Bride Of Hades

"Uhm-hmm..," he agreed as he hugged her tightly. Something about this whole situation unsettled him. He was trying not to overthink this situation, but his cautious nature could not help but be wary.

After they got home, Aurora had decided she wanted to meet her parents already, there was no use prolonging the inevitable. Even though she feels a little apprehensive about it, she would rather tackle things head-on so they could all go on with their lives, and hopefully make up for all the time they lost being apart.

They had broken the news to Dimitri's parents that night, and it was evident on everybody's face that they were all shocked. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that her parents would be another affluent Mafia family?

They had all tiptoed about her learning the truth about the Santoris family since she had been rescued. They knew it was a sore subject because of all supposed killings and power struggles, so they never mentioned it to her again. But now, fate seemed to have laughed her in the face and threw her right in the middle of the mix.

Daisy and Matthew Santoris, Dimtri's parents, had warmed up to Aurora as soon as they met her, and they were pleased that she was able to thaw Dimitri's stone-cold heart, it never really mattered to them that she had been an orphan when she came home to them, but this puts the icing on the cake. Who knew their marriage would be the glue that would finally bring down an age-old feud between two families that had always viewed each other as rivals. 

"Enzo, we're meeting my parents today. They're your other grandpa and grandma. So you better behave, okay," Aurora was dressing Ezo up to meet her parents. "No running around and asking for too many things. Remember, this is not our house. Ask me or dada first if you want anything, okay," she said.

"Yes, mama. New grandma, new grandpa?" he asked.

"Yes, you know, just like dada has his own mama and dada? I have the same thing," she explained. He was smart, but he was not really exposed to the grandparents on both sides early on, so she figured he might be confused.

"You mama, dada… no come, why?" asking why he's never seen them before. Dimitri walked into the room to catch their conversation, he was supposed to be there to hurry them up, but since they were having a very serious conversation, he just sat himself on Enzo's bed.

"Hmm…," she wondered how she could phrase it and not shock her child too much, "They got lost, so they didn't know anything about us," she said.

"Like dada?" he said, making the connection when she explained why he had no father in the beginning.

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't even think about that," she said with an amused look. Who knew he would make that connection. Her son was getting smarter and smarter every day.

"Oh no! Big people dumb, dumb," he murmured.

Aurora and Dimitri looked at each other and laughed out loud.

"No worry mama... Enzo.. not lose you," he said as he patted her cheeks. She smiled and hugged her precious child. He was very thoughtful and innocent, and she wished that he would keep that attitude with him forever.

-=-

Everybody was abuzz in the Russo household. They had been preparing all day for the coming of their lost princess and the house looked nothing but spectacular. All the rooms that haven't been used for a while had been cleaned and freshened up, just in case the visitors wanted to take a tour of the house. It was like they were receiving the Royal family.

Aurora had been here a few days ago, but they never passed through the main doors, and because the atmosphere during that time had been tense she did not really pay attention to her surroundings. But today, she saw that the place was very well maintained. Flowers were planted all around the house, and even though the mansion was not as big as the Santoris' it was still a sight to behold. She's starting to get used to the opulence, but sometimes she's still amazed how rich people lived their lives.

This was the day she was going to meet her parents, and even though she talked Enzo through it to calm her nerves down, there was really no way she could prepare herself for this day. She was nervous, "Will they even want me as their daughter? Will they remember me? Will they want me?"

Dimitri held her hand in his to stop her from fidgeting and to lend her some of his strength and his calm, "It's going to be okay. They're going to love you," he said just as they opened the doors.

It was like they were being given the royal treatment, the maids and guards were lined up on both sides, bowing as they came in. Nicholas stood at the end with a big smile on his face, "Aurora, I'm so glad you came," he wanted to hug her in excitement, but the glare from Dimitri made him just reach out and hold both of her hands in his instead.

"Mom and Dad are coming in a second, come and take a seat," he said, but at the exact moment, their attention was taken by her parents.

"Mother! Father! Here you are. Look, my baby sister is finally home," Nicholas announced. He had broken the news to them the night before, and they all broke down crying, wanting to see Aurora right away, but he explained that she might not want the same thing right away, so they should give her time. 

Her father was in his early 60's, some parts of his hair were still black, but it had a slight peppering of white here and there, making him look wiser. It was like looking at Nicholas 30 years in the future, but he gave the impression of someone a little bit nicer and approachable.

She did not know where to look, wanting to take them both in at the same time. 

Despite the dark circles around her eyes, which were made invisible by very good make-up, and her very frail frame, one could see that Mrs. Russo was very good-looking in her days. She did not lose that classy air about her even as she sat on the wheelchair that Mr. Russo pushed her in.