Lies We Tell

Chapter 9

Aurora

How hard could it be to walk? With my hand in Ignzaio's, I just stared at the door of the lift. It felt alien to have him hold my hand. Strange warm feelings were all I felt and in those, I felt a different level of comfort. 

His hand was in mine as we walked together into a building that held our new home. I was nervous and anxious. How hard I tried not to be I still couldn't get over meeting everyone. We came to a halt at the entrance and his hand let go of mine as he approached the desk. Suddenly I missed the warmth and support that his hand in mine gave me. 

"Good evening, Sir," the receptionist greeted him and Ignazio just returned with a nod. My eyes were glued to his back as he signed something on a register that the receptionist present him with. I just stared at my surroundings, absorbing it all in. How it all was different from the house I had lived in? How this all was so different from what I had expected in life? I had expected a small house, a small family with struggles like everyone else but not this. My eyes caught the dazzling diamond ring on my hand. The diamond ring on my hand was not something I had expected. For a crazy moment, I wanted to step back from all the riches that I was living in because this was never in my plan. 

I had never thought about materialistic things but of love. 

"Let's go," Ignazio's voice made me look at him. He held out his hand for me to hold and I grabbed onto it too quickly for my own sanity. I was scared of losing myself in my own mind. Suddenly his hand in mine felt like a life anchor to me. He stared at me as he held my hand tighter. We walked side to side holding hands. 

As we approached the elevators, I felt the metal of his wedding band against my fingers. All through the years, he had never taken it off even though I had thrown mine at him too many times in the initial days. Memories of how we had begun would always haunt me, they will make me feel embarrassed and make me hate myself. Could I live a life with him with the memories haunting me?

Stepping inside the elevator I stood beside him and as I looked at our reflections for the first time I realized how far I had come. We were standing there holding hands waiting to reach our floor. How had we become this close? From me hating everything to accepting him and finding support from him. As my eyes met mine on the steel doors I realized that he was too looking at our reflections too. Was he thinking the same as me or was it just me trying to find a lover in him? I wish he could have been like everyone else but if he was like everyone else then he would never have been a part of my life to begin with.

As the doors opened I looked at the hallway in front of us. I could already hear the sound of celebrations. The door was open and I stilled in fear at the thought of seeing everyone.

"It's going to be alright," he told me embracing my fingers a little tighter. My eyes looked up to his and all I could think was that he was my husband. He was the man I had married and vowed to spend the rest of my life with. I just nodded to him and took a step to face the music. The closeness we had, the feelings I felt, the fuzzy feeling spreading through my chest, it was too overwhelming yet I couldn't stop walking. It was hardly two minutes but it felt longer, with intertwined fingers we stood at the doors of our door. 

Ignazio rang the bell to make everyone notice of our arrival. Everyone became silent and then there was the buzz of cheers. I had to almost take a step back but it was his fingers that held me. I smiled looking at the sea of people in our home. I could see all the extended family here, all the people I had met on various occasions putting my worries a bit calm. 

"There is my son," the sound had my smile drop. I looked at his mother, she wasn't bad but there were still so many differences between us. She came from old money and I came from nothing it was the reason why she hadn't considered me good enough for her son from the very first day. Every interaction between us had only left me regretting my existence. She didn't know the truth about our marriage and I never wanted her to. She would hate me more. Sarah, came around kissing the cheeks of her son.