A Twisted Tale

Setting a Plan in Motion

Valerio's POV

The flight home didn't take long because I was busy formulating a plan to get rid of Aurora permanently. Once I knew what I had to do, I called up dad to let him know that Meera would schedule the meeting with the board members. After all, work comes first. I then called Aurora. She answered immediately. "Il mio amore! What a pleasant surprise. I didn't think you would call me." She said excitedly. "Piccola, mi sei mancato. I want to see you. Will you do me the honour of having dinner with me?" I asked her and she agreed immediately. I asked her to meet me at the house at 8 p.m. She didn't sound too happy about having dinner at home. She said "Why at home? Non mi piace Greta. Let's eat out."
She was testing my patience but I knew I had to be gentle. "Baby, you know about dad. He will not like it if I tarnish our reputation. La mia reputazione è la tua reputazione." I said. She took a deep breath and agreed to meet me at home. I informed Greta to prepare a four course meal and also to treat Aurora with utmost respect. I threatened her that I would fire her if I received any complaint from Aurora.
I called up Alessandro and asked him if he knew any good Italian actors. The kind who weren't famous but were willing to do anything for money. Alessandro knew better than to ask for further details. He only asked when he thought I was in need of direction. Which was a rarity.
He asked me for some time and got back with a name and contact information. I looked up the details of a man named Luigi Renato. He was around twenty four. He looked promising and based on his background, he was out looking for an acting job. He wasn't listed in any of the agencies because he couldn't afford it. And he had zero experience on screen. This was exactly the man for the job. I looked for the contact number and dialled immediately.

Luigi didn't speak or understand English which was absolutely fine by me. I explained to him that he had to befriend the PR representative of Moretti Ltd. He asked me if that was all.

I told him that he had to make her fall in love with him. I would pay for all the expenses. He just had to get her to spend time with him. And since I myself was running out of time, I gave him the deadline of ten days. His task was to make Aurora fall madly in love with him within those ten days.
He was reluctant because he didn't know the first thing about her. That wasn't all. He asked me what he had to do if she didn't fall in love with him.
When I told him of the alternative, he argued that it was the wrong thing to do. But I guess money wins over morals any day. The money I offered was enough to shut him up for good.

I was busy talking to my lawyers about the partnership agreement when I heard a knock on the door. Greta informed me that the food was ready. I looked at my watch and saw that it was quarter to eight. I decided to freshen up and start acting.

Aurora came home exactly on time. She squealed in happiness as she hugged me tightly. I kissed her on her forehead and said that I missed her terribly in the past few days and that I didn't want to upset her.
"Darling! You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say this! I have waited for a long time for you to treat me like before. And now, we're finally getting there." She said happily.
I tilted my head to the side and said "You're conversing in English which means that you're not angry anymore."
"Nonsense! I can never be angry with you. Italian is my native language. Just like yours. And do I need a reason to speak in the tongue I'm most comfortable with? Besides, you're right. When I'm angry, I prefer talking in Italian. It makes me feel better. You should speak in Italian a lot more frequently. It connects us on a basic level. It's almost as if you think English as your native language." She chided gently.
I went along with the little act of being a doting boyfriend. We had a delicious meal and took our desserts to the living room. "You know, for the first time Greta isn't giving me any trouble. She actually spoke to me with respect. Was this your doing?" She asked me. I smiled at her and said "I asked her to treat you like how she would treat me. That's all." She then started giving me subtle hints about what she wanted to do next. I knew that I wasn't in a relationship with Meera and that I was as single as I could be.
To complete the act, I had to take Aurora to bed that night. Only then she would truly believe that things were back to normal.
Anyone would wonder why I would shower love on her when I myself want to throw her into another man's arms. Aurora wasn't a bad person. She was just messed up. Treating her badly would only come back to bite me in my behind when she loses her calm. So I had to come up with a strategy where the opposite person would show her that his love for her is far superior to mine. Since she had the issue of obsessive love, it would only be fair to escape her clutches and let Luigi suffer. After all, I'm paying him for it.

I was zoned out while deeply thinking of this when I felt Aurora put her arms around my waist. I pulled her into an embrace and asked her if she wanted to take it upstairs. She complied eagerly. I didn't even feel a twinge of guilt for bedding Aurora. But I had a pair of dark brown eyes staring back at me with comtempt every time I kissed Aurora. To escape the guilt which technically wasn't supposed to exist, I turned off the lights and tuned out everything else while I focused on the woman in front of me.