Special thanks to @jiyoungmochi for the cover!!
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❝𝐀 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥. ❞
Renata Vartanov had been through hell. Sold to a brothel and thrusted into prostitution at thirteen along with her then toddler...
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✯𝓥𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓷𝔃𝓸✯
"Vincenzo, mangia la tua frittata. Non puoi affrontare la giornata solo con la caffeina. (Vɪɴᴄᴇɴᴢᴏ, ᴇᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғʀɪᴛᴛᴀᴛᴀ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏ ᴏɴ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴄᴀғғᴇɪɴᴇ.)" Zietta Guilia scolded after she noticed me poking at my breakfast and sipping coffee absentmindedly.
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(Frittata)
"È una sfida? (ɪs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀ ᴄʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ?)" I questioned, half serious, half joking.
A whole day without food was nothing, I'd spent countless times in my earlier years as Don just running on caffeine, eating was a habit I'd rarely stuck with because of the workload.
They didn't burden me as much anymore, but when those loads came back like they did now with the Ricci issue, then food would be the last thing on my mind.
"No, it's a warning not to try it. If you do, you will never have another taste of my food in this lifetime or the next." Zietta glared, flicking her spatula at me in warning.
A smile touched my lips at her care. She'd disapproved of my eating habits since I was a child. When I lost my mother, I starved myself for a week due to grief.
Her delicious dishes were the only thing that revived me after my strenuous fast, and they were still my favourites to this day.
So, a lifetime without her cooking was akin to torture.
"Ah, sai davvero come colpire dove fa male, zia. Ho il cuore spezzato. (ᴀʜ, ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴛ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪᴛ ʜᴜʀᴛs, ᴀᴜɴᴛʏ. ɪ'ᴍ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ.)" I said dramatically, placing a palm to my chest and using my finger to brush the flour off of her cheek.
Out of nowhere, she hit my finger with the spatula. "Ti farò davvero del male se non mangi il tuo cibo. (ɪ'ʟʟ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴜʀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴏᴏᴅ.)" she glared.
I saw Cata snickering silently beside me on her swivel chair. She held a cornetto in her hand, eating it heartily. A cornetto was an Italian pastry similar to a croissant, but in contrast to its distant cousin, it was larger, less flaky, and always had a type of cream filling inside.
