, it has become a place where Lorenzo deals with any traitor or any dirty job. Within their mafia world, everyone dreads being brought into the oven as any living soul that enters, comes out in a bloodied sack.
• ***
• As Aurora sat with her father while they waited for Lorenzo, she kept remembering how her father had warned her several times to tell Lorenzo that she was his most beloved daughter.
• “Why are you laughing?” her father’s cold voice brought her back to the present. She had laughed out loud at the irony of being her father’s favourite daughter when in truth she couldn’t be considered as his daughter at all. She is keen to know if Lorenzo will know the truth, but then again, her family has hidden the knowledge of her maltreatment from the public. Only a few knew her to be his daughter; to the outside world, he only had one daughter, who is Jenny.
• At the young age of five, she had lost her mother and elder brother of age eight to a ghastly road accident. According to what she learned, they had died on the spot. She couldn’t exactly grasp the meaning of death and had wanted nothing more than to see them the next day. In her younger years, she had gone to her father, asking him about the whereabouts of her mother and brother, but she was met with something deeper. Right in her father’s room, she saw her father and another woman naked. She had run out that day, but after barely a few minutes of running, her father came and beat her severely for intruding on his privacy. She had cried to bed that night, wanting nothing more than to see her mother and brother. The next day, her father brought home a woman and her daughter, whom she was later informed were her stepmother and stepsister. Since then, she has been living in hell.
• A hand landed heavily on her head, and she turned sharply to see the angry face of her father.
• “Are you deaf?”
• She quickly searched my mind to see what his last question was but came up empty. She decided to go along with what She heard last. “I am not laughing,” she replied. He stared at her, angry, and was about to rebuke her when they heard the shuffling of feet behind them. Shortly after, the door to the waiting room, where they were seated, opened. Daniel jumped to his feet instantly, and on instinct, Aurora followed suit. The room’s temperature dropped instantly. Everything suddenly became colder. She had her head lowered, and she needed no soothsayer to tell her who had just walked in. The devil himself has finally made his presence known.
• Unconsciously, Aurora trembled slightly as the sound of the feet drew closer. Her hand instinctively rubbed her arm to calm herself a bit.
• “Mr. Russo, good day, sir.” She heard Daniel greet him.
• Her eyes widened in shock over the revelation that her proud father just greeted someone first and in a humble and respectful tone.
• “Where is your promise to pay off my debt?” she heard a voice colder than that of her father and instantly, she felt the air on her body rise higher at the tone of his voice. She dare not look up.
• “Here she is my precious daughter. Thank you for accepting her and leaving my business and family.”
• “You realise you’ll be signing a document that states she will be my property forever?’
• "Yes, and I must thank you for your generosity.”
• Everyone went quiet for a while before he spoke again. “And she is your daughter?”
• “Yes sir. I assure you.”
• “Quiet!” he thundered. Aurora shivered lightly again and felt her father shiver too. Quietly, they both stood there waiting for what was going to happen next.
• “Get out”
• Daniel turned sharply and moved towards the door with Aurora following after him, but the words that came out next made her stand transfixed.
• “I wasn’t talking to you, but your father.”
• Aurora watched transfixed as Daniel left the office, not even sparing a glance at her until he disappeared. She couldn’t control the tears that had gathered in her eyes and allowed them to flow freely.
• “Come here,” he ordered. She turned and walked back to where she had stood earlier with her father.
• Lorenzo's eyes scan over her body, watching her and wondering why she looks so thin. His eyes lingered longer on her hair; she had her head dipped; hence, her face was not in view. Her black, wavy hair cascaded down her shoulder, and her tiny body was wrapped in a gown that stuck to her body like a second skin. He felt angry and couldn’t explain what could have caused his anger at not being able to see her face or could it be her presence. He hates women and doesn’t want any woman to come close to him. Despite his hatred for women, he had never laid his hands on them. He just hasn’t found anyone worthy of being in his presence, except his mother.
• “Sign that document,” he commanded, his voice laced with authority. With trembling hands, Aurora complied, the weight of her submission heavy upon her soul.
• She moved to the front of the table, picked up the paper with a trembling hand, and scribbled her signature on it. She didn’t even bother reading the document.
• “Get out” his words rang out like a death knell. She rushed towards the door for fear that his voice would swallow her whole.
• Confused and clueless, she wanders outside his office but not for long as Lawrence appears in her line of focus.
• “Follow me, please.” She heard him utter in a calm voice. She raised her head in surprise at the gentleness of his voice. It was the last thing she expected. Although she hadn’t witnessed their cruelty first-hand, she had heard a lot about them and didn’t expect gentleness from them.
• The gentle voice, however, did not match the stern look that adorned the face that she came in contact with and she dropped her gaze immediately for fear of upsetting him.
• As she followed behind him, memories of her cascading storm kept playing in her mind, suffocating her. To keep from melting down, she kept repeating words of assurance to herself in a low voice “You’ll be fine, Aurora.”
• But will she be fine? When Sandra dropped the bomb on her yesterday that she’ll be delivered to Lorenzo, she thought it was to further punish her, never in her wildest imagination did she think father would be selling her off to pay his debt.
• Suddenly, she fell to the floor, clutching her neck as the harsh reality hit her hard, strangling her. She couldn’t breathe and her emerald green eyes shone with anxiety and terror with great intensity.
• Noticing that no movement was heard following him, Lawrence turned to see the suffocating body on the floor. Confused and flustered, he contemplated what to do. Should he help her himself or call the medical team? He didn’t deliberate for long as the urgency of the moment made him take matters into his own hands.
• He crouched to her face level and helped her up. As he sensed that she was having a panic attack, he rubbed her back gently and repeatedly told her to breathe.
• Aurora didn’t obey at first but as seconds passed, his voice rang in her head and she noticed she was not breathing, hence, her suffocation. But she has forgotten how to breathe. Listening to his voice and demonstration, she began to breathe slowly, and some seconds later, her breathing returned to normal.
• With the help of Lawrence, she stood on her feet and cleaned the tears on her face. Lawrence studied her face for a while and after ensuring she was better now uttered ‘We are going to the house you’ll be staying in.” He said in a calmer voice.
• “Thank you,” Aurora muttered to him weakly, her voice barely audible.
• He nodded in acknowledgment and resumed his walk. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt the urge to reassure her but he just wanted to protect her and ensure she was fine.
• As Aurora resumed her walk behind Lawrence, she tried hard to shove the bitter truth of her harsh reality down her mind, but it clung to her throat like a second skin, threatening to tear her apart.
• As they stepped outside into the harsh light of day, the sight of two familiar figures disappearing into the car sparked a glimmer of recognition, she was surprised and confused at the same time at whom she had just seen.
• "Is that her?"