Sweet Lies & Sour Truths
Diamond sat at the long oak dining table in one of Adriano's oversized white T-shirts—probably stolen from his drawer—her legs crossed as she scrolled mindlessly through her phone, half-lost in thought. The smell of breakfast filled the air—warm butter, toasted bread, and something sweet.
From the kitchen came the sound of footsteps and a familiar voice.
“A lovely breakfast… for my beautiful queen.” Adriano’s voice echoed dramatically as he emerged, arms full of plates, grinning from ear to ear.
He set down a tray of pancakes stacked high, fluffy and golden, with butter melting into the crevices and syrup already drizzling over the edges. Fried eggs, glistening sausage links, toasted sourdough, sliced strawberries and grapes in a bowl, and two tall glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice followed shortly after.
Diamond smiled, resting her chin on her palm as she watched him bustle back and forth like a man on a mission.
“I could get used to this,” she said softly.
“You better,” Adriano smirked as he sat across from her. “Because if you don’t, I’ll be forced to keep winning you over every damn morning.”
She dug into the pancakes first, moaning out loud after the first bite, her eyes fluttering closed. “Mmm… Oh my god, this is… wow. This is so good.”
Adriano’s eyes darkened as he leaned back in his chair, watching her with a slow grin. “Keep making sounds like that, and I just might throw away breakfast and fuck you right on this table.”
Diamond playfully punched his arm.
“Ouch!” Adriano clutched his bicep dramatically. “What was that for?!”
“Shut up and eat your damn breakfast,” she said, laughing. “You’re so damn horny all the time, it’s exhausting.”
Adriano raised an eyebrow, licking a smear of syrup from his thumb. “Any man that’s been inside you would be horny all the damn time.”
Diamond rolled her eyes and tossed a grape at him. “You’re impossible.”
He caught the grape with his mouth mid-air, chewed, and winked.
As their plates started to empty, Diamond’s tone shifted subtly. Her voice was quieter now, her eyes thoughtful.
“Adriano,” she said.
He glanced up from his plate. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you…” She paused for a second, searching his eyes. “That scar on your left eyebrow. How did you get it?”
The change in his expression was instant. His smirk vanished, his fork froze mid-air, and the light in his eyes dulled. Silence settled between them, thick and heavy.
When Adriano finally broke the silence, his voice cracked. “My dad… he did this,” He said, pointing to the scar. “He’s the one responsible.”
Diamond’s brows furrowed slightly. She reached out, her hand resting gently over his. “What happened?” she asked softly. “Why would he do that to you?”
Adriano looked down at their hands, then slowly began to speak.
“My relationship with my brothers is… complicated,” he said, his voice low and distant. “Gabriele and Alessandro—they’ve always been close. Gabriele was good to me, sure, but we never really had that tight bond like he did with Sandro. Alessandro, though…”
He let out a bitter chuckle and leaned back.
“He used to bully me a lot growing up. Took my stuff, made me cry and beg for it. Sometimes he hit me when I tried to fight back. My mother would scold him… even smack him sometimes. But my father?” He shook his head. “He ignored it. Like I didn’t exist.”
Diamond’s heart squeezed.
“One day…” Adriano’s jaw tightened. “I was fifteen. Gabriele was seventeen, Alessandro nineteen. Alessandro just—wouldn’t stop that day. I snapped. Grabbed a kitchen knife.” His fingers twitched slightly as he spoke. “I didn’t even try to stab him. I was just tired of taking shit.”
Diamond’s breath caught.
“For the first time ever, my father got involved. But not for me. He yanked the knife from my hand and—” Adriano gestured to his brow. “Cut me. Right here. Told everyone not to tend to it. Not my mother. Not Gabriele. Said I had to learn what happens when I disrespect my elders.”
There was silence.
Diamond slid closer, cupping his cheek gently. “You didn’t deserve that,” she whispered. “None of that. You were a kid, Adriano. You were just… defending yourself.”
He gave her a faint smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s okay.”
“No,” she said softly. “It’s not.”
They lingered in that stillness for a while, the weight of the past settling in the space between them. Eventually, Adriano cleared his throat, trying to shake it off and lighten the air.
“You’re quiet now,” he teased. “What are you thinking about? My god-like strength? How I still managed to make these pancakes with trauma in my bones?”
Diamond smiled faintly, but inside, her heart was churning. This wasn’t just a criminal, a Mafia prince, or a mission target. This was a broken boy who had grown into a man still begging for his father’s love in all the wrong ways.
She was losing herself again.
You can’t lose yourself, Angela. You have to remain focused. You have to remain f—
“Your sister.” Adriano’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
Diamond blinked.
“…What?”
He sipped his orange juice, watching her. “Your younger sister. The one you told me about on our first date? Remember?”
Diamond’s face froze for a fraction of a second. “Oh! Yeah. Why would I ever forget that. Of course I remember.”
“You don’t talk about her much,” Adriano said, chewing slowly. “Do you visit her often?”
Diamond’s pulse picked up. “Of course I do,” she said quickly. “You’re not with me twenty-four-seven, Adriano. You wouldn’t know.”
He chuckled. “Woah, calm down, baby girl. Why are you suddenly getting so defensive?”
“I’m not,” she said too quickly.
He tilted his head, amused. “Okay… sure, I guess? Hey, how ‘bout we go pay her a visit.”
Diamond forced a laugh. “Y–you wanna go? With me?”
“Mhmm,” he said, casually. “I’d love to meet her.”
Diamond’s brain scrambled. “Sure. Of course. I’d love that too. Just… not today.”
“No?”
“No. The foster home doesn’t allow visits on Wednesdays.”
Adriano nodded, unfazed. “Tomorrow then.”
Diamond grinned tightly. “Perfect. I really love and appreciate the fact that you want to meet my sister.”
“I care about you, Diamond,” Adriano said, suddenly serious. “And your sister is an important part of your life. That makes her well-being important to me too.”
Her smile faltered just slightly.
“Aww,” Diamond smiled sweetly, but on the inside she was panicking.
FUCK!
They finished breakfast with a bit more banter, Adriano teasing her about eating more grapes and how they’d give her “booty gains,” and Diamond managing to fire back witty comments through her slowly rising panic.
LATER THAT MORNING…
Diamond entered a room tucked away behind a hidden panel in the hallway, locking the door behind her. She sat at a small desk, and pulled out her phone. She hurriedly scrolled through her contacts until she found a number and hit dial.
She pressed the phone to her ear.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then the receiver answered.
Diamond swallowed hard.
“Boss?” she said quietly. “…We have a problem.”