A stolen life

Love

23 years ago

"I will not leave my husband " - Aurora said with anger and determination 

"My husband" - she repeated with a cheeky smile, caressing her plastic ring, on her finger. "I love how that sound" - she said feeling pure happiness. "Oh, aunt I am so so happy. I love Robert so much. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world. And if you got to meet him, you would love him too..." - she added with enthusiasm 

"You are the stupidest girl in the world, that's what you are. Have you gone mad? Dropping out of college, to marry a poor lowlife. He is a nobody and is after your money, can't you see that? " 

'That's not true" - Aurora said with a hurt heavy tone "He loves me. Robert is the only person in this world that truly understands me and loves me" 

"He will be the end of you Aurora. Please try to reason with me sweet girl. You are too naïve and.... dreamy. But is time to snap out of your made-up world and get back to reality...." 

"This is my reality now aunt Olivia. I am happily married to a wonderful man, who loves and respects me. I don't care if he has money or not. I only care about him. If you or my father will not accept Robert, then please don't ever call me again. I will not have this discussion with you anymore" - she said and cut off the phone. 

Aurora took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but bitter tears run through her cheek and she could not stop them. She was a very gentle and delicate soul. almost fragile and the words of others really affected her. But the newfound love with Robert made her strong as she had never been before. 

Aurora grew up with a rich but absent dad, her mother died when she was giving birth to her. So her whole life, she was pretty lonely. There was a time in her life, when she would spend more time with the maids or nannies, than with friends or family. Even Christmas or birthday parties were lonely, her father or other relatives would be her something expensive, but she would prefer their love and affection over any kind of fancy toy, electronic gadget, or clothing item. 

Even her years as a teenager were lonely and isolated. She did good in school, but for the most part, felt like an outsider. So instead of going out to party and other fun activities, she would stay inside her room for hours, lost in her world. Aurora would listen to music, paint, or write. She could do that for hours and hours, without getting bored or tired. It was to her like a magic escape. Through art, she would visualize a different reality to herself. Mostly she imagined being loved. She wished, prayed, and hoped so much for a kind of love, she read-only in books. Someone would finally love her pain away and make her feel like the center of the world. 

When she started college, her dad insisted on her going to law school. She hated every minute of it. Aurora was an artist, a free dreamy spirit, which could not be frame into a box. She would spend more time painting, than going to lectures.

In the second semester, she meets Robert. He was not a student, he was just pretending to be one, so he could attend classes because he could not pay the tuition. He was so smart and sharp, others did not even suspect that he was actually not in official registers. 

But Aurora understood what was he doing and why, almost immediately. 

"I know what are you doing. And I admire you for that" - she said to him one day, in the university hallway. "You should have been the first to get in, not rich spoiled kids like me, that don't even want to be here" - he said to him with a dreamy tone in her voice, which later he would get to know that that was her usual voice, almost like out of this world. 

"What.. what do you mean? I don't know what are you talking about" - Robert said feeling anxious. But he was not anxious just because Aurora had come to learn his tricks, but mostly because the beautiful girl he had been having a major crush on, had come to talk to him herself. 

"Me neither. Don't mind me" - she said with a soft smile " Forget what say, I am sorry for making you feel awkward" - she was about to leave, but Robert hold her hand in an instinctive move

"Don't go, stay" - he said " Please..." - her beautiful aquamarine eyes make her feel lost for words " Can I invite you for hmm... " - he would have said coffee, but did not have any money with him 

"For a walk? I would love to " - Aurora was a very intuitive spirit, she saw things other missed. She was an empath also and had this ability to make people feel at ease and understood next to her. Because she had lacked attention and love herself, without even knowing she would give this to others. 

 She got to know that Robert was indeed smart and to her eyes a genius. He came from a very poor family, so he could not afford an education. But he also loved books, since a child he was a regular at the city library and his thirst for knowledge was great. Unlike Aurora, he loved science and technology and even had a great idea which he wanted to make come to life. But for that, he needed to get into a college program, only this university had it. So he hacked the system, put his name in, and pretended to be a student. "It would be just for this semester, next year I will not even be here" - he explained. For some reason, since their first talk ever, he had confessed all about him to her, even his deepest fear and desires. 

Their walk in the park became their daily habit and the most anticipated act of the day. Soon they became inspirable   That love that Aurora dreamed of, she found it with Robert. And he fell madly in love with her too, she was even in the air he breathed. 

The decision to marry come naturally, even though to others it sounded crazy. At the end of the semester, Aurora dropped out the college and followed Robert. They got married and started living together, in a small one-bedrum apartment, they could barely afford. Everything was crazy expensive, no one supported them, but they were happy, so so happy. 

After coming home from his fast-food job, Robert would work like crazy on his project, till past midnight. Aurora would make sure for him to find a clean house and cook warm meals. She did not know how to do any of that but she learned. She even found a part-time job, working as a painter, for the invitations and stuff just to earn some extra money. When Robert work, she would also work with her projects, but did not say anything to him, to not make him feel bed. The days and even night were long and very exhausting for the young couple, but they were so happy with each other. 

Aurora knew that Robert wanted to succeed so badly, mostly because he wanted to give her all the luxuries she was used to. But the most precious thing for her was his care and affection. The look of love and adoration in his eyes was all that wanted. It was enough for her to face everything that life would through at them. 

He gave her strength and so did she. 

Remembering how far she had come, how happy and loved she was now, she wiped her tears and put a smile on her face, trying to be brave. "Bert could not see me like this, it will break his heart. I will be strong for you my love. You and I are enough to face everything, in this cruel world" - she chanted to herself. Or so she thought.